Nice to be home

It was nice to be home again. We had treated ourselves to a break in Dublin which was most enjoyable but for some reason we were under the impression that Dublin would be around the same size as Truro (Cornwall's only city). We were wrong. It was a bustling city of 4 million inhabitants - three quarters of the population of Ireland in fact!
Meanwhile back at Lambriggan Court life is very hectic. Great excitement when one of our rare geese laid an egg. Great disappointment when it was found broken the day after. A decision was taken to get the incubator up and running immediately in expectation of more eggs. In fact we now have 2 eggs incubating which of course have to be exactly at the right temperature , humidity and need regular turning.
Quite a few of the owls have 'gone down'. This means they have disappeared into their nesting boxes - a very good sign indeed. Last year we had quite a few eggs but the birds were immature and the eggs infertile.
Another baby wallaby has been spotted. Last year we had 3 young Palmer's wallabies - a smaller breed - but this is the first of the larger wallabies. A bit difficult at the moment to distinguish if it will be grey or white ( we have one white male) as the only part visible is the Joey's head which is pink and hairless. The wallabies like all the other animals at Lambriggan Court are fascinating and I shall include more information about them in another blog.
A sad loss this week has been our cockerel. We take great care in protecting all our animals and birds from the foxes but they are not called 'crafty' for no reason. This particular cockerel was saved from the pot because when he was younger he was very protective of one of the other chicks . I also think it's much more natural to have a male bird with the chickens and he has guarded them well. Unfortunately he must have strayed a little too far this week which led to his very sad demise.
It's not just the birds and animals that have been busy. We already have three bed and breakfast rooms at Lambiggan Court and are just putting the finishing touches to two new suites.
As usual it has been a very tight deadline particularly with Easter arriving so early this year but we are nearly there. The en-suite shower room in The Furniss Suite has just been tiled. The carpet fitters are due to fit the carpet tomorrow afternoon. The furniture which was due to arrive the first week of March was held up but arrived in the dark a few nights ago - thank goodness. The furniture in The Lemon Suite is going in today with the electrician fitting all the lighting. This is my favourite part - the dressing of the rooms. I spend months searching for just the right furnishings and all the other little but very important items to dress the rooms. Little touches like the wall lamps we brought back from Andalucia in January to go in The Lemon Suite along with two antique wall sconces with cherubs on from a superb antiques shop in Lostwithiel. For The Furniss Suite I have a gramophone player blending in perfectly with it's elegant and sumptious surroundings and on the wall will be the vibrant tapestries purchased from the bastide town of Domme from our time in France. These are what gives each room it's character and individuality , something which is often lacking in big hotels. The feed back from our guests shows how much this extra effort is appreciated. I hope our guests who will be arriving on Friday for the Easter break will enjoy the new suites as much as I have enjoyed creating them.