DUST DOWN AT SUN UP

.. or a case of mass hysteria?

A FEW years back I went on an anti-war protest which ended with a 'die in' near the Houses of Parliament and I have to say the media pictures which followed showing a pile of lifeless bodies was quite impressive. It certainly drove home the message of the stark reality of war.

 I was reminded of the protest just the other day when I was walking past the hen pen and saw my feathered friends thrashing around on the ground as though in their final death throes.

 It was a sunny day and the quagmire that had been the hen pen dried to such an extent that the mud was cracked and turning to powder providing Napoleon and his ladies the opportunity to have their first dust bath of the year.

 As you can see they were so wrapped up in the pleasure of dusting themselves down they seemed oblivious to my camera.
 The sheer joy they experienced is obvious to see and I don't think I've ever seen Napoleon (black rooster in the centre) so chillaxed before. He's usually so full of his own self importance as he struts around the hen pen that it was quite amusing to see him joining in such an unrestrained group activity with the Scots Dump hens.
 I defy anyone not to smile at the simple joy of the moment.
 * By the way, the screams heard at the end of the clip are down to the peafowl