Monday, July 3

Garden, 11:22
Yesterday a chicken arrived in our garden and spent most of the day there. Camilla came to say hello to us in the evening and announced that it can stay here all summer if it wants to. This morning it came wandering into the garden again as we got up and got on with eating whatever it finds to eat on the lawn.
After breakfast we decide to drop off some rubbish and to see where our boat has gone. Before we do that I sit outside watching the chicken who seems to have decided that it has nothing to fear from us, and walks around us without any concern. I take a picture while it stands on one leg and looks at me. A second or two after I do, it turns and walks right up to me before turning away to look for something else to eat.
Having dropped the bag of rubbish we decide to go to Erika’s shop where we will sit and have a cup of coffee in her new two-seat cafe. She and Irma will talk about osteopaths while I examine her new range of Jacob’s Creek alcohol-free wines.
It starts raining very hard as we approach Jan Englund’s house to check on our boat. He has gone out so we don’t see him, although we will see him later driving from the ferry as we approach Sundö.
The rain will look as though it has settled in for the day so we will decide to go to Borgå to look at the sales. I will finally find the coloured chinos I have tried to get in Helsinki. Interestingly the black, white and fawn trousers all sell at full price but the salmon coloured ones have moved to the sale rack where they sell for 30% off. I will feel the disapproval of the fashion police as I sneak to the counter and pay for a pair.
When we get back we will find the chicken still in the garden in the pouring rain, but standing stock still under the swing chair which affords it just enough shade to keep dry. It will not move at all until the rain stops.
Irma will give it a potato when it finally moves. It seems to like potatoes a lot.