Damp, but not raining to any great extent. Finished digging the ground for shallots (still very sodden & will need several fine days to dry it), manured the rhubarb, began clearing the new patch of thistles etc. Saw the white owl in the daytime. Very beautiful toadstools in the field now, pale bluey-green, slender stalk of same colour, mauve gills, the whole toadstool coated with a sort of limey stuff. Added another 1/2 sack of dead leaves to heap.
5 eggs. Total this week 33 (Mrs A. obviously underfed them).
Orwell Diaries 1938-1942 
“Mrs A” = white owl?
Here in Oregon the mushrooms have been multiplying at an alarming rate–in lawns, in the chipped wood ground cover of the playgrounds, etc.–often several kinds in one locale. I’ve been seeing some I’ve never seen before, and some are really big, larger than my fully stretched hand when fully open. It feels like a creepy invasion.
The white owl is a barn owl, a stunning site ghosting across the fields at dusk. At this time of year they can occasionally be seen on dull days as well, starting to become more common after years of decline (mostly due to habitat destruction)
Is Mrs A stealing the chicken feed to supplement her own rations ?