Welcome to Susan Telford on Blog Lovin. Good to see you here.
Alright enough already! Snow, hail, thunder, bright sunshine, frosts overnight. Make your mind up ! It's been very difficult to settle to any job and know what to wear over the last few days. The lambs should be out all day, but some of the weather has been so inclement that we have been bringing them in at teatime and leaving them in overnight until 9.00ish the next morning. On a couple of nights we have even put the heat lamp on for them.
Sadly, a dear old friend died that same afternoon as the funeral and I am really struggling with this. His service is next week, it will be sad to say goodbye to him. We have known M for 45 years and will miss his calm kindness and affection.
I went my school reunion on Saturday night. It was interesting to see how we have aged, some better than others! I did struggle to find something in common with people. I did resist the conversation I had with someone at a friend's Golden Wedding a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about getting old and what it meant. I said that I feared losing my marbles over everything and he asked if I did anything to combat this. I told him that I read a lot, am secretary of a Civic Society and a couple of interest/ campaign groups, was researching for a local history paper and wrote a blog. I told him about the Smallholding and how it kept me on my toes. I said that I couldn't relate to just going out to lunch (pensioner's specials?) or the occasional game of whist as it sounded like a living death to me. "What do you do ?" I asked. "I'm a member of a luncheon club and play the occasional game of Bridge" he replied ooooh er whoops!
Thought you might like to see the fence that David is building across the veggie plots to keep the dogs off. Made of pallet wood of course and very sturdy it is too. It will keep more than dogs off. As we say here "In the event of a nuclear attack crouch behind....(whatever David has built)"
Cro has a picture on his blog of his Wisteria, it is glorious and he is so much in front of us. This is a branch of ours presently. Way behind.
All for now, will update you on the Radio Derby/chicken saga soon.
Hello All I'm about to sit down for a much needed cup of tea after a visit from Radio Derby. They wanted to talk to some chickens! Apparently a study is being carried out about... I'm not too sure actually..., something to do with playing sounds to chickens for some reason. The reporter wanted to know If I talked to my chickens and if I understood the sounds they made. I was somewhat wary, not really wanting to be seen as the dotty old chicken whisperer! He asked if he could feed them and I gave him some feed to sprinkle on the ground as I let them out of their night time run. He then put the mic next to them and asked them to talk to him, which they didn't. I told him that they were well bought up chickens and were taught not speak with their mouths full.! Did I really say that?! I did explain the chickens DO make several different sounds which can be interpreted by us but that it was unlike;y to work the other way round, other than as a Pavlov's reaction ( i.e me shouting chick chick chick as I feed them means that they associate that sound with being fed.) I have been interviewed on the TV/radio several times for various reasons but this was the most bizarre.
Tonight we are hosting a meeting of the great and the good about how to fund the reinstatement of the canal through a envelopment site I shall make some biscuits and get out the home made wine and we will see how it goes. I have to assemble and print out the agendas yet and a quick dust and vacuum wont go amiss!
The last week has been very busy but when I leave it several days between posting I lose the momentum to write about it as it is finished and done with. Suffice to say I haven't been bored!
I'm feeling rather mortal at the moment, so many of our contemporaries are seriously/terminally ill, Last week a neighbour called round to say could I help her with a friend of mine who is also a neighbour. When I got there I found that she was at the stop of her stairs and had been dead for some time. She had been fighting cancer for sometime, but we did not expect her to die so suddenly. I feel so sad that she died alone.
Cafe with kids, Katie Walters, Helen Egg, Rebecca Pick. on Blog lovin and L Efting on the follower bar .
Here I am again after another little break. I am SO rubbish at regular blogging.
I thought I ought to make an effort as today we are off for our first sea fishing trip of the year and it will be Monday at least before I get a chance to post something. My daughter and granddaughter will be taking over the seedling watering, lamb bottling, parrot and cat sitting and egg collecting duties until then.
We looked over the bee hives last week and have lost two, one where the bees had starved only inches from some honey filled comb and one that was abandoned. The other eight are all now fed and looking good so far.
I have cleared most of the gardens ready for digging/rotovating and have some plants set in the greenhouse, so here we go for another year's gardening. I hope to share some of this with you over the next few weeks.
My 15 year old "Stoves" cooker (seven burner, two oven) has developed a problem that can't be fixed. The terms of the maintenance agreement say that if a fault can't be rectified they will replace the cooker. They were unable to provide me with another Stoves, but have provided me with a Belling on a like for like basis.
Adding up 13years maintenance payments and checking the cost of this cooker I have done quite well out of this and I guess that if this cooker lasts as well as the last one it should just about see me out!
Next week sees me buckling down to organise a public consultation to attempt to capture local people's views on our Civic Society's newest campaign. This means a newsletter to write, print and post to 400+ housing ( I don't do all the posting!) a public meeting to organise, with all the attendant issues. No pressure there then!
Anyway bloggy friends after another random blog I'm off to pack the fishing rods and sandwiches for the trip.