And NOW.........

Dearest Reader - Greetings.  Sorry to be away so long.  Here is a ‘catch-up’.

My left arm is now nearly healed after the final fracas 3 weeks ago with the Springer/collie cross dog that we had been trying to re-home.  My right hand is healed but quite sore at times after the first fracas within 24 hours of his arrival with us 6 weeks previously.  He is a beautiful dog, an excellent retriever of tennis balls, and shows strong evidence of some previous obedience training - but he also has serious issues which the Dogs’ Trust at West Calder promised would be addressed carefully before they would consider any attempt to re-home him again.  (So I am not at all sure why he was re-advertised just 2 weeks after we had returned him with a full and honest report.  I sincerely hope he doesn’t bite again, because he wasn’t messing about).

We now have another new 4-footed member of the family.  She is a black,13 and a half-weeks’ old, Standard Poodle puppy called ‘Bramble’, who went on holiday with us to the Ardnamurchan Peninsula for a few days, and is just gorgeous!  She is fantastically soft, very cuddly, will now (usually) ‘sit’ to command and has learnt ’lie down’ over the past 2 days, retrieve a ball from across the room, stay dry all night till her toilet trip into the garden the next morning, and falls asleep whenever the chance arises.............

Last Saturday saw us take a trip towards Biggar to replenish our depleted feathered flock, returning home with 3 new hens, currently too young to lay.  However, Meena did NOT appreciate newcomers to the coop, shouting her disgust to everyone within earshot......... continuously......... this was upsetting the 3 newbies, upsetting both human heads of the household, and in serious danger of upsetting the neighbours. Meena can also be a bit of a bully, and the smallest bird, at just 14 weeks, is still really quite small and likely to be quite vulnerable.  So Meena and Myna were removed to a box in the back room for the first night, being returned to the outside run an hour after the others were up in the morning.  Myna got on with having her breakfast, but Meena was still not having it.  Continuous shouting saw her returned to the indoor box for the morning.

Rapid arrangement of alternative accommodation for the 2 mature birds was necessary, to give the newbies chance to settle in and grow a bit bigger before the Big 2 get back to the regular henhouse again. The shed was therefore emptied to find the spare pen and erect this next to the house, with a new carpet of bark chippings, feed, water and a night/laying shelter for Meena and Myna.  The established henhouse and run was also cleaned out and refurbished with fresh bark, feed and water for the newbies. 

A couple of hours remaining before Evensong allowed re-potting of the geraniums for over-wintering indoors. There had been ice on the car windscreen that morning, so this seemed like a good move.  We will do the same for our lovely bay tree once we have some fresh compost - having barely survived the low temperatures of last winter it probably has no chance at all of getting through another winter outside..... tho survival indoors is probably also unlikely .......

Master Catlet thought the whole proceedings were for his entertainment, creeping around and checking out the newcomers – these were ‘perching’, so were evidently ‘birds’ and required serious scrutiny, as opposed to the ground-loving older hens who are noted for standing their ground when Bart gets closer than they consider respectable.

Bramble wanted to join in too and ensure a riotous melee....... She was most disgruntled to find herself removed to the kitchen until all activities had been completed.

What hilarity ! 

We have yet to settle into a harmonious routine.  Further re-arrangement of hen-housing will be necessary for the winter, as the back of the garden is further away and quite chilly when the temperature drops.  Names are being discussed. And we have the luxury of another week of holiday to be scheduled before the end of the year - hoping for a few days near Kirkcudbright to give Bart his first holiday and allow  Bramble to run on the beach every day.

I shall try to be back soon.  All best wishes, x

And now Sunday 18th............eveningtime......

Fascinating programme on TV just now about historical maps – some, despite exceeding age, being astonishingly accurate when compared with today’s editions.  Wow !

Tired.  Very tired.  Lots of singing this weekend, away from the home patch all day yesterday, then on usual duties on home territory today; not enough sunshine, and seriously depleted sleep Friday night/Saturday morning - a police helicopter hovering overhead from somewhere around 3am until about 4.20am  (because of a local Incident) dragging us to some semblance of consciousness from the Land of Nod for the duration, and for some (much too much) time after.  

Managed a couple of hours’ work in the garden this afternoon, energy levels seriously lacking.  Grass now growing rapidly, so will have to engage with the lawn mower sooner than had been expected.  With the new Bishop’s Consecration now sprinting into view for Friday, I guess the grass will achieve somewhat of a head start on me again this year, unless the chooks manage to trash the lawn as thoroughly as they did last year.......... Two out of the four of them managed to get away through to the next door neighbour’s garden this afternoon – luckily they remembered how scrummy tinned sweetcorn tastes, so were lured back home without undue incident.

Now you know how exciting my life is, you’ll understand why blogging has been a little sparse recently.  

Thank you for visiting – Live Long And Prosper  (as Mr Spock would say).  x

Hen-y Thoughts

The chooks are getting much happier as Spring enters the year, and we are now daily finding three eggs from between the four of them. Warmer ambient temperatures are doubtless a factor, along with longer daylight hours, and increasing amounts of sunshine – plus getting out to roam around (and trash) the garden. Last Friday they got the double whammy of OUT plus SUNSHINE – considered by Eena and Meena as ideal ingredients for a spot of dust bathing. Myna and Moe, meantime, were more interested in scratching about to find any unexpected edible goodies (we’ll not go any further in pursuit of the details). Mr Mutt was sleeping in a sunny spot near the hedge (a good place to dissuade local foxes from visiting), and Master Moglett was bouncing about, climbing trees, chasing shadows and eating the crocuses.

The whole scene was so relaxing, household chores got put on ‘hold’ and ChickPea sat on the dustbin for half an hour.

See the focussed effort invested in dust bathing ? Phenomenal ! And much as you may doubt the ability of a feathered face with a beak to reveal any expression whatsoever, those two hens were in seventh heaven in a state of sheer bliss.

The mind freeflows in sunshine.

First thing in the morning, the hens tend to shout a fair bit – until we appear and reassure them that they are not forgotten, not being ignored, not being taken for granted, and not going to miss breakfast ! In fact, their positive response to any attention, however fleeting, is quite remarkable.

Quite a lesson for relationships, really.

BirdWatch Weekend

This is the last weekend of January, and the RSPB has again requested an hour spent counting birds. So here I was, between morning service and evensong, relaxing in our lovely conservatory, yawning in the sunshine I confess, and counting all sizes of feathered visitors. And keeping young Monster Mr Mog under lock and key, of course. His birdwatching is certainly enthusiastic, but seems likely to have a rather different ‘end agenda’ to that requested by the RSPB............

We had fully stocked up the feeders and bird table in the glorious sunshine this morning, knowing it’d be this afternoon before I could sit down for the count. And then, at last, the time had arrived.......

What a rare treat these days.

When DJ was with us he loved sitting out in the conservatory, a great addition to the house that greatly increased our quality of life by enhancing our regular awareness and contact with the Outside World. When DJ first moved in he would spend most of his day, every day, sitting out here and enjoying the visits of so many different bird species. When he needed constant care it became a great treat for me to be able to sit down and share this haven with him. But as his dementia steadily got worse, DJ sadly lost touch with such gentle peace and pleasure from the creatures around him.

Yes. Today it was good to spend time in the conservatory.

TH and I have been very aware that the numbers of our garden’s feathered visitors have been declining over the last few years – but what a shock to realize that we have had fewer than twenty birds visiting over this last hour, with a group of just five birds (chaffinches, as it happened) being the largest group at any one time – as opposed to several years’ previously when counting eight or more birds at a time before they flew off was a real challenge.......

So what DID we find this year ? Sadly – no collared doves, no starlings, no blackbirds, no house sparrows...... and, sadly, very few others. Just two robins, one magpie, one great tit, one coal tit..... I nearly stopped counting early, too – but it was worth waiting for those very last two minutes of the hour – those final moments fleetingly brought a second bluetit AND a second long-tailed tit into view and into my final figures – both of these were in groups of several birds together last year.

All thanks to the RSPB for their work and attention to these lovely creatures..........

Thru the window at 4pm today.........

Much too much rain recently........

ChickPea finally got outside today without needing brolly, macintosh or wellies ……… And the lawnmower came out to play too, much to Mr Mutt’s astonishment and the chooks’ surprise. The lawn itself is of multiple genetic inheritances – mostly meadow and wild rambling couch grass (as in ‘kooch’ rather than as in ‘sofa’ ) – and was nearing the length which would require a scythe……… but not quite……… and by assaulting it from every angle imaginable she got it got whittled down fairly well (TH doesn’t approve of this method – he likes to approach it from East and West, and so get A Lawn With Lines – but ChickPea has no such scruples – short is her requirement !). And then the chooks got out for a while on a Nematode Hunt, and Mr Mutt went off with ChickPea to rescue TH from The Big Box, alternatively named ‘Employment Environment’……….

Such was today’s excitement.

‘To Blog - or Not To Blog – that is the question’………

PS. Have you visited Risotto recently ? - do you know where Mr Heron is strutting his stuff ?

What ho, Chickpea - how're the chooks ?

How kind of you to ask.

Rain has been the name of the game here – how has it been with you ? We had 24 hours non-stop monsoon. Many had more, I believe. I sympathize. Living on top of a hill, flooding wasn’t very likely for ChickPea and TH – tho’ as the hill is made of clay, the surface water tends to gather readily – leaving the bedraggled chooks somewhat less than convinced of their safety, and looking for an ark…. Before the rains started the hens had started digging to Australia, so to give them continued scope for exploration and in hopes of providing a better surface to live on, bark chippings were put down – over the following week these all got scratched away into a heap, exposing the earth beneath so mining could resume…….consequently the monsoon-chooks were in mud up to their knees and eyeing up the conservatory as a potential re-location……

But today has been great – SUNSHINE ! The puddles have gone, feathers are dry and re-fluffed. The chooks Want Oot.

So after his morning constitutional, Mr Mutt was out on his tether, Eena stayed back to do her essential chore of egg-laying, and Meena was out in the front garden with ChickPea, and they were gardening……… well, ChickPea was weeding, and Meena was digging up slugs within sight and reach, but out of the way. They made a good team.

Then the engineer arrived to service the central heating boiler, so play stopped. Meena went back to Bluecastle (the chookhouse and run), and ChickPea went indoors to do the washingup.

When the engineer had finished, gardening resumed with Eena out, Meena spending her afternoon thinking about egg-laying…. (but getting nothing done as she was soooo distracted because she wasn’t allowed out to play again!)

Eena meantime decided to re-invent the gardening game by scratching up the bit that ChickPea had just dug and tidied…. Move her out of the way and she just returned, again……. and again…… and again ! Completely and hentirely focussed….

This Morning.......

I thought you might like to hear about Mr Mutt’s Thursday morning. ChickPea is waiting in for more parcels to be delivered today – maybe including Mr Mutt’s outdoor bed. Meantime…….

The sun was shining, a light wind from the NorthEast…….. DJ was in a slightly less Tangential Universe than of late, and the porridge was cooking nicely on its own…… so Mr Mutt could go out into his garden. This Was Good. The head was up, the eyes were bright, the tail was waving a little, and he was dead keen to get out. Yeah – Life OK for Mr Mutt. A bit draughty, of course, becos of the wind – so he settled as flat and windfree as he could in the sunshine, and Life Wuz OK.

Then ChickPea took the base bed-bit of his kennel out into the garden. Oooooooh ! This wuz good – up off the cold grass ! “Hey – I like this” sed Mr Mutt. Draughty, and a bit hard on the elbows - but hey – ok.

Then the top bit went out into the garden too. Mr Mutt moved out of bed because ChickPea insisted – she thought it A Good Idea while she put the top on. (Unpredictable dog has been known to bite)………..

Straight in. Settled down. “Very Nice Thank You” sed Mr Mutt.

Hasn’t moved for over an hour. The Tabby Twins from next door came to say ‘Hello’ and to investigate The Kennel. The Feathery Friends have been around. But Mr Mutt is Taking Time For Himself. Life Is Too Good For Sharing just now. Mr Mutt is Over The Moon.

Mr Mutt's Morning

Mr Mutt is having his morning siesta on the lawn. He’s had his breakfast, been out for his morning stroll and is now snoozing outside, well away from DJ’s hearing aid and ChickPea’s attempts to keep DJ awake whilst awaiting the transport out to the Day Centre. (This amount of effort does not bode well for the day centre staff, who will no doubt bring him home early………) But for Mr Mutt, life is ok.

He has a variety of companions in his garden, does Mr Mutt. There’s the Tabby Twins from next door who visit him for a bit of entertainment (they get bored at home, and Mr Mutt is good for a larf – he tries to disappear into the scenery in his efforts to avoid the TTs). Then there’s the Flying Fraternity. These are wearing coats of very many colours – the bluetits and great tits in particular love the peanuts hanging from the rowan tree, while the sparrows, greenfinches, dunnets and occasional goldfinches prefer the seed feeder (not such a good mix as usual, so not so many visitors this morning). The neighbourhood robin is keeping an eye on proceedings, while the blackbirds are wary because the lawn is a bit too long for their liking. I keep hoping any available thrush will call by for a snail feast – these are walking up the windows of the conservatory this morning, and disporting themselves in a most unseemly manner. (Will the chooks eat snails ? – I’m told they will help me sort out our slug situation).

Who else to keep Mr Mutt company ? There’s the current grey squirrel who is still learning the knack of hanging upsidedown to raid the peanut feeder – his predecessor was much more accomplished at this feat, but our neighbour saw a fox feasting next door, and that gymnast has not appeared since. The Fox Family have not been seen in the garden visiting Mr Mutt (yet – tho they have been known to tag along for his late evening walks, coming as close as about 6 ft, causing Mr Mutt a little anxiety). They certainly visit the garden in his absence, and we see signs of a hedgehog who visited last night – but I don’t think this one has much of a taste for slugs !

The washing line is filling up, and there’s a wee breeze this morning to make the sheets flap. DJ was busy last night. Oh – the joys of having an outdoor opportunity for drying wet washings. I remember when we moved in, March 2005, glorious sunshine that first week, inspiring breakfasting in the garden, Ms Mog discovering the delights of chasing the squirrels, and TH discovering the pleasure of shirts dried outside. Life certainly holds Good Moments.

So, with all this activity, Mr Mutt has to concentrate quite hard to achieve slumber or significant boredom when he’s out on the lawn. He’ll have to work even harder at sleeping once the chooks arrive – but I think, between you and me, we’ll keep that a secret just now, eh !