Thursday 21 May 2009

Please excuse the ridiculous underlining, I've been doing a bit of tweaking and can't work out ow to stop it. Anyway, I can't resist posting this photograph, if you go from left to right you have a caravan with a trailer wedged underneath and then a trailer with a Henry wedged underneath.....



Trampoline

I've been trying for ages to get a picture of Henry on the trampoline but it's been almost impossible as he moves so fast that by the time I've got the camera he is off doing something else. However the other day I happened to have the camera in my hand and here is is:



I couldn't get any more because he wouldn't stay on it, as soon as he realised I had the camera he shot off down the garden!

Wednesday 20 May 2009

Henry Says Hello

Relaxing

Henry takes relaxing very seriously


Very seriously indeed




After all, he needs to re-coup all that engery for more bouncing tomorrow





















Saturday 16 May 2009

Chickens or not?

I have a dilema.

Should I get chickens.

I promised myself that I'd get chickens the minute we moved into this house. But the move was so exhausting and getting a new kitchen installed within 24hrs of walking through the door and similtaniously getting the flu for three weeks put it on hold as all that delayed the unpacking.

Then followed the decorating, very slowly. The house was fine when we moved in so there was no urgency to change anything except maybe lighten it up a bit and of course tackle the diy artex that had beaten the previous two sets of residents.

Weeks turned into months and months have turned into two years and still I have no chickens.

I do, however, have a rather deluxe chicken house and a run but it is empty whilst I think about this.

To be honest, although I'm quite a busy, motivated person, I am also one for paring things down to make life as easy as possible. This is one reason I had for not giving the dogs breakfast, it's just one more thing to do (they ground me down on that one though).

Everyone I have spoken to with chickens says they are no trouble, that they look after themselves and cause virtually no problems. Hmmm, they must demand some sort of attention surely?

The big problem is the letting them in and out every morning and evening. It's not a huge job to do I suppose but it will HAVE to be done whether I like it or not. We dont have a problem with foxes round here but the chickens WILL have to be let out of their house in the morning, and what if I forget? I'm not likely to but all eventualities have to be explored.

Maybe I'm thinking too much, after all I'm all set up for chickens, they have a house and a run, and they are going to be able to wander around one half of the garden and out into the track and fields if they want to. I've even sorted out seperating them from the dogs, the garden is conviniently seperated into two even sections which willl ensure the chickens safety but I keep hesitating.

I think it's the thought of just one more thing to do each day....... hmmmmmm

Perhaps an automatic chicken house door closer would be the solution, they do them for cat bowls so why not chickens?

Hmmmm I'm not sure.

But I'll keep you posted.

Tuesday 12 May 2009

Sunshine at last

It has been sunny here for two whole days.

Now I had typed a whole lament on how despite it's beauty up here, the weather is bloody awful and the orchards, fields and lanes of Kent are very appealing when I'm trying to battle 70mph winds to get to the car but I accidentally hit the wrong key and it all went which is probably just as well as Other Half is likely to walk into the kitchen at any moment and him being Scottish and all that wouldn't make a good start to the day.

So, as I said, it is sunny, and still, yes no wind in the windy valley. The birds are singing and the lambs in the field next to the house are bleating and running around.

It's lovely.

Tuesday 5 May 2009

MBNAD Woman tagged me, now I've never been tagged before but here are mine and Henry's replies - hope that is what you are supposed to do.

1. What are your current obsessions? Me: Same, getting more miles to the gallon in my large 4x4, so far by driving like the middle aged person I really am I have acheived 100miles more per tank. Cant work that out in mpg. Henry: Hares. Spending ages looking out the window scouring the landscape for them and barking madly at them when one appears which it always does.

2. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often? Me;Waterproof windproof weatherproof coat, even in May. Henry: My collar and my harness.

3. Last dream you had?Me: That I was in Kent in the sunshine and waking here to the rain on the roof.....Henry: Hares.

4. Last thing you bought? Me: a bag of coal. Henry: He didn't buy them but it was tripe treats which he loves.

5. What are you listening to? Me and Henry: Radio 4

6. If you were a god/goddess who would you be? My god/goddess education went amiss somewhere so I don't know.

7. Favourite holiday spots? Me and Henry: Currently the Solway Coast.

8. Reading right now? A Home for Rose about a collie pup in America.

9. Four words to describe yourself. Me: Laughing, smiling, relaxed, slightly, mad. Henry: Mad, Fast, Funny, Lovely.

10. Guilty pleasure?Me:The Archers. Henry: Stealing food and not getting caught by Other Half, laying on the bed when Other Half has gone to work.

11. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak?Me: Watching Henry and Spending time with my parents. Henry: Life

12. Favourite spring thing to do?Me: Walk the dogs in the countryside in the still, warm air, looking out for the first swallows Henry: Look out for Hares

13. Planning to travel to next?Me: Nowhere cos of my knee Henry: Up the track to look for hares

14. Best thing you ate or drank lately?Me: Truffle oil at work mmmmm Henry: Stolen butter tub, it was so good he got it all over his head.

15. When did you last get tipsy?Boringly I can't remember, dosen't mean I've not drunk though, it's just the age switch that comes on to tell me I've had enough (this dosen't work under the age of 35) Henry: Hopefully not tipsy but he does always have a tipple of beer or wine whenever I do.

16. Favourite ever film? Madness of King George for the beautiful bell ringing scene.

17. Care to share some wisdom?Wisdom?Me and Henry: Smile, look up and always be optomistic.

18. Song you can't get out of your head?Me: Neopolitan Dreams (Surf advert)its happy and nice and I downloaded it onto my phone.

19. Thing you are looking forward to?Me: Sunshine, gardening, family and friends visiting, lazing with my dogs. Henry: the first hare of the day, breakfast time, dinner time, walkies time, laying on the bed after Other half has gone to work.

20 If money were no object, where would you choose to live?Here, or here further up in the Highlands.

As you can probably tell, I'm quite a happy optomistic, smiley soul, ready to laugh at the first funny thing. Henry and I go together rather well I think.

Normal House with no grumps

Other Half is at work.

It was very quiet.

For a while.

Until something woke Badger in his cage, this in turn woke Henry, Molly and myself.

I chose to stay in bed, I dislocated my knee a couple of weeks ago and should be re-cooperating but theres been little chance of that since I did it so this morning was the first that I thought I'd laze about and read some of my book before breakfast, a rare luxury.

Henry however had other ideas, whatever it was outside was causing him to be very concerned and it meant he had to jump on me in my bed several times to get me up. I did try to put up a bit of resistance by hiding under the covers but with a four stone dog leaping all over you and a dislocated knee I decided that there was a good chance I'd end up back in casualty so I got up.

Usually I let the dogs outside when I first get up. The run around the garden, look through the fence and over the wall, do what they have to and come back in for breakfast.

This morning though I decided to look out of the window first (I've no idea why the type has gone slopy sorry) and looking back at me was a sheep in the front garden.

So that was what all the comotion was about.

Oviously I couldn't let the dogs out into the back garden as they would run down towards the front garden and scare the sheep and all the sheep here either have lambs or are about to have lambs, the absense of a lamb with this sheep made me decide that it probably was about to have a lamb.

The sheep kept looking at me and me, Henry, Molly and Badger looked at the sheep through the window as I wondered about phoning the farmer to tell him one of the sheep was out of the field.

As we stood there pondering the farmer came along with a sheep trailer and expertly sent the sheep inside. He then explained to me that the sheep had run off from the herd as he brought them up the track and had planted (not literally) itself in the garden and wouldn't come out.

So drama over. I then let the dogs out and they all sped down the bottom of the garden to look very hard at the bit of the front garden where the sheep had been standing.

After a bit of rough and tumble in the living room between Henry and Badger they are now all asleep, Molly on the sofa, Henry on his bed and Badger somewhat bizarrely on the cold hard tiles by the back door.

It's peaceful and quiet and nothing like it is when Other Half is here.......