Monday 9th December: Oooo we are getting closer, not to Christmas but to the Solstice 😀 I am writing this at 7.30am on Monday morning ( that’s approx 15 hrs of darkness 🙄) and it’s still dark outside 😏 I have bumbled round and done as many indoor jobs as I can and am waiting for it to get light before going outside. I could let everything out while it’s dark and indeed some people don’t have any choice as they have to get off to work, luckily I don’t have to do that and so I can wait. I’m sure that people have been caught out many a time by the fox in circumstances like the one above so I won’t risk it.
It’s been pretty windy overnight so I have no idea what I will find once I get out there, hopefully no damage anywhere just stuff scattered.
I’ve just come back in and all in all it’s ok out there, no damage that I can see just stuff blown around, if there was a leaf on any tree there sure isn’t anymore lol. One thing that I spotted which has been exposed by the leaf fall is a drey 🙄 I wasn’t sure if that’s what it was until I came back in a looked up some pictures but it definitely is, it is in the tree in the front paddock. A squirrel nest, not sure what I think about that to be honest, on the one hand I’m thinking ‘how lovely’ on the other I am thinking ‘thieving little sods living a bit too close for comfort’ 😜 It will remain of course and I will have to up my security over the veg garden, they don’t just pinch your nuts they steal fruit as well 😂 especially strawberries. Luckily I already have squirrel proof bird feeders, actually I got them initially because the crows were stealing all the bird food but I was a good move. This morning I have filled up the feeders with suet pellets as it getting a little bit harder for the birds to find food and they need a bit of extra help over the coldest months.
The wind exposes your weaknesses, loose window panes, ill fitting doors, gates that don’t quite shut properly, fences that are not as secure as they should be, things you haven’t put away properly, the wind is out to show you what you haven’t done properly. Even if you think you have it sorted the wind will come from a different direction and prove you wrong 🙄 We are pretty exposed to the westerlies here which are our prevailing winds and we are used to those but today’s wind was northerly meaning different problems with things that don’t normally get affected. We rarely get an easterly, when we do it comes with artic weather and we rarely get a southerly either. Then there are the Squallies as I would call them, that is wind that seems to come from all directions at once and just buffet you constantly, I don’t know what the technical name is for them but that’s what I have named them lol. There is a silver lining to the wind as it dries up all the ground so it’s not all bad 😀
Mid morning I had a call from John who had a call from the nursing home, after her turn on Sunday his Mum has taken a turn for the worst and they said that they should probably come in and see her. He spent the rest of the day there, came home had dinner and a bath and then we went back in the evening for a short visit.
Wednesday: Ok so I have missed out pretty much all of yesterday and today the reason being as you might have guessed is that Johns Mum passed away very late last night. Sadly it was only an hour until her 85th birthday but she didn’t quite make it, just over a year ago she suffered a stroke which left her paralysed down one side and sent her into decline, a peaceful end was reached yesterday.
Meanwhile the daily routines still have to be carried out, animals need feeding and cleaning out, eggs need collecting and sorting and home life has similar routines to continue as well, all in all it’s possible I won’t get much else written this week depending on what is happening, there are obviously many things to sort out and finalise and paperwork to do so I will see what other time I have left.
Oh and we have the election to contend with and an outbreak of avian flu in the country again, could be a tough end to the week this week 🙄
Thursday: The weather is appalling, bursts of heavy rain with light rain inbetween not very nice out there at all. I’m hoping that I am at the tail end of this bug now so that I can crack on with things and although I did clean out the ducks on my way round this morning, I haven’t done anything but the necessary out there.
John, the girls and I have discussed planting trees in memory of both Johns Mum and Dad, at first we thought about a scheme in a woodland but in the end we decided on planting two apple trees here. John said it would be good to be able to see the trees whenever you went past them and also with apple trees you would get something back from them in a few years time. So I have ordered the varieties Greensleeves and Rosette, we had a greensleeves apple tree at our old house and the apples were plentiful and tasty, the Rosette is a new one on me but it apparently produces pink apple juice which will be pretty 😀
Saturday: Gaps again, sorry about that but really not much has been happening, the weather is awful with what seems like constant rain and indeed we have a mini lake back in the paddock and the hay barn has water on the floor. I haven’t been doing much in the way of anything, where I was all geared up to get ready for the festivities this cold and sinus thing has cocooned my thinking, I can’t hear much other than ringing in my ears and muffled noises, it’s surprising how debilitating that can be. John has now finished for the Christmas break so he will be here doing a few jobs, at the moment he is re stocking the wood pile out the back to keep us going over the holidays.
This afternoon we have our family Christmas get together, last year we did a full on four course roast dinner for around 50 people, this year we have decided to do a buffet lol. The men, of course, were heard to mutter and moan that they wanted the roast but most of them put absolutely no effort into helping achieve that and so they will have to put up with what they get this year 😜
A lovely time was had by all we feasted and made merry. I received what I think will be one of my all time favourite gifts from one of my Sisters, a hand made plaque with meaning 😀
The rain has been relentless again and we have water standing everywhere but it’s not really affecting us overall so I am not going to worry about it.
Today’s plans are mainly for us and not for the farm so I will finish this earlier than usual and hope you have an excellent week.
frieslandfarm (flowers) 