So .... what's different ?

I snuck back in last week to do a 'comparison' post and although I thought I wouldn't be noticed, it seems lots of you have been looking out for me ... thank you for caring  :-)

So I thought you all deserved an update on what's been happening here on our little bit of Welsh hillside since I vanished from this blog last December.  Although I have been in action in a slightly sporadic fashion over on my other blog 'Polytunnel Vegan' 

Well as you can see from the top photo not much has changed in the kitchen.

Spring has finally come to this cold, wet and windy part of Wales, with blossom on the Almond trees in Nut Wood, and also just this morning appearing on the cherry trees in the fruit orchard.

Ginger has claimed one of the dog beds as his own, usually the small one ...

... as he has found out if he gets in the bigger one the others simply pile on top of him.

I'm still saving the pennies .... in this instance by washing and reusing plant labels from last year.

Suky's diet is working well. 

She's now down from her original 12.2kg to a much healthier and happier 8.2 kg.  She would most likely love this photo, it makes her look even slimmer than she is!!

I still cook homegrown veggies from the poly and net tunnels .... only now I'm no longer a vegetarian.

I'm a vegan :-)

(As you might have guessed from the name of my other blog.)

The polytunnel is just starting to fill up with freshly sown seeds and newly turned beds. But I'm taking it slower this year as the nights have been toe curlingly cold here.

I wore out my old salad spinner and had to invest in a new one.

And Mavis has turned into the most laid back and loving little doggie you can possibly imagine.  Even being allowed off the lead on our property as long as we are close by.

So although there are some changes here, there are lots of things that are ticking over in just the same soul satisfying way.  I still don't really know if I want to come back into daily or even regular blogging, but after all your lovely comments last week, I am considering it, or at the very least popping up from time to time when there is something I feel is worth writing about.

Thank you for reading and for taking the time to send your comments.

Sue xx

Clever, Happy Sheep

Where we live there are often sheep wandering by the roadside, sometimes scary to come across as it's a fast moving A road and I fear for their safety.  But it's especially bad at this time of year when the grazing in the fields is poor and they spy greener looking grass outside their boundaries.  And after all the recent heavy rains and floods there are lots of places where the fence posts holding up the fences where there are any have all but collapsed.

For farmers busy in the midst of lambing season the last thing they have time for is mammoth fencing projects, so it's a bit hit and miss in places and we have come to expect escapees from time to time and locals drive accordingly.

The farmer that owns the field across the road from us was busy a couple of weeks ago  mending his fences, adding new posts, wires and trimming trees that were falling onto some of them.  He did a great job and all that was left for him to do was to add a new gate to the field and he would be all usable again.  We thought he must have done this last week when we woke up to find two new residents on the field ... although we thought it a bit strange that there were only two sheep in a pretty big field!!

Then when Lovely Hubby walked past there on his way to see our next door neighbour a few days later he noticed that the gate had not been renewed and there was just the usual gate sized space leading onto the main road.

These happy sheep had wandered into stray sheep paradise ....  long ungrazed grass, trees for shelter from bad weather and strong winds,  and a stream running under the trees for a fresh water supply.  But at the back of their minds they must have realised they shouldn't be there because every time a car pulling a stock trailer goes by .....

... they both look up as if to say "have we been found out ... have you come to get us?"  Then as the car goes past it's heads down and back to grazing.

To get them to look up for the photo at the top of the post .... I simply whistled from the office window ...  they are obviously very clever sheep .... which is a rarity  ;-)

Sue xx

Bless You !!

These two are spending so much time cuddling up together these days.  I keep grabbing the camera to get a shot of them, it's lovely to see.

A complete fluke ... I've never been able to capture a pussy cat sneeze before!!

Back to normal, and if I didn't have it on the camera I would never have been able to prove it ....

and I love Mavis's slightly surprised look  :-)

Reverse Advent - Day 18

A book I've just re-read.  It's really good but I doubt I'll need to read it a third time.  

I'm being ruthless.

Sue xx

Teaching a Young Dog Old Tricks - Mavis

Mavis is around five, officially of course we don't know her age and her previous owner was less than forthcoming, so we didn't press for any definitive information.  When we first took her to the vets just after she came into our lives on 31st December 2013, they estimated her age by her bone structure and her teeth, so officially on her vaccination record she is down as having a birthday of 1 January 2011.  So in a couple of weeks she will be five.

Absolutely in her prime  :-)

Having three dogs does tend to mean that they get less one to one time with me, but I do try and give them that whenever I can.  They get individual outings with me, and of course Rosy is often out and about with Lovely Hubby as she loves to ride in the cab of the truck with her Dad.  As pack leader I have been the one to train them, and whenever I can I fit little training moments into their days to keep them learning and fresh with their tricks I do.

When Rosy was young she learnt her doggy ways from Sophie our beloved Border Collie, anyone who has or has had a Border Collie knows that they are the nearest dog to a human there is.  Training a new dog with an intelligent older dog that does the command immediately it is uttered is a doddle, and thus Rosy knows as many words of the English language as it is possible for a Jack Russell to know.  

We've tried all the spelling of the words so she doesn't pick up on what we are saying when we are discussing the possibilities of a walk in wet weather.  But even W. A. L. K.  spelt quietly out means get to the door fast we are on our way somewhere exciting, as does 'should we have a perambulation along the prom', a jog round the field etc etc.   We've given up ... she knows we're going out before we do!!

Mavis on the other hand came into our lives knowing only orders, following a pack of dogs for information on what would happen next, hoping one would get it right and therefore none of them would be punished ... and at all costs to keep out of the way of any raised hand or booted foot.  

She flinches if you move suddenly, presses herself into her bed if something scary startles her, and ducks low if she doesn't understand the words leaving your mouth.  Because of this she's harder to train.   Repetition leaves her fearful, the tone of your voice if impatience leaches into it even slightly, means the end of you loving her .... in her mind .... and she shuts down.

So to train Mavis I work slowly, imperceptibly slowly, she doesn't know she being trained.

It takes me an average of one to two months to get a command into her sweet little brain so that it can stay there.  She's learnt sit and stay.  She knows that 'wait' is for her own safety and she will wait, watching your face intently all the time for confirmation she's doing it right.  As the only dog that wears an extendable lead on our paddock walks she was apt to get herself wrapped around trees when she went this way and that, so I spent over our allotted two months teaching her 'round' ...  she got it!!  She now knows if I say 'round' and she backtracks her last few steps, the lead will magically free itself from the gate post or tree and once again her freedom will be there.  She can even double 'round' and free herself from two obstacles.  I'm proud of my little girl for this trick, neither of the other two have the faintest idea what 'round' means.

I made the mistake of trying to teach her to 'high five' after reading about it being a marker of a dog's intelligence in an article .... big mistake!!  A hand in that position strikes fear into her heart and her eyes, we tried it twice ... we won't be trying it again, she doesn't need to know how to high five.

Last week she had her fastest ever lesson ....

... she learnt to wink in just five days  :-)

It was harder to photograph than it was to teach her.  

Where is she at the moment I can almost hear you asking .....

... she's on the Blogging cushion with Suky!!

While I am on the computer my two little companions in crime sit on the old dog cushion at my side,  watching to see when blogging time will be over and snoozing peacefully away until Mum springs back into action with something that will be much more interesting to them.

The next little trick we are working on is 'paw'.  I simply wait until she is sat next to me on the sofa and every now and then, just a couple of times a night, I lift her paw and say the word.  The first few times she lept off the sofa, now she is at the stage of just looking at me slightly bemused.  The other two both do this easily and have since they were tiny, and of course Rosy being the little show off she is does 'other paw' and 'other, nother paw' (three handshakes) with great gusto, Suky does it with much trepidation ... she has extremely ticklish feet, and one day very soon Mavis will join in and that will be one more trick under her collar :-)

*** *** *** *** ***

Reverse Advent - Days 13 and 14

I didn't post yesterday as I was feeling pretty yuk, just a bad cold no need to worry, but luckily I had already sorted out two things to go.  Two Christmas candle holders and a dress shirt that Lovely Hubby no longer wants.

Sue xx

Photogenic Animals

I was looking through some old photos on the computer the other day, deleting lots that really didn't need keeping and I found myself looking at photos of all the animals  .... I have quite a few (animals and photos)  ... of course not many of them were deleted :-)

I love this picture of Suky, showing of her 2 kg weight loss over the last few months.

And my Yin and Yang best buddies Ginger and Mavis curled up together as they so often are.

Rosy looking like a perfect little pooch as she snoozes on Mum's bed.

Gosh .... even Gingers rear end is a thing of beauty  :-)

I'm not quite as photogenic ..... I think I'll stay behind my cabbage for as long as possible   ;-)

Sue xx

Sheep in the Field

The homegrown stuff is coming thick and fast now, although these luscious looking strawberries are the last of the polytunnel berries for now.  The Spinach is living up to it's name of 'perpetual spinach',  between me and the chickens we are just about keeping up with it's growth, ah well better to have too much than not enough.

Once again we have Will's sheep in our paddock, just a handful this time three ewes and their four lambs.  Big, burly teenagers that are just about still suckling, but spending most of their days chewing the grass with their mums.

Suky loves them being there but this lot are not quite as friendly as the last lot and won't let her get up close or join in with the grass munching, even though she has shown willing and able and pulls up tufts of grass from a distance while they watch on ... just to show them that she does know what to do.

Rosy and Mavis are still more interested in the rabbits that run out of the paddock as we approach, diving for cover under the stock fencing and nipping sharpish into the woods, than they are in the sheep.

And walking round the field with the dogs is now a case of watching where we put our feet, or in Rosy's case looking for places that are really pooey for a good roll around in the grass.  I didn't realise just how ripe she was getting until I loaded them all into the car this morning to go for a longer walk.

Air freshener just will not cut it ... bathtime it is  ;-)

Sue xx

Saving Lives

I saved another one of these this morning, a lovely little baby wild rabbit, old enough to be away from it's Mum but obviously not old enough to know the dangers of a stalking big ginger puss.

Ginger brings them alive and kicking back to the house.  I think usually he finishes them off close by and sits enjoying his warm breakfast not far from the conservatory door.  But once last week and then again this morning his little 'takeaway breakfast' escaped from his grasp and had the sense to hide in a small place.

And for the second time I have been in the right place at the right time.  Last time I was going round the back of the house to the tap and saw he had one trapped behind the waste pipe, it was squeezed into the smallest of places and would have been mercilessly tormented until Ginger had lost patience, or dragged it out. I picked Ginger up and unceremoniously dumped him in the house with the cat flap locked and come back to wheedle little Mr Bunny from his hiding place.

That one froze and lay perfectly still in my hands so I examined him all over and once satisfied that he was intact and not injured in any way I took him to the edge of the woodland and let him go , the shocked little bunny just sat there frozen after the shock of his ordeal and the thorough examination, so I picked him up again gave him a quick warming cuddle and gently threw him into the undergrowth, this brought him to his senses and he hopped away.

This mornings little bunny had squeezed himself behind the planters on the patio and would have been yanked out pretty soon if fate and Mavis' weak bladder had not sent me out to let Mavis have a wee.  I left both dog and cat fascinated by the planters and picked up the little furry fluff ball from right under their noses, trying in vain to check his wriggling body over, but he was obviously as fit as a frightened fiddle and once on the edge of the woods he hopped away to safety.  

I came back to find a very puzzled trio of dogs and one very cross cat examining every inch of the patio pots for the obviously now completely invisible bunny.

Saving lives, especially first thing in the morning is a pretty good start to the day.

Sue xx

Dogs, Cats and Polytunnels

Lonely little doggy ....

 



 

...not for long. 

 

And no I didn't tell them to go and join her :-)

 

The last day of the month, where has the time gone, it's been a little bit puppy dominated this past week, but fear not you gardeners out there, soon all this will change.

 

The final trenches for the polytunnel are being dug this weekend and the concrete will then be ordered ready for pouring next weekend.  Then suddenly we will be in action.  Adding the hoops, covering them in polythene and getting the whole thing built and filled with raised beds and a potting bench.

 

Exciting times ahead, but for now .....

 

 

... I can't resist putting up one more animal picture.

 

She'll jump in anyone's bed ... the little hussy!!

 

Sue xx

 

Just Say Awwwwwww .....

 

If Lovely Hubby looks tired in this picture it's because it was eleven o'clock at night and he had just worked all day and then driven over 300 miles to bring me this lovely surprise

 

 

I was instantly smitten and the girls, Rosy and Suky welcomed her with just a modicum of suspicion.

 

She is called Charley and she is a second generation Chug.  Both her parents are Chugs ... that is they are Chihuahua cross Pugs .... and she is GORGEOUS.

 

A lovely little handful of puppy charm.

That whizzes around like a miniature live wire and then crashes and sleeps.  She takes every new experience in her stride and accepts everything.

 

She has come from a brilliant background.  The lovely guys Lovely Hubby bought her from own both the parent dogs and once they heard on the grapevine that there was a chance we would buy her and that we already owned a Pug, had turned down a couple of what they considered to be unsuitable homes, and kept their fingers crossed we would be tempted .... we were.

 

 

You know they care when she comes with a lovely gift bag like this ...

 

... and a matching flower for her collar :-)

 

 

Suky has gone all motherly ....

 

... and Rosy just wants her to know who's boss, but in a nice way.

 

In the couple of days that we have had her she has settled in really well.  It must be so strange for her to be away from her brothers and sisters and her Mum and Dad, and the people she has known since birth but she is coping wonderfully.

 

And after a trip to the vets for her first vaccination, she is sleeping peacefully at my feet as I type this.

 

Charley Chug ... welcome to our family ... you will be loved.

 

Sue xx