All Change in the Chicken House
After a winter of decay, robbery and sudden deaths, we are back on track as professional chicken ranchers.
Tag: spring
Do I Need a New King?
There are flags all over the village but this is the biggest one. When it flaps backwards, the letters spell NOITANOROC. A confusing word for a strange day. Watch it on TV? Go eat soggy cakes in the rain outside the village hall? Swear allegiance? Announce that he is ‘Not Mine’ or something else? What to do?
Continue reading “Do I Need a New King?”How to Manage Food and Rats
Four years ago this kitten brought joy to the house. Now she brings havoc and rats.
Continue reading “How to Manage Food and Rats”What Happens when Covid gets into the House
It is like a degree course. Over two years we have studied: transmission and prevention, inequality and infection rates, compared lock down models worldwide, debated the politics of PPE and parties, considered mutations, T cells and antivirals, taken modules on mental health, isolation, mass grief, and changing attitudes to work. Finally, it was our turn for the third year practical assignment. ‘ A moderate dose for everyone in the house.’ Phew. Lucky to get the moderate one.
When Wine is NOT a Present
Daffodils, a symbol of new beginnings, and a reminder of the first spring lockdown. Key workers carried on while some of us got to clap helpfully, and maybe volunteer, or just panic buy wine to fuel our anxiety. Supermarket deliveries were fully booked, so that meant subscribing to wine companies. If that was you, read this and learn.
When Cupboards get Out of Control
The dreaded Blackthorn Winter. The one that ancient farmers warned us about. When the blackthorn bushes flower, spring flips back to winter with east winds, snow, wind and hail. You must scuttle back indoors, clutching your seedlings, and take up an indoor hobby like Sorting Out. There are bad scenes in the kitchen.
Learning How to Party Again
In Japan, cherry blossom is a symbol of new beginnings and is celebrated with parties under the trees. Good idea. We are bristling with antibodies so the invites went out to come and party. Would we know how? And what would we need?
March Jobs in the Garden.
Einstein suggested that time is not constant. He probably started thinking about this after a tough slow winter. One day he was glad that February was done, the next he was staring at his Camelia bush wondering where the hell March went. I know how he felt.
An Invisible Plague of Rats
It’s magnolia time. These flowers are a symbol of perseverance, which is a strong trait in rats.
How to Cope with Online Nonsense
Hyacinths and the sweet scents of spring. Google said they are a symbol of jealousy, but then it suggested power, peace, happiness, and pride, until it was all nonsense. The internet keeps spewing stuff out, but there are ways to avoid being overwhelmed.
The Last Days of Spring
This is the last bright forget me not. The rest are dropping seeds on fading bluebells. Clearing them away is like packing up Christmas decorations. The explosion of colour, that made every corner look special, is coming to an end.
