Goat news

The girlies have had their Blue Tongue vaccination; I met a friend in the pub on Monday evening, and she has a farm, with a lot of animals to vaccinate, so said she and her husband would coem along and do mine for me, after they had done theirs. Negated a lot of problems for me, and made the task much easier and straight forward, so they have now been "done". Don't think they enjoyed it much though..............:0) Now need to contact the vet and cancel my order of vaccine, but a relief it is done, and by an experienced person who knew what he was doing. About time I posted up a recent pic of the girlies - will do tomorrow. Ah - I've found one!

Busy week, flown past........

.....again. Main theme of the week was Bean's exam, GCSE English, in two papers. One exam,4 hours in total, probably not that much of a big deal for most families, but this was the first exam sat by her as a competely home educated person. She did fine, had few problems, and we are all looking forward to a good result! On the strength of a predicted pass in that, an interview and portfolio of written and art work, she has secured a place at college on a BTEC MMI (Media and Moving Image) course - I am very proud of her (yes, I've told her......:) So to all the doubting Thomases concerning home education - there you go! Now to get EJ organised - more of a challenge, methinks!

Also, was OH's birthday on Friday, so special tea of fillet steak, chips and trimmings, followed by hoem made lemon curd and cream birthday cake, chocolate and a bottle of rose.

OH and EJ are off out today at Cardiff arena, at the Monster Jam event - won't be back until about 2am; Bean and I have had Bacardi Breezer and just about to have pizza (half price yesterday in the shop!). We did a major job on the sitting room this afternoon, with a break for the village hall Fair Trade cafe in the middle - sitting room now respelndent in summer weight curtains and rug, with beautiful flowers and almost dust free, no stuff lying around and looks very nice. Wonder how long that will last? :0)

Barbara is still sitting tight on the eggs, so looking good for chicks later this month.

Next week's job is to send out the invites for the summer solstice do on 21st, so need to do some cards for that, aided and abetted by the rather talented Bean (wonder who she takes after?;) )

Today's pics are the roses I picked for the sitting room - I have always hankered after a real rose bowl, and found this lovely one down at the tip; the roses are Albertine and Zepherine Druin (the most beautiful scent, and thanks to The Plaited One* for the recommendation). Knitting is a waistcoat for me, done in lots of odds and ends of tweedy Shetland, Rowan and other yarns, in a Medieval Turkish sock pattern. The geranium is a trailing one I bought a couple of weeks ago, looks very beautiful against the green paint of the kitchen. The viola is very special - Irish Molly, the *most* beautiful bronzy/green colour - I've been after her for a couple of years, and I found it yesterday (not very cheap........) at one of my favourite garden centres locally, delighted to find it. Bonus is that it should make 3 - 4 plants if I divide it carefully.

Tomorrow's jobds are picking elderflowers and lots of them, and going to pick up a heated cupboard from Freecycle; it's been (home made) designed for a fermenting cupboard for wine, fitting 5 demi-johns, but I have my eye on it for a honey cupboard. The freshly jarred honey is put in there at a constant temperature (need to look that bit up!) to stop it crystalising and setting solid, so hopefully a useful addition to our stash and store of equipment.

It's a good life if you work at it!!

*The great Bob Flowerdew

Cherries and teacups................

Couldn't resist the cherries or the teacups!!

On this day...........

Thomas Hardy was born in 1840; I live amidst the countryside he wrote about, here in Dorset, and enjoy seeing the Hardy room every time I visit the County Museum in Dorchester. I love Bockhampton, where he lived in the house that backs on to woods; have read most of his books and poetry and a lot of biographies and other works on him. I haven't visited Max Gate yet, but will get there one day.

Overlooking the river Stour

The swallows flew in the curves of an eight
Above the river-gleam
In the wet June's last beam:
Like little crossbows animate
The swallows flew in the curves of an eight
Above the river-gleam.

Planing up shavings of crystal spray
A moor-hen darted out
From the bank thereabout,
And through the stream-shine ripped his way;
Planing up shavings of crystal spray
A moor-hen darted out.

Closed were the kingcups; and the mead
Dripped in monotonous green,
Though the day's morning sheen
Had shown it golden and honeybee'd;
Closed were the kingcups; and the mead
Dripped in monotonous green.

And never I turned my head, alack,
While these things met my gaze
Through the pane's drop-drenched glaze,
To see the more behind my back . . . .
O never I turned, but let, alack,
These less things hold my gaze!

June...................

Definitely summer, but has been for a couple of weeks to my mind, but that's just me! Well, June is here, not long until the longest day now; garden is going great guns, lots of wildlife about doing their thing, huge amount of flwoers intt he garden, everything being as it should.

Pottered yesterday instead of going to the Guild day and spreading germs about - Bean and A coped admirably without me, I understand, so that was good. Bean did a mini workshop on designing a warp in the Fibonacci sequence (sp?), which was quite interesting - wonder if you could apply it to knitting? Spent a pleasant hour outisde with a cup of coffee and several boxes of seeds; now very well sorted into coming up to sow time, and put away for next year, with a few that need to go in today, mainly flowers to fill gaps and help the veg along. Tasted the first gooseberry, still a way off, but plenty of elderflowers at their best now, so need to harvest somem this afternoon, and cut down the encroaching nettles from the hive. thinking a lot about Barbara Kingsolver's book, inspired to get some meat chickens up and running, so will hopefully collect the coop tonight and get the broody hen moved and installed. Looks like a very good crop of blackcurrants on the way, and still lots of rhubarb to pull, first sweet peas almost there, and first flowers on new potatoes, squashes and pumpkins romping away, tomato flowers all over the place. I need to get the ornamental gourds out before they take over the greenhouse! Lots of salad leaves for picking, and the broad beans are starting to set; seeds of kohl rabi, red cabbage and cavelo nero now through, so will need pricking out this week, and mroe cabbages to sow and go in to the beds; spring cabage probably ready for cutting, a little late, but they've done well for me. Beans unslugged so far, which is good, the black runners are ready to go out too. It's all go......

Sumer is icumen in,

Lhude sing cuccu!

Groweth sed and bloweth med,

And springeth teh wude nu.

Anon, c 1250