29 Years Of Dogs, Cats, Pigs, Horses and Chickens

I have had a very lively few days with hosting playdates and having Leitrim sister to stay. She returned home this morning but there was still one thing left to do. Nellybert went into town to meet some very distant Scottish cousins of his. You know I'm not even sure if they were cousins but there is certainly some connection. Bert has a very confusing family. Far out cousins were always getting married to each other and motherless children were reared by other families. Old widow women abounded and they were moved from house to house to help out until such times they became too demented and were looked after in their last house until they died. So nobody is sure who is related to who. Which is why they are always seeking each other out.

I think I prefer my kind of family where one knows exactly who one is related to and there is no need to seek each other out as we have Facebook and funerals to refresh our connections. I have over 50 first cousins and probably far more second cousins, not to mention more than a hundred first cousins once and twice removed. That is as far as I am prepared to go for it is safe to assume that I am probably distantly related to every Catholic in Ireland and a good few Protestants and Jews as well.

So, when I got home from the distant Scottish cousin thing I planted iris, aquilegia, foxgloves and some sort of blue and pink thing that Howard gave me. I cannot remember what it was called, he did tell me, but I do remember what size it would grow to and that is far more important. It got very cold for outdoor work so I planted nine broad bean plugs in the polytunnel. I'm still very behind.

And now to Flickr which is brought to you by the number 11.

The 11th most interesting photograph has featured already.

19 years worth of pets, 1,003 views

It's the 11th most viewed image on my Flickr and featured on  a blog post from 2005. Well overdue an update.

Row 1: Holly de Cat, Big Bad Fred and Rusty. All still part of the family.

Row 2: Lily, Judy and Charlie. Lily and Judy still here. Charlie broke my heart. We only had him six months.

Row 3: Jess, Roy and Plum. Charlie's departure left a space for Jess. Roy, we've had for a month but he has fitted in well. Plum, represents all the chickens. We had him for five years or more. He flew out of the hen house one morning, cleared the fence, then the hedge and was never seen again.

And lastly, Bonnie. I miss her every day.