I Assumed He Knew What He Was Doing

I've just been out to close in the hens and their shed appears to be on fire! Thankfully it wasn't.

I spoke to Hannah.

Do you realise he's got a bonfire going a metre from the hen house?

Yeah. I assumed he knew what he was doing.

Bert spoke to me.

Why are you taking pictures?

So if the hen house burns down I can blog about it.

Sure, what do you know about bonfires?

Not much. I've little experience of them. It wasn't me burned down next door's garage*.  Anyway, stop adding stuff to it.

I thought you wanted this area cleared.

Me? Not really. Think of all the poor wee invertebrates dying in there. They thought they were living their best lives. 

That stung. I could see the look of regret on his face. He'd forgotten about the beetles and earthworms etc. I was nearly sorry I'd brought it up.

Anyways, I decided not to close the hens in after all, just in case.

A Postscript

* For fear of retribution Bert did not admit that sixteen years ago, on a very windy evening a stray ember from one of his bonfires might well have blown over to the derelict property beside us. It might have settled in the eaves of the garage (stacked with empty and half-empty paint tins). Maybe there was an old bird's nest in there, that caught alight,  maybe it dropped to the floor, found some dry timber, started a blaze.

Doesn't matter now, especially since that garage has since been demolished by a passing vandal with a mini-digger. We'll never know. It's a mystery.

Now there are rumours that the property has been bought by a developer in which case we might eventually have close neighbours. Ugh! Bert says,

You never know. They might be the best neighbours in the world. 

Frothy Goat Deity

 Happy Birthday, Zoë. 

Conversation with Martha at the supper table.

Granny, remember how your cakes used to be like biscuits?

I do. I remember you telling me so.

How come they're not flat any more?

Your mother told me about baking powder.

Previous birthday cakes that demonstrate varying levels of flatness.

Tired

I have just got out of bed and am still feeling tired

Such a busy, busy week but not so busy to justify having to go to bed at 5 o'clock on a Sunday evening. The weariness had come upon me an hour earlier and by five o'clock  I just couldn't take it anymore. It had been a very pleasant afternoon doing some light gardening chores, seed collection, watering tubs and cutting back perennials. Then exhaustion hits. Is this it? I'm still in my sixties and am seriously depleted of energy. 

It was a full week. I went to a wake on Monday morning. My Aunt Bernie, Uncle Shaun's wife, a strong and steadfast woman, widowed for almost 50 years.

In the afternoon  I cooked for family - then on Tuesday went to the funeral which took a full day.

On Wednesday I went to Ikea with Jazzer. we made a mistake, we should have gone straight to the marketplace. Both of us knew what we wanted - and we did not need that energy-sapping zig-zag through the showroom.

Thursday was the girls. I took them for breakfast at Middletown and spent a small fortune on things that were supposed to be breakfast food but were basically luxurious desserts. That was them. I had bacon and tomato on sourdough. Back home I had a bit of housework to do as I was expecting Leitrim Sister, her hubby and her mother-in-law (another inspirational 90-something) coming off a late flight from Corfu. I stayed up until they arrived. Odd thing for me these days as I'm usually in bed before 11pm. 

Friday morning was my Corfu visitors then some other people dropped in. I think I might have watched three episodes of the final season of Breaking Bad. That was it. I was weary.

On Saturday I took lots of butterfly pictures. Small tortoiseshell are the leading lights this season, peacocks second and red admirals are scarce. They were all feeding at a bunch of buddleias that Bert didn't sell this year. I think I'll be planting most of those in the garden, Between our profusion of nettle patches and our buddleia we are quite the butterfly haven. 

Then Bert went out for an afternoon gig in Ahoghill and I didn't. Swisser called around for a couple of hours and we thoroughly depressed ourselves talking about the state of the world and the state of Liz Truss. Did I mention that Leitrim Sister brought Gin, Tracey brought Port and Swisser Prosecco? Bert asked, 

'D'ye think people think you're a lush?'

I did not respond.

Later on, I drank some port, finished watching Breaking Bad and started watching El Camino.

I finished watching El Camino this morning. I wonder if it is Vince Gilligan that exhausts me so?

15 Years Ago - Rosie & Pearlie Got Sore Paws

Between one thing and another Bert has had a tough week. There has been a lot going on with Pearlie (she broke her wrist) and we’ve been trying to get more help from social services. On Friday, between arranging to take Pearlie to A&E and meeting with her social worker, those dirty, rotten, scunging devil-dogs gave him the slip for the first time in a fortnight. We do try to keep them from running off but they know when we’re distracted and pick their moment well.

About three hours into his hospital sit, Bert got a phone call from Alber’,

Your Paddy is running about the Lisnahuncheon Road and he’s that black with glaar you’d hardly know it was him!

There was nothing Bert could do until he got home. He went out as soon as he’d eaten and managed to gather Paddy up but Rosie was nowhere to be seen.

Paddy was in a really funny mood. He didn’t want to get into the van and when I got a hold of him he pissed himself.

We waited patiently for Rosie to return. Bert had to go out and at 8pm I set off to look for her. Up the Loan Hill, Killyless Road, Lisnahuncheon – I called for her until I was hoarse but no Rosie.

When Bert got back he went out too but wasn’t able to find her either. I was really worried thinking that she might have been hurt, or shot, maybe put her shoulder out again – something must have happened to her.

Next morning I was out again, mainly checking the roads in case she’d been hit by a car. I brought an old towel with me to wrap her in if I found her body.

At 8.30am Bert went out. Fifteen minutes later I heard him coming back. I knew he’d found her but whether dead or alive I didn’t know. But as soon as I saw him get out of the car and head for the boot I knew she was alive. His body language told me.

The poor bedraggled thing had caught her front paw in a snare and had lay in a hedge the entire night. Bert returned to the place where he’d found Paddy, walked into a field and went straight to her. He said she wagged her wet, scraggy tail when she saw him. In took a while to get the snare off but amazingly her leg wasn’t too badly hurt at all. It was swollen but started going down within an hour. She had a feed, a big drink of water and jumped on to the sofa for a serious wound-licking session. Then she slept for the rest of the day.

She’s still resting today and has only chased the cat a couple of times.

And what of Pearlie? She’s enjoying a week’s stay in residential care. She could only get a week, and so far she says it’s not too bad. She says the food is ‘alright’, the other women are ‘a bit odd’ and there’s a man she’s got her eye on. She asked Bert if he’d mind her taking up with a boy and he said he wouldn’t as long as he was a decent sort of a boy.

An Update

 Day 35 after the first fall, 15 days since the second. I've learned that this tumbling to the ground lark is not an uncommon experience for us older folk. At the moment I've two sisters recovering from falls. Kerry Sister calls it 'timbering' as when a tree falls to the ground. Both sisters have urged me to seek out physio. I think they're right. The oul' 'pig' knee got twisted in the second cowping* session and that has (I think) resulted in an arthritis flare-up. 

It doesn't bother me that much when I'm up and about but it does keep me awake at night. I haven't had a full night's sleep for over a week now and that is horrible. I shall probably speak to my GP next week to see if anything can be done.

Apart from all that I'm happy enough, enjoying the company of young folk and the antics of Pippin the kitten and Lulu from Leitrim. Then next week, all being well, I'm having a day out with Jazzer, my first day out in nearly six weeks.

*Cowp - Ulster-Scots, fall over.

Ten Years On - Making Hay

 A post from ten years ago.

Sunshiney Day, Making Hay

At last, we've had some more fine weather. And there have been lots of outdoor activities. We've weeded and picked and gathered and sowed. And we've made hay - the old-fashioned way.

Martha is not watching Bert plant a tree. She is attending the burial of the big hen that Foxy tried to take a few weeks back. That hen was not itself for many days after the attack and although I thought she had recovered her spirits she died yesterday. Maybe it would have been better if the fox had finished her off at the time.

Later on, Martha and Judy had fun playing in the hay

Today was beautiful too. Maybe a wee bit too warm but we shall not complain. Leitrim Sister came up to stay last night and today we went to St George's Market with Zoe and the girls. Dede and I went on to Ikea and Martha came too. Amazingly I only spent £12.65 in Ikea. This austerity drive is working well. When we got back Bert and Clint were baling and bringing in the hay - the old-fashioned way, the way Daddy used to do it. A good day.

5 Things I Did Last Week

1. Got rather cock-a-hoop about how well I was getting over The Fall. And they do say that pride goes before a fall. 

2. Entertained Bert's third cousins and was such a delightful host that I may never come down from the buzz. Neither will the cousins.

3. Became somewhat despondent when three days ago I Fell Again. This time I tripped over my own Merrell Mocs and fell a rattle onto my right side. Got a spectacularly bruised toe, a slightly grazed elbow and fucked up my knee. Back on the crutch for a couple of days. Silver lining - Bert was very kind to me and admitted later that it was because this time, it wasn't his fault.

4. Bought pre-loved Merrell Mocs on eBay. The old ones, the ones I tripped over, were worn to rallops.

5. Started watching (for the second time) Breaking Bad.

Hopefully, next week, I'll be able to list ten things. Life is quiet these days.

Pippin and Fred

The very popular Pippin continues to make her presence felt at Nellybert's. Everyone likes her. Martha and Evie are delighted with her and weigh her on every visit. She is putting on those grammes at an incredible rate. And no wonder as her appetite is very good.

Hannah has her for a couple of hours every evening. Pippin is her therapy kitten, helping her to relax after complicated and stressful working days. Even Fred seems to tolerate her.

I make sure to feed them together with Fred getting his bowl first. He is the senior cat. We had our doubts about the two of them getting on, as his relationship with our previous cat was never good. Holly took against him from the first moment she saw him and that animosity continued until she died. We always knew they were in each other's vicinity when we heard the growls and hisses.

I can see that things will be different with Pippin. She is fascinated with Freddie and follows him around. I think he is beginning to like her.

Sharing a bed while keeping a respectful distance.

 

Holly and Fred really did not like each other.

Apart from catty stuff life is quiet around here. I'm still feeling the effects of the fall but am much more mobile. Yet not mobile enough to have a good go at the garden or go for a day out in the city. I'm able to potter about and carry out tasks that do not involve too much walking, kneeling or climbing. I can drive but I only feel up to short journeys. Things can only get better.