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| George, Meg and William beach running |
I can appreciate just how much a headache organising something like the Olympic Opening ceremony would be but Seb Coe and his cohorts have
it bloody easy when compared to the logistical nightmare which is the organising of the home population during our 6 day rest break to Sitges in early September
I am presently surveying the blueprints of my plans;-
They are spread all over the kitchen table!
1) George will be having the best deal. He has been booked in with my sister for the duration, so will be pampered within an inch of his Scottish Terrier sensibilities TICK!
2) Meg and William will be boarded at a local kennels together as Meg is a sensitive little soul and needs the company of someone she knows..... The tariff is 15£ a night which isn't that bad compared with the boarding coast of a guinea pig which is 5£! (5 QUID FOR AN ANIMAL THE SIZE OF A POTATO!!!-P L E A S E !)but the cost is compounded somewhat by the fact that all kennels demand the kennel cough vaccination-- another trip to the vets! TICK!
3) Neighbour Mike has been offered the single responsibility of the Blind Rooster Cogburn who has to be lifted in and out of his run everyday and hand fed with grain and water ( when I say hand fed, he needs a few fingers tapped into his feed bowls so he can locate his food !) TICK!
4) Neighbour Carol will be calling in to feed Albert TICK
5) The Hysterical Indian Runners, Carol and Polenta and all of the turkeys will be taken to my friend Eirlys' farm where they will be housed safely in a set of stables TICK
6) Neighbour John has agreed to fill the water troughs a couple of times a day TICK
7) So that just leaves the hens and the geese!... ,They need letting out in the morning,feeding and shutting up safely at night ....which is a big commitment of anyone's time.......I have asked village elder Islwyn to take over this task and have offered him the "going rate" (whatever that is) to take on this job and he has agreed! TICK!!!!!
8) Individualized care plans have already been designed on the laptop and will need to be laminated ( I am serious) so they will be ready to be nailed onto each hen house and emergency animal "trouble shooters" need to be contacted so that they could be "on hand" in case of dire need
9) Do I ask the RFWF to patrol the field borders with his gun?...hum just a thought..
Off to work..let's hope it's a quiet night
3) Neighbour Mike has been offered the single responsibility of the Blind Rooster Cogburn who has to be lifted in and out of his run everyday and hand fed with grain and water ( when I say hand fed, he needs a few fingers tapped into his feed bowls so he can locate his food !) TICK!
4) Neighbour Carol will be calling in to feed Albert TICK
5) The Hysterical Indian Runners, Carol and Polenta and all of the turkeys will be taken to my friend Eirlys' farm where they will be housed safely in a set of stables TICK
6) Neighbour John has agreed to fill the water troughs a couple of times a day TICK
7) So that just leaves the hens and the geese!... ,They need letting out in the morning,feeding and shutting up safely at night ....which is a big commitment of anyone's time.......I have asked village elder Islwyn to take over this task and have offered him the "going rate" (whatever that is) to take on this job and he has agreed! TICK!!!!!
8) Individualized care plans have already been designed on the laptop and will need to be laminated ( I am serious) so they will be ready to be nailed onto each hen house and emergency animal "trouble shooters" need to be contacted so that they could be "on hand" in case of dire need
9) Do I ask the RFWF to patrol the field borders with his gun?...hum just a thought..
Off to work..let's hope it's a quiet night
Ah, don't you just LOVE the phantom white highlighting!
ReplyDeleteits gone now cro!
ReplyDeleteHow did you do that.... I've been trying to find a solution for ages... and always end-up retyping.
ReplyDeletecro highlight the highlighted area (so to speak) and click the remove formatting icon above your post box
ReplyDeleteI am totally bowled over by that photograph John.
ReplyDeleteYes, leaving animals is always a bind because you want them to be well looked after. I am lucky in that my son and daughter in law live locally and can take on the hens and the farm dog and cats. My terrier goes into kennels and yes, kennel cough vaccine is necessary - it is an awful thing to catch and very easy to do so.
Oh my goodness John ..... what a logistic nightmare to sort out. It's good that you have some lovely friends and family around you to help . It's bad enough sorting people to just come and water our garden when we go away !!. I expect you are used to it by now though and seem to have everything under control.
ReplyDeleteJust think of those lovely restful days you are both going to have in September. XXXX
This is one of the reasons I don't like to travel, and I only have four pets to worry about.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought my camping preparations were cumbersome – holy moly! You'll need that vacation just to recover from planning! (BTW, love the new photo of you and pooch in the sidebar.)
ReplyDeleteWhat you really need is a small-holding-sitter. Not that I'm volunteering mind!
ReplyDeleteCathy O-W, I was thinking the same thing! You'd be so knackered by the planning and preparation, you'd spend the whole break sleeping!
ReplyDeleteAfter all that you will be in desperate need of a get-away.
ReplyDeleteOh my, after all that preparation you will need a break. Hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThen you'll spend the week away worrying,second guessing, and imagining!
ReplyDeleteJane x
Holidays can be such hard work!
ReplyDeleteMilitary details me thinks .. it's bad enough with one dog & three cats. We had a border collie once jump the run at the kennels she was in, somehow travel the ten miles or so home to sit waiting on our doorstep on our return home !
ReplyDeleteI love the photo of George, William, and Meg.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell you're a nurse--a friend of mine is an OR nurse, and she is an incredible organizer.
I do a passable job, but i decided not to take a few days away because of the new kitten!
I was wondering if you and Chris ever get away for a few days and wondered at how you'd manage to have someone take care of the animals.
You will certainly need a vacay after sorting through all of this. We always "hire" a teenage boy to come to the farm and take care of everyone. We pay him to care for everyone/everything.
ReplyDelete...and this is why we haven't done holiday for 2 years when we only had 2 Checkerboard Aussies, but with 4? Not thinking so. Lots of planning out for you John before you even think about stepping out through your door to leave.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have gone to enormous trouble planning your animals' stay-cations. Surely it would have been far simpler to just take them all to Sitges with you! I am sure that the pilot would have been happy to accommodate them in the cockpit - suitably named for poultry.
ReplyDeleteYP
ReplyDeletethe chickens have a fear of flying long distances YP..also they hate seat belts.....
Really shows how much care you put into your livestock and pets when it takes 7 people to replace you.
ReplyDeletejanet
You'd think there would be a website somewhere organising mutual smallholding (and similar institutions) cover for people who want a week off!
ReplyDeletegood idea dominic.... that WOULD be a busmans' holiday though!
ReplyDeletethanks for the comment
It sounds like you have a good handle on it! Think you could handle the Olympics too...
ReplyDeleteI'll look after your animals. I promise I won't eat them.
ReplyDeleteWell, not all of them.
Certainly not in one go.
Maybe...
'Invaluable antiques being looked after by Tom Stephenson, so nothing left to burgle, despite telling the entire world you are going on holiday' - TICK!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely time!
enjoy the rest of the planning. And may you have a quiet shift.
ReplyDeleteYep, leaving animals is always tough. You want to make sure they are well tended.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness - hope the logistics don't get tangled and the neurotic Indian runners get to look after everything. Just imagine what you'd come home to!
ReplyDeleteGeez, it's as bad as a day away from the horses!
ReplyDeleteHope you did indeed have a quiet night, John.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope you enjoy your trip in September!
Good Grief John - I would just stay home!
ReplyDeleteSeveral thoughts (none of them worth a plug nickel, I'm sure): There ARE people who would come and take care of ALL of the animals at once, and you could leave them all home. I, for one, would volunteer, for no pay except having you put towards my airfare what you would be paying to lodge the dogs at the kennel, and pay someone else the "going rate." This is what I did for two weeks in Alaska this summer. I split my airfare with the kennel owner, and flew up and took care of a 20+ dog kennel. It was a vacation for me, and a complete worry-free vacation for her. Cheaper for both of us in the long run as well. So... next time, let me know. I've always wanted to come to Wales! (And I've experience with ALL of your animals except the ducks... but I'm sure I could figure them out and we'd be best of friends before you were home). ALSO: Kennel cough. Here, we can go to an animal supply store, Tractor Supply - where you go to buy animal feeds, fencing, tractor supplies, seeds, that sort of place, and they keep Kennel cough medicine in the store, in the refrigerator. It is a small tube that you squirt up their nose. Saves the cost of the actual vet visit, but protects them the same. Just a thought. A bit cheaper. Medicine is the same - you're just not paying the vet himself to administer it. I'm assuming, since you're a nurse, that you could handle it!! :)
ReplyDeleteI can relate...we are heading to "New" England to visit the family for two weeks and organizing the care of three dogs (Two of them Newfoundlands), two cats, three Guinea pigs (the large baking potato size), 30 rabbits, 40 some chickens, 14 sheep, two goats and three llamas has given me some sleepless nights.
ReplyDeleteFortunately we carers of animals have some good friends and neighbors to help us catch a break now and again. I, like you I'm sure, will enjoy our time away but will be aching to get back home to the furred and feathered again.
ps. doesn't sound like you did get that quiet time at work! Enjoy the Olympics.
I love the pictures of the Terriers of Trelawnyd tearing around the beaches. Gorgeous! So happy!
ReplyDeleteYes, an awful lot of planning for a short trip...