Three cocks in one day and a blue hen

I have a friend who is an academic and who over works terribly! Subsequently he suffers bouts of mental exhaustion which are hugely debilitating. I am lucky, today I am totally bushed, but it is a satisfying type of tiredness that comes from being physically active!

Early this morning I took Albert and William to the vets. Albert was having his post femur fracture check up, and I wanted William to be reviewed as he is showing hypersensitivity on his skin (a sure sign of some infection lurking) Albert got the A O K and William got another course of antibiotics and steroids! Both animals were beautifully behaved in the waiting room, which allowed me to have a chat with a bloke from the wild animal rescue centre at Greenfield who was in the queue with of all things a tawny owl with a broken wing. He has an empty hen house and has agreed to take a couple of the male buffs! which was a great result.

After the vets I took all the dogs to the beach for a run then put them in the pig enclosure while I dug over the last of the vegetable patches. William knackered himself out so much (nervous exhaustion at being so close to the hens) he actually fell asleep sat up when we got back to the cottage (below pic)

I called into Rhyl to organise a replacement birth certificate (I need one for some criminal checks for the hospice bank) then picked up a load of pig food for the girls tomorrow! On the way home I called into see Eirlys (my friend who has a big poultry farm on the other side of the village)....I took with me one of the buff cockerels and she couldn't resist him.....three down just one to go!

This afternoon, I cleaned out the turkey and duck houses,walked the dogs again, then cleaned out the fire and prepared Chris' tea before the dusk chores of locking every animal up safely. Several neighbours have been calling in throughout the day (ostensibly to buy eggs but I know they all are eager to see the pigs!) All will be back tomorrow! It's amazing how many people love pigs!

My final job of the day was to "repaint" Mildred Pierce's wings. I have a unseen feather pecker bully amongst the hens and several of the "victims" have unsightly and painful looking bald patches on each wing. I have sprayed Mildred (who has been pecked the most) with antibacterial spray which she was most indignant at. I fed her with some saved worms from my digging in way of an apology.

Violin concerto

I have recently heard this violin concerto no 2 by Composer Philip Glass....and I think it is hauntingly simple and just a little chilling......

Too many cocks

Now I know I risk sounding like Charles Hawtrey but I do have too many cocks! The four "sexless" buff chicks have suddenly grown up alongside Clover and the rest of the band. In days they seem to have matured fully and shock horror......we now have three new testosterone filled cockerels to cope with. So in the buff enclosure we have five males and six females...not the best of ratios! ...drastic action is in order,
I have put advertisements up locally asked for homes but I think several of the new boys may have to be culled, which is a fact I do not relish at all Tomorrow I will separate four of the cockerels and will put them into the duck run, at least the hens will be "cock" free as it were.

I have chased up with some pre pig paperwork today (the amount of red tape before getting pigs is surprising) and have spoken to Rosemary tonight, who says she will bring them on Thursday morning. I will rename them.........their new names will reflect my liking for old fashioned names.......Nora and Gladys................

Meg asleep

Complaints

Health Minister Ann Keen said recently that some NHS bodies were not "handling complaints well enough", adding the regulation system was being changed to put more emphasis on the complaints procedure. She concluded by saying that:"Hospitals and other NHS organisations will be measured on how many complaints they receive and how they deal with them, including showing what lessons they have learned and changes implemented as a result."
This year I have worked 26 years in the NHS, and I have witnessed the public's attitude towards the health care system AND its workers change drastically over the years.
Ok, most of the changes I have seen are just a reflection of how society itself has changed; ie the slow erosion of respect and courtesy .
Tonight I have been reflecting on this as we are quiet on intensive care, and in discussion with my colleagues, I remembered an occasion when as ward manager I found a visitor lying on a made up bed in my ward. The visitor was a woman in her 20s. She was watching tv, shoes on the bedspread not a care in the world.
When I asked her to get off the bed she spat out "who the fu*k are you?" in front of other visitors,staff and patients. My reply, though not filled with expletives, was equally angry and direct......and I was happy to report that the creature slouched off the ward with a bit of a flea in her ear!
That woman did not as I recall make a complaint against me, but occasional complains do surface from time to time ....I am confident that my maturity and managerial experience can field most gripes...but there remains a growing underclass in this country that feel they can expect the impossible from an increasingly desperate and over stretched health service.
I still enjoy aspects of nursing. I am still good at what I do....but
I find it a little sad that people like that woman on the made up bed...now feel that the system (ie us) owe them everything......and show no awareness that they in turn should give something back to their community.

This underclass and their destructive and selfish behaviours makes me worry so very much for the future

Allotment open

I have been day dreaming today about the 2009 allotment open day. Last Year's event was a great success (even in the torrential rain), so this year I want the whole thing to be bigger, better and hopefully drier.
We are going to open it up to the entire village this time and I think that we will organise an all day "open" on Sunday July 5th.....thus preventing bottlenecks of old ladies at the tea tent..
Janet and Chris will be in charge of tea and cakes again, Ann and Polly (Hazel's daughter) will be on the gate and produce stall. Practical Geoff will be conscripted into a managerial position and the village ladies can be put to work providing cakes for the afternoon.I have yet to think of some activity for my brother-in laws and Hazel but leave it with me! I am starting on making the bunting next week...how gay is that?
This morning I have edged the vegetable plots but the rain has put paid to more activity.Below is a photo of Mildred Pierce and one of the black hookers, both have been watching me from the Church yard wall. Chris went to Church today and Canon Robert wasn't bothered about the girls' bad behaviour.....that's one in the eye for the jobsworth brigade!
Working tonight!

Nice Cinema shame about the film

I was just a little giddy going to the second night of opening of the new Prestatyn Scala. The place itself is very impressive. Ok, it has that "urban" semi industrialised look which seems so popular now, but it is shiny,new, seemingly well run and most importantly 10 minutes from home!!!
We had a nice (PROPER COFFEE!) in the cafe/bar and joined another 50 or so people (in one of the two 150 seat cinemas) to watch the dreadfully lacklustre Valkyrie (2008).
The Scala is the only cinema in Wales with a digital screen, and you can really see the quality in the print. I am looking forward in watching something a little more interesting than a story we all know the ending to!

Speaking of Cinema...Theatre Clwyd's arthouse cinema has just brought out its spring listings. Their programme is a cracking one: Blindness,the classic Ladri de Biciclette (Bicycle thieves),the French drama Entre Les Murs, the violent Italian gang film Gomorrah, Far North, and the sellout documentary about 1960's Liverpool Of Time And The City.
Can't wait!!!

Farmers & bantams

There is one thing that is quite impressive about farmers and that is their natural ability to complete a job, quickly and on time. This afternoon all we had at the bottom of the field was 20 fence posts...now, a couple of hours later we have a fully tensioned pig fence, a functioning gate and the old duck house set up on sleepers 150 yards from where it was situated this morning.Steve (far right) and the ever cheerful Gary got stuck right in with the work, as did the fat faced farmer (left) who very kindly gave me all the wire fencing for nothing as well as giving up his afternoon to teach us all how to use the fence tightener. Gentleman farmer Ralph (centre) called in again to check on the quality of the fencing and brought me some metal hinges to hang the gate. He also exhibited neighbourly kindness by offering me a water feeder for the pigs for nothing.
It was a great joint effort and was rather fun in the end, which surprised me as I don't find all male company an easy thing to deal with.

The pigs will be delivered sometime next week, complete with DEFRA documentation.
I have decided to change their names...........I couldn't quite cope with Betsy and Daisy


The baby bantams and buff chicks have finally been dragged kicking and screaming from the garden shed, which now resembles the shambles of a teenage party (the sort you used to have when you were 17 when your parents were on holiday).....They were shy and quiet at first but soon settled down in the little ark. I have put them and their run inside Rogo's run.
As the toughest cockerel, I am sure he will protect the little ones much better than the diffident Stanley.
I am sore, tired and aching, but it has been a good productive day.