I couldn't keep away

I am at Terminal 5, and am awaiting to go through to departures. Sorrel has had no sleep last night due to the excitement, and is slightly dehydrated because of travel nerves! hey ho!
We had a lovely meal with Nu last night, but there were a great deal of tears after Chris had retired to bed, which was power for the course. I cannot believe it is only three months or so since Una died.
We finally got to bed at 2am, and I was awake and up at 6.30 this morning.

I hope, I will be asleep for much of the 11 hour flight

See you all soon

We will be back around the 5th of May, so God willing, the everyday diary of a boring middle aged menagerie owner will resume then..... bet you can't wait
If I get the chance I may post a blog from California, but don't hold your breath

Pre Holiday Checklist

Yes, I have definitely gone to the dogs! and no it's the way I am standing that makes my gut look like Shelley Winter's midriff-honest!!!. (Mind you a trip back to weightwatchers after our hols may well be in order!)
Today I have strimmed the field from top to bottom in readiness for Richard to take over animal cares! and the whole place looks nicely neat and very tidy. Patiently Richard has ignored my patronising teaching methods and has fed, watered and cared for all the animals without complaint. He has put up with a feisty attack from the buff cockerels, the hysteria "NEW MAN!!!! IT'S A NEW MAN!!" reaction from the runners and several benign sexual advances from an untidy moulting Boris
There seems an awful lot of work to do! Blanche remains broody and still has to be "sin binned" throughout the day, Elizabeth the broody Buff, still needs to be taken off her eggs twice a day and forced to eat and drink and Susan still needs TLC in her hospital coop! The sick girl has eaten something today....would you believe she actually munched a large piece of uncooked pastry!
This afternoon I have made more pastry for her and have wrapped it in cling film ready for Richard to treat her. She still looks dreadfully ill, I doubt she will survive until we get back from San Francisco.
Poor Richard.......he will be having poultry nightmares when he finally returns to Kent
On a happier note, the ducklings are all doing remarkably well. I put them into the field for most of the afternoon. where they spent the time screaming to themselves!-daft buggers!

We are going to London tomorrow and will be staying with Nuala overnight before meeting up with Sorrel on Thursday at Heathrow. It will be my first meeting with Nu since Una's funeral. I can't wait to see her!....I am probably more "excited" at catching up with her than I am at the prospect of flying to San Fran!

Mind you...with this Swine Flu scare going on......will we actually get to the U.S.?

Watch this space

Golden Girls---Best of Dorothy

I used to love the Golden Girls! Four Gay men trapped in four middle aged women's bodies I always thought..........(Especially the amazing Bea Arthur who died only a few days ago )
I finished all the cooking for Richard this morning, completed most what I needed to, and fixed supper for Richard and Chris when they arrived at pm......
tomorrow is hen care teaching day! hey ho

pies

I am writing this blog very late on Sunday night. I have caught up with the field jobs after a very long day at work, walked the dogs and have made a large savory flan and apple pie for Richard to hopefully enjoy later in the week.
Tomorrow I have absolutely tons of jobs to do. There are more "Richard meals" to prepare for the freezer, the over long nettles need strimming on the allotment before they get too unruly and all the coops will need cleaning before we go away. If Blanche has been sin binned enough, then the large cage needs to be cleaned and set up in the shed ready for the ducklings to be set up. They are only three weeks old and still need the warmth of a lamp until their feathers start to grow.
All the water butts require filling and every enclosure's bird feed needs bagging up and labelling to make Richard's job easier. Laundry and house jobs can be fitted in around a doctor's visit and shopping.
I have drunk too much diet coke, so am writing this watching an ok film The Interpreter (2005) on tv. I need a good sleep

State of Play

Despite looking shopworn, over weight and rather slobby,Russell Crowe gives his performance as Washington hack Cal McCaffrey in State of Play , a sense of purpose and a definite lightness of touch. Crowe clearly has moved from action leading man to character actor, but the irresistible twinkle of the eyes still flicker from time to time in this intelligent and well crafted political thriller, so much so that I almost forgave him his worst hair cut in recent film history.
The rest of the cast support Crowe ably. Helen Mirren turns up, and swears a lot in a Prime Suspect-ish way, Robin Wright Penn has an effective but all too short role as a wronged congressman's wife and relative newcomer Rachel McAdams balances Crowe's authority and confidence as a newbie journalist blogger.
I gave the whole thing an enjoyable 8/10

Slutty Blanche

This morning I am waiting in for the lady to collect the unwanted cockerels. Finally the rain has come, which has been welcomed greatly, as my seedlings are all in need of some watering.
Blanche remains broody as hell, so has been "sin binned" as promised. As you can see , she is not in the best of condition at the moment, as she is half way through her annual moult, and this moulting takes a great deal out of hens physically, so much so, that they can sometimes deteriorate health wise as well as stop producing regular eggs!.
Sitting on a clutch of eggs whilst in this condition would probably finish her off (Blanche does not eat or drink well when incubating)
Richard (Chris' dad) is arriving on Monday for a crash course in animal care.Not only has he the hens to watch over, he will be looking after the scotties and Albert, as well as the pigs, ducks,ducklings and turkeys. The broody Elizabeth sat heavily in her rabbit hutch could well be a little labour intensive, as she has to be gently taken off her eggs three times a day to feed and water, so bless him, I suspect he will be more than knackered when we return.
I am very grateful for his kind acceptance to "babysit" as having a group of people coming in to check on the stock often results of something being missed, and with ducklings and broody hens that could well result in the death of an animal.
I am working all day tomorrow, so will have a cooking day on Monday, to ensure that Richard will have a ton of homecooked pies and puddings to munch on..it's the least I can do.

Music to cloud watch by

I listened to this beautifull piece of music when having my five minute cloud watching moment.......today I was joined by Mildred Pierce rather than Boris.......I think he doesn't like the cello