Sexting.......and Snowy ( or is that Soay) Sheep

A year or so ago a girl I know only vaguely mentioned to me in passing that her part time boyfriend had "sext" her.
I had no idea what she was talking about and said so. So you could imagine my surprise when she showed me the said "sext" which turned out to be a most unattractive piece of his anatomy.
Yesterday, as I was baking, I listened to a sobering talk show on LBC  radio. The presenter, James O'Brien, was discussing the subject of sexting and concentrated his discussion with parents who have had first hand experience of their children's " sexting" behaviour.
I found the whole programme, riveting, shocking and terribly depressing as caller after caller shared their stories where children, some as young as eleven and twelve , had been caught sharing intimate photographs of themselves.
According to one 18 year old girl who rang the station, the practice was commonplace, with photos being bandied around the Internet when teenage love affairs broke up, as they invariably do.
Sexting, I thought, was perhaps a silly joke between adults.
I had no idea, it was a phenomen well known to school children.

The young girl who rang LBC had a good head on her shoulders for she complained that with Blackberry technology, the multitude of apps that are freely available and access to 24 hour Internet, children of all ages are bombarded constantly with sexual imagery.
Its become a norm in their fast, gadget filled young lives.

I was reminded of those child soldiers in Rwanda. Children not yet into double figures, that were " conscripted" into killing gangs as deadly and as cold blooded as any mercenary task force. These  children saw death and cruely everyday as a norm, and subsequently grew up to be twisted, cold and empty individuals.
Our children are growing up desensitised too, desensitised to porn
The imagery of sexual behaviour is everywhere.....and children now are sexualised as a result.....

Technology is a wonderful thing eh?

Anyhow I will leave you with a more positive change of subject, for Irene and Sylvia the Soay Ewes are back to their normal inquisitive and bouncy selves.

I have been worried about them when the snow really came down last Friday, for they took  themselves away to sit quietly in the shelter of the hawthorn. I took them pellets, water and hay, all of which seemed to be left untouched, as all they wanted to do was to " sit out" the snow in a rather passive and " fed up" way.

Gentleman farmer Ralph, who had been effectively snowed in up the lane for days,told me this behaviour was typical of mountain sheep......they don't like things too easy......

It's heartbreaking to hear that thousands of animals in the Welsh hills, Scottish highlands and in Ireland and the Isle of Man have been killed sheltering in a similar way from the elements.....

At least in my small corner of the world....my two girls are safe and sound

When Russians Attack...

A delightful shot of my right buttock

Yesterday, I read with some sadness , of yet another fatal dog attack here in the Uk. The dogs involved were not illegal breeds, but they were dogs that are renowned for their aggression, strength and fighting abilities.

Despite my anthropomorphic tendencies, I am a firm believer that dogs have to be under control at all times.This can be a challenge with terriers, as they are excitable and robust little characters, but I have mastered the problem by always ensuring that in public anyhow they remain firmly on their leads.

I have no time for these people that enjoy keeping big aggressive dogs that they cannot be held safely out of any doggie conflict. In their case the dog is obviously controlling the owner.

Six years ago I was challenged by a group of  house dogs. I walked into the property of our dog breeder without checking if the coast was clear, and as I started to cross a small courtyard, ten barking dogs of all denomination cornered me against a wall.

I kept calm, ( though I have never felt so frightened in my life) and stood stock still as the dogs challenged me to run. Two Jack Russell terriers led the assault and kept the whole thing " excitable" by hysterically barking up into my face while a  massive 140 lb Russian terrier leaned forward and bit me three times on the thigh and arse.

If I had panicked I would, I am sure been subjected to the wrath of the entire pack, and could of suffered the fate of many that inadvertently spark off the real "animal" in a much loved household pet, but I remained annoyingly still and outwardly calm as the dogs continued to bay at me.

It was terrifying

My salvation eventually came in the guise of an elderly airedale bitch, who walked quietly through the throng to sniff at me. I judged quite rightly that she was a benign character and so I slowly grabbed her collar and positioned her between me and the Russian terrier who was building up for another bite fest.

She saved me, of that I have no doubt, and the whole episode taught me a great deal about being "stupid" when unknown dogs were concerned....especially when there is a sign on the gate that reads "do not enter"..........

Dogs , even beautifully trained ones exist in a world that is only millimetres away from the savage......and most of us forget this........

Dazed And Confused

Bert and Ernie ( the two on the right)

Bert and Ernie the re homed drakes have had somewhat of a baptism of fire during their introduction to the field ducks. I have four hysterical female Indian runner ducks who spend much of their time screaming at the top of their lungs and running around in circles, so spending the last four days or so shut away in a confined space with them, when you have never seen a female face before, must have been somewhat nerve jangling to say the least.

Today I let the ducks out to range for themselves in the snow, and all eight tottered around together....with the drakes meekly following the runners who screamed loudly at every new mound of scary white snow like a group of confirmed virgins who have just spied their first erect willy.
Poor Bert and Ernie.....no wonder they looked somewhat bemused.

7 words

I was nursing two patients last night

One was conscious

One was not.

The awake patient  who was 'sporting a broad Lancashire accent stopped me in my tracks when I first walked up to her to introduce myself.

" You're a lad who likes his grub"

She dead panned

Succinct and to the point 

Northern Women

Economical and unbeatable 

Leave Me Alone

I have no news, no amusing story, no animal anecdotes and no excitement to report. So I will apologies first for the boring nature of this blog entry......habit and obsession does not allow me to skip a blogging day......

Sometimes you just want to be left alone.

I am working tonight, so after a few hours traipsing through the sn** ( I am not mentioning the cold white stuff as its boring the tits off me) I decided to go to back to bed for a few hours.

Given the fact that Chris is still away until later and the lane has been effectively blocked by ice, I thought things would be pretty quiet, but alas......I have had to get up three times now to answer the door to anorak covered locals in search of eggs for their late Sunday breakfasts.

And so, I got up, got dressed again ( I have had to wash my long johns yet again as I have lived in three pairs all week)....ok ok that's too much information! ....

Then me and the neighbours in an impressive show of solidarity and self help, got out our shovels and grit and attacked the ice in the road.

It was all very chummy, and after a few chorus' of " Hi ho...hi ho...it's off the work we go" and a couple of group hugs.....we had cleared much of the debris.

It is now 1pm and after a brief dog walk,me and the dogs are off for a group hug of our own under the duvet.

organic Hotwater bottles....

You can't beat them.....

Drifting

Fellow flower Show Committee member Hannah ( she of the Woolley hat) has just sent me this photo of herself ( or her better half, its difficult to tell) from Trelawnyd's sister village of Llanasa
Hey ho!

Another Day Another Snow Blog ?

Ok I was lying somewhat.....today will be part snow....part chat.......I have no news to report, except for the fact that the snow has hit home over night and we are all well and truly snowed in down our lane.
We all have provisions. ( I collected bits and bats for people yesterday) and I stocked up animal feed, so we are all sorted... But I could do without this "get cold get warm" routine as I have just started antibiotics for a bad chest.....
It would be nice to just sit on the couch with a rug over my legs......

The Cottage

William, Meg and George, who were somewhat stir crazy from yesterday's incarceration , were let out on bosom's part of the field, and ran amok like toddlers in a ball pool when I got on with the huge task of feeding and watering the animals,  each getting their own provisions inside their own houses.
It took me almost two hours to sort each out and to construct a duck run ( to prevent Bert and Ernie getting disorientated and flapping off into the drifts)
How real farmers with hundreds of lambing ewes cope in this weather , bugger only knows.

The geese, I could let out with an extra watering bowl 

Whilst just in the distance you can make out Sylvia and Irene 

Hiding away next to the far hedge.

I took them water and feed and left them to it.

By 9 am I had had enough, so it was time for coffee. Later I will need spread dry clippings on the floor on each coop and house, not the nicest job as each resembles and smells like a general public urinal.

At least the dogs seem to have enjoyed themselves

Stormy Weather

The driving snow has almost blocked off the lane just down from the cottage, and already this evening I have helped dig out two foolhardy people who thought it was a good idea to take a short cut home.

The animals are all safely locked up inside their houses and the Ewes have taken themselves off to lie down in the shelter of the hawthorn hedge on the South side of the field. I have just taken them a bucket of feed and some apples, which they bolted down hungrily. It's a crap night to be sat on your arse in the snow.

I have only one more venture out today,and that is when I walk the dogs around 9pm. 

Then it's The Walking Dead Episode 14 in front of the fire.