superman

Pug of steel

The Secret Life Of Cats

Sometimes the BBC produces a little nugget of quality and interest. Last night the old flagship documentary series Horizon in conjunction with The Royal Veterinary College aired their findings of a week long study in the personal habits of 50 cats living in the picturesque Surrey Village of Shamley Green.
It was a fascinating watch. The cats were all fitted with GPS tracking collars and many others with miniature cameras , and whilst their owners were blissfully unaware, the little devils got up to territory battles, the stealing of food ( apparently a common occurrence)  huge ranging behaviours and secret double lives .

The different patrols of the village cats

I know Albert has a secret life outside the cottage. He kills and eats rabbits and mice, and so can go days without demanding food from us, but I suspect he also could be a food stealer from another cat's house, as he is rapidly putting on weight during his fifth year with us.

I would love to know what he gets up to.

It won't come as a surprise to anyone when I say that I am basically a " dog man", in nature. But having said this, I absolutely adore Albert.

The only survivor from a litter of six( the other kittens were all killed on a main road after being abandoned) Albert was rescued by a woman with two staffy dogs for a month before being taken in by the local animal rescue. From there he came to us., a tiny scrap of a black kitten who was not in awe of a bunch of dogs.

Albert has turned into a handsome, and very careful cat. He is close to us and to the dogs of course ( he is particularly fond of George who he will rub faces with all day long) but he will not approach neighbours and friends in their gardens, even though many will tempt him with the odd titbit.

His aloofness has made him a figure of speculation and discussion amongst the locals.

This morning, after his lie in with the dogs on the bed, I caught him striding out on his morning patrol .now I was all fired up after last nights documentary, and so I thought I would follow to see what he got up. 

Albert, popped next door and made his way through the hedge to another neighbour's garden when he took a long drink from their  pond. I crept down the lane and almost doubled up in a crouching stance  I watched him make his way into the sheep field. 

I didn't see a local farmer slow his pickup on the lane at first. But did feel a bit of a tit when I caught his quizzical stare as he caught me peeping gently over Mike and Viv's garden wall.

" I 'm spying on my cat" I called out in way of explanation

" That's nice" he said ,shaking his head.

I forget I am 51 years old

Albert having his lie in this morning

Do You Fancy a lookalike?

A few people have commented that I look like a scruffier Russ Crowe ( see yesterday's blog) Apparently it is a common psychological phenomenon to pick a partner that looks a little similar to yourself.....
Could this be true?
You decide

Bosoms in the wet

My bit of the wall ( left foreground)

The north side of the field is enclosed in part by the old church wall. The whole thing is in a dreadful state of repair , so a year or so ago, I was taught to repair a ten foot part of it which had completely fallen down. I actually loved learning a new skill, but the work took ages and a great deal of effort to complete, especially as there is always 1001 things to do during the summer.
Now the rest of the wall now needs a facelift, so today I have spoken to a Welsh conservation group that may be able to help me complete the job....so here's hoping.
From what the woman said....I am just one of many asking for help.
Anyhow Today we have had the first proper rain in weeks, and finally "Bosoms" has taken its first, and much needed drink. I braved the wet and planted out squash, cabbage and courgettes and was just puddling in some leeks when I spied a lady in the churchyard.
The young woman was obviously weeping. She was standing by a grave and had what looked like a bunch of small yellow flowers clasped in her hands, which she held tightly beneath her chin
I turned around and  walked slowly away from Bosoms and the graveyard, it is a habit I have gotten into when someone looks distressed or grieving .

Sometimes a  graveyard needs to be a very private place

Bosoms in the rain

Crowe's Back

Now I would not normally waste my time on a super hero movie

But I have just noted that Mr Crowe is playing Superman's Daddy in 

Man of steel

Bless.....he still has a certain something me thinks

And with floppy hair too!

Grrrrrrrr!

Outwards not Inwards

When you get to a certain age, I think that it is a fairly common phenomenon to feel that you want to put something "back" into your community.

I have a friend that wants to train as a magistrate. Another became a school governor. My sister organised a community Flower Show when she approached middle age and my father threw himself  into Prestatyn Town Council life with a gusto when he was in his forties....

Perhaps it is a time when you start to look outwards?

Or it could just be that for many middle age, is a time when kids fly the nest

Whatever the motivation

All I know, is that it happens.

Tonight I go to an " open evening" for volunteers at The Samaritans . I had an interview at our local branch last year, but missed the induction because of work, so I was pleased that the powers that be remembered my application and asked me to attend the workshop tonight.

What is the motivating factor for this seemingly altruistic change of direction , I hear you ask? Well the answer may surprise you.... It's not a throwback to my psychiatric nursing days... It's not ( and I am sure about this) just a " look at me...what a lovely person I am" kind of moment....it is , in fact, just a logical step for me to utilise some established skills and give something back to a society which to my slightly cosseted sensibilities, can look occasionally very bleak indeed.

A couple of hours " work" a week.....is nothing much to ask. ....is it?

Wool.........and making advantage of a turkey's sexual deviancy

Irene and Sylvia have almost shed their dead winter fur and are revealing their summer chocolate brown fair weather coats. After being instructed that the wool is expensive and is much sought after by serious knitters, I have been collecting it for weeks now.
I just need to know what to do with the soddin stuff

 

I have two lots of chicks which are maturing nicely under their respective mothers 

Denzel is the only miniature cockerel survivor of the fox attack from three weeks ago.I suspect he was not big enough to warrant a spare bite. 

Bingley's arse wound is looking mighty fine. I have formalised an interesting way of checking on the puncture wound as I take advantage of his sexual attraction for my crocs. I place them on the grass, give him a little time to to get all worked up about them, and when he is " all hot and bothered" I can sneak around to give the puncture wound a craft squirt with the antibacterial spray

Cooling Towers

Regardless of where you stand regarding the environment, I suspect everyone will enjoy this rather understated and clever advertisement .I love it when ideas like these come out of left field and I wish that I could be as creative and innovative in how I look at things.