Blog Archives

The Garden Seat

29/4/2015

The other day,
When Mum was away
And Dad was left to muse,
He went to the shed,
Scratched his head,
And found his hammer and screws.

"Look at this chair!
Beyond repair!
I need new wood and Stain would be best."
He went to the store,
Bought these bits and more
And set to work with a zest.

He measured and sawed,
Hammered and clawed,
Until the wood fitted perfectly neat.
Happy with that,
On it he sat.
"Just to paint now will see it complete!"

Mum got home from her Big Day,
About teatime roughly, I would say.
"My goodness!" She cried. "Just look at the seat!
How lovely it is!"
And she gave Dad a kiss.
"I shall sit there and soak up the heat!"

So there we have it.
A definite hit.
The bench was the object of much whooping.
'Til along came Robin
Who, when bobbity-bobbing,
Hopped on to the chair and began pooping.

The pristine Seat

pre make-over

and here comes Mr Robin!

Mum's Big Day Out 2015

28/4/2015

I could tell that given a quiet moment, the exploits of Mum's Big Day would be recounted in full technicolour. I had managed to avoid being cornered by grubbing as earnestly as a Grub Controller possibly could. I even came up with the excuse that I was drilling for oil.
"Gordon, you really can't dig for oil with a, shall we say, slightly on the short-sided implement."
It may have been reference to my beak and I felt a little affronted. There has been much excitement in the Press lately about huge oil reserves nearby, and let's be honest, it was definitely worth a try. Drongo has been sporting a quite realistic-looking Stetson that he made out of a primrose leaf.
"Now are you roosting comfortably? Pauly Dear, do stop pecking Harry's bottom like that! It is very off-putting!"

Harry annoys Pauly and Harvest at this time of the year

So Pauly sneaks under his tail as he rotates

And pecks his fluffy derriere

You can just make out her shape through his tail feathers

Here he comes again!

Still a lot of feathers to go!

Eventually we all had to sit down and listen to Mum's tale. There was no escape. We had tried.
"Well I met up with my old Buddies, Auntie Bella, Mandy and Pauline in London. It started off a bit rainy - and windy too. But by the time we got to Trafalgar Square the sun came out and it was beautiful weather for the rest of the day.

Trafalgar Square

And Yoda

We had decided to visit the National Portrait Gallery and on the way there we passed Yoda - with no feet! I tried to get Auntie Bella to have her photo with him, but she declined! The Gallery was really interesting - it houses portraits of historically important and famous British people, selected on the basis of the significance of the sitter, not that of the artist. 195,000 exhibits altogether! There was a lovely picture of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II), and her sister Princess Margaret called Conversation piece at The Royal Lodge, Windsor painted by Sir (Herbert) James Gunn in 1950. The informality of the presentation, for which Queen Elizabeth was responsible, was entirely new: set at Royal Lodge, where the family's life was informal, and at tea-time, an accessible and very British occasion. Gunn, who had been chosen by the King and Queen for the commission, recalled the difficulty of placing the corgi, moving it about on the canvas in a paper cut-out. It ended up behind the King's chair. And there was Anna Neagle and Emmeline Pankhurst and D.H. Lawrence and Flying Officer Kite."
Flying Officer Kite?
"Then we hailed a taxi! And it took us to a small and very elite Hotel in Belgravia - just a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace.

The Four of us (in the National Portrait Gallery?)

Mandy and Auntie Bella and the cakes

It is a special year you see Gordon. We have reached milestone birthdays! So as a treat we had an Afternoon Tea. Well it started with a glass of bubbly and then the cakestand arrived. Finely cut, dainty sandwiches adorned the bottom plate. The middle held an assortment of delicate cakes - chocolate brownies, carroty ones, creamy ones, sugary ones and ones with choux pastry. The top had scones on it with a pot of jam and a pot of cream."
Heeey! Now you're talking. My ear muffs raised to peak awareness levels at the mention of those morsels. My taste buds were as bursting as the cherry blossom and I decided that I would contact the Wattlebury Employment Agency to see if they need a Crumb Controller at this fine place. Mind you I'd stick to the yummy remains - don't fancy bits of leather soles.
"Gordon! Are you concentrating? Do sit still. I've nearly finished.
And we had a choice of Tea - each with our own pot and I still don't exactly know which flavour I had, but it was delicious. We took some photos. Look there we are reflected in that mirror. We are all looking different ways and holding cameras in different positions. It was very confusing. But then we tried to take a Selfie when we got outside and couldn't work that out either. Don't tell anyone that Gordon, will you."
As if ---
"And you will never believe it, but Ian Fleming lived next door at one time. "
Haa! I have read his books - 'The Man with the Golden Sebright' and 'Goldclaw'. Two of my favourites. Action packed. Yes!
"And Mozart lived down the road."
Aaah! Drongo Vanni and all that.
"Then we had to sadly say our farewells again - but there is always next year to look forward to!"
I really can't wait. Gordon xxx

So much going on --

26/4/2015

The Blackthorn in the hedgerow

I have been out and about with my little camera to capture a bit more of April. There is so much going on - growing, springing, bursting. The stinging nettles in particular are climbing two inches every day and it makes for tricky negotiating as we wend our bobbity way around them.

The Spikey Brambles are jousting from every nook and cranny

Buds and more buds ready to burst into glorious colour

A delightful clump of sleepy wood anemones

and Primroses in delicate shades

The Ash and the Oak fighting it out - as usual

A tangle of Spring in the woods

A paintbox of colour

and the April clouds hurry along

April and Beautiful Spring

9/4/2015

We have been joined by two tiny lambs at Wattlebury. Now we thought that our chicks were the most adorable babies in the universe - but these little balls of fluff come a very close second! Smoothy the Ram was very proud as he inspected his latest offspring.

The other ladies wait patiently for their turn to lamb

Smoothy proudly inspects his brand new lambs

There are baby ducklings on the pond and the birds are so busy gathering nesting material and grubs. Beryl the little Frizzle has grown a whole new body of feathers and rewarded Mum with an egg every single day for the last three weeks. She has now decided that she wants to hatch some chicks herself and Dad has given her 6 Call Duck eggs to sit on. I think Beryl may be in for a surprise!
The buds on the trees are bursting open and the hedgerows are being transformed into pinks and whites and the brightest of greens. We have had some really lovely dry and sunny days this month and the warmth of the sunshine is much appreciated by us all. The recently sown wheat in the big field is pushing through and gradually turning the brown soil green.

The freshly sown wheat makes an appearance

The Daffs at Wattlebury Cottage

The garden at Wattlebury Cottage is springing into life. The daffodils are radiant and Mum's little vegetable patch is dug over and ready to be planted out. Harvey and Honey have spent many happy hours spread out on the lawn and although we may still have some cold days this month, we are definitely on the right side of winter!

One of the best years for primroses

We think that this year has been one of the best for Primroses. They have been magnificent! And bloomed in abundance in every nook and cranny. The lilac milkmaids are just in flower and tiny violets are pushing through the brown leaves and growing tangle of grass. The brambles that looked so bedraggled and lifeless have green shoots striking angularly out from every available stem, reaching and stretching into the warm sunshine. Soon the yellows of early spring will melt into the pale mauve of mid spring and transform into the blue of late spring. What a beautiful time of the year! Gordon xxx

About Us

Hello! My name is Gordon and I am a Gold Sebright and my best friend is Sylvia. She is a Silver Sebright. We live with our foster parents on a small farm in the country. We thought that we would put our take on life and what we get up to through the year into a diary for you. All the characters are real and the events are a true record, interpreted with a modicum of poetic licence. We hope you enjoy it. Love Gordon and Sylvia

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