Meat

Up all night with indigestion. Didn't really eat that much meat next door - the pieces were minuscule so it's possible it might have appeared as though I was being greedy - so put it down the quality of the butcher They went to.

The kitchen Goo has turned out to be tiny black wriggling things which She actually feeds with meat. My meat. They all latch on to it and when She pulls it out of the water it's gone pale and greyish. Fascinating, though I can't say I am interested in the meat when they have had first try. I could spend hours just watching them. (No chance of making friends as She has put a tight cover on after that embarrassing time when it all fell on the floor and the bowl smashed.)

Warm Welcome

I may be a kitty of superior breeding and intellect but I simply Do Not Understand Them. After all the attention yesterday She went completely off the wall when I had a DB. Was pushed back out into the garden most unceremoniously. (And it was a tad painful too.) So went and sulked in TB's garden. There at least I am always assured of a warm welcome.

Very warm as it happened as They were having a BBQ. TB has the most appealing brown eyes - (Made a mental note to learn how it does it) - and got lots of delicate bits as the meat was prepared. To be fair I got almost as many. Must be the way I wave one slim white paw in the air and open my pretty pink mouth soundlessly.

New Style

He and She bought me a brush yesterday. Glorious! The sensation of being stroked and scrubbled with it far exceeds most things I enjoy. And the pile of white hair was of monumental proportions when we had all had enough. (Dusty too.) Felt like a new kitty I did. So went straight out to complete the job They started by having the Best Ever DB on the old bonfire. Came back about 20 minutes later and when She saw me She screamed a little. Must be my wonderful fresh appearance.

Dust in Various Places

Daughter is currently away so have taken to sleeping on Her bed as I miss Her. A neat little grey circle is appearing on the duvet where I nest each day. Must be the result of these glorious dust baths. (Noticed that He & She were commenting on my appearance last night.)

Went to have a DB this morning but it was full of Fredettes which had had the same idea. With all of us using the same patch the dint is getting deeper by the day. Sat and watched for a while - and moved away a bit as one of them was shooting earth and small stones in all directions. (Had never before seen the under-side of a live Fredette. Not a nice sight. Slightly balding with lumpy skin of a Very Funny colour.) And as I sat and waited, breakfast strolled across in front of me. Took it into the kitchen and left the remains neatly under the oak table.

More Dust and a Black Mess

WOW and WOW again! These dust baths are Heaven! Don't think She is pleased about it though as Myself leaves a dusty trail everywhere I go. Had summer sheets on Her bed. Pale colour was not improved after I slept there yesterday.

Surprised a little Fredette which came to join me on the old compost heap. Went straight up in the air when it saw I wasn't a chicken. Oops. Found itself a spot in the ash from His bonfire. Shall have to try that myself later today.

The Kitchen Goo has turned into a black, heaving mess on the surface of the water. ??? Would go investigate but She has put a tight lid on top.

Dust Bath

Has just realised why the chickens and Fredettes roll in the dry earth so often. Has had me intrigued for years. Tried it Myself yesterday - In absolute privacy behind the beech hedge where He had an old compost heap. 'Tis sheer and utter Joy. Rolled for ages until I heard Him coming out. Not sure why He sniggered when He saw me strolling down the path though. Must have been looking at something else.

Cobwebs

Went out to one of the sheds He did and returned with a big stick, end covered in bits of spider webs. Pulled them off bit by bit and hung them around the front of the house - on the old water pump, window frames, bushes..... Then made Himself a coffee and sat down to wait. 30 seconds later the long-tailed tits arrived and started helping themselves. Was wonderful to watch. After a while She came and joined Him. (Still a little pink but no longer the red tomato colour.) Not as charming as the tiny birds though.

Quite Pretty and Enchanted

Ah now. They returned from their early start late in the afternoon. Sun burned. Extremely. Top of His head where there is no hair is very red. She is the colour of an over-ripe tomato in face and neck. And neither is happy. Very sore in fact. Quite pretty in a funny sort of way though. Surely this cannot have been why they went out for the day with all those boxes?

Passed a delightful hour or two watching long-tailed tits from the living room window sill. Couldn't make out what they were doing for a long time and suddenly realised they were collecting spider webs to line their nest. Would fly up to the window and land on the wood between the panes, tails spread out and wings fluttering. Then try to catch beakfuls of cobweb. Had no idea at all I was about 1 inch away. Had never seen one from underneath like that before. Enchanting.

Emulated TB and caught a baby bunny. And ate it. When She came down to make the morning coffee She trod in the remains and was Not Pleased. Got bits of fur and part of an ear stuck to Her foot.

?

Heavens. They got up and went out at a disgustingly early hour this morning. Car full to bursting with boxes and bags.

Why?

Baby Bunny

To everyone's utter amazement TB actually caught a rabbit. Very small admittedly but a bunny nonetheless. Trouble was TB had absolutely no idea what to do with it: Paraded around its garden with this damp furry thing hanging from its mouth, wagging at the other end like mad, but that was as far as it went. Finally decided to woof and of course when it opened its mouth the bunny fell to the ground. Lay there, all wet and slobbered on, and suddenly woke up and ran away. Quite surprised me it did. Gave chase but it disappeared into the greenhouse. Made the occupant jump too. Yelled for husband who came running and the 2 of them crammed into this tiny greenhouse searching for a wet baby bunny. Very interesting to watch. And quite noisy too. Several pots got broken and the tomatoes crushed but after a while the pair of them emerged triumphant with a scarcely damaged but by now very muddy bunny in a big flower pot. To my sorrow they took it out to the allotment and pushed the pot into the brambles. Called Him to come and He shut me in the house.

When I finally got out the baby bunny had gone. Shame.

Wonder how TB caught it. Maybe it ran into its mouth when it yawned as geriatric beagles do.

Mainly Fowl

Is feeling very much better today.

Have lost interest in the goo in the kitchen since it landed on the floor and She got cross. (Though the last time I looked the little black spots had changed shape and some appeared to be doing little wriggles. Odd.)

Fred is bossing its lady Fredettes unmercifully. Allows only about 5 minutes of eating before it ushers them back out. Funny to watch them jump when it shouts and rushes at them. One of them is a tad brighter than the other 2 and jumps sideways - Means that Fred can't see it and it returns to the food for another few mouthfuls before F turns around.

The chickens are let out daily by Him. All rush to the site of the old compost heap for a dig and then gravitate towards the remains of last week's bonfire for a dust bath. Funny yesterday - He wanted them back in the pen and waved a stick and found there was an extra dusty bird. One of the Fredettes had been in amongst our chickens. Started walking along with the others and suddenly realised what was going on and erupted straight upwards in a big squawking cloud. A glorious dusty panic ensued.

Squelch

Ah. Mistake. Big Time. Had forgotten the goo bowl was balancing on the edge of the window sill and had another try at hooking some out. Managed rather more successfully than had intended and everything fell on the kitchen unit . The bowl broke and largely stayed where it had landed but the goo slithered onto the carpet. Made a satisfying squelchy sound as it hit the floor and bounced a bit. Jumped down to have a good look but was prevented by Her arrival. My rear end is quite sore where She kicked it.

Went to watch the baby blackbirds instead.

Moods and Crash Landings

They got up very very late. In a bad mood. Spent much time clearing up and being grateful they had used the Not-So-Good plates and glasses as several had been broken. (By the same idiot as let the chickens out?)

Went to see TB - They were all still in bed too so tried his biscuits again (Still just as dreadful) and came back to the garden. Suddenly it is full of baby blackbirds who are pinging all over the place and crash landing in the bushes. The parents are watching them very closely so I won't be able to make friends.

Managed to hook some of the goo in the kitchen with a delicate claw. Tried to pull it out the bowl but was surprisingly heavy. Let go just in time before the bowl fell to the floor. 'Tis now balanced somewhat precariously on the edge of the window sill.

Variations on Chickens

Interesting party last night. Lots of nice (and some not so nice) neighbours and old friends. He took charge of the BBQ with a chum. Did the usual burnt offerings to start with and then got the hang of it beautifully. Personally speaking I thought the chicken was the best but TB much preferred the pork. So many people brought wine with them that He and She won't be sober for at least a week. Re-newed my acquaintance with TWWLUTR (The Woman Who Lives Up The Road with Cowardly Mog and an enormous conservatory.)

Some idiot let the chickens out. Middle of the night He had to get up because they were making such a fuss. Was Not Pleased. Chickens ok but no eggs this morning.

Goo in kitchen just as hard to get hold of as when it was in the pond.

Thoughtfulnesses

She noticed Myself trying to reach the goo in the pond and has put some in a bowl in the kitchen for me. How thoughtful. Shall go investigate after breakfast.

He on the other hand has covered the green trays in the conservatory with a sort of netting which makes it impossible to walk on securely, let alone lie on. How thoughtful in a completely different way.

Think They are having a party today - Lots of activity in the house and kitchen and He dragged out the BBQ. Lots and lots of gorgeous meat is now marinating. How I wish She would invite me to help. Maybe, just maybe......

The Goo Is Growing

The spotty goo in the pond has grown. More goo and wider spaced spots. What is happening? There is some more like yesterday's too. Tried to reach it but every time I patted it it floated away. Sat and watched it for a while but was driven inside by the blackbird which cluttered at me non-stop. Stupid bird brain - Still hasn't realised I have absolutely no interest in its nest. (Tried to get into the bush but is too prickly.)

He turfed me off His green trays again. Must be very important to Him. Keeps looking at them, stirring the earth with a finger and watering them.

TB popped round to say hello. Since the episode of the dark pink prunus it has been shut indoors with its door flap firmly closed. Glad things are getting back to normal. Hate to admit it but I rather missed the old thing.

Goo and Green Trays

There is all this funny spotty stuff floating in the pond. Tried to catch some but it slithered away. Was full of frogs too. Need to keep an eye on it.

He has been so kind and put lots of green trays on the window sills in the conservatory. If only He didn't keep watering them they would make an elegant day bed for Myself. Could then watch the blackbirds in comfort.

Not As Good As Hoped For

'Tis now several days later. And has not been as much fun as I thought it would be:

The new fruit bushes on the allotment that smell so wonderful are rather prickly which makes sniffing and rubbing my face on them somewhat hazardous. Good for removing excess facial fur though. Looks quite pretty out there when the wind blows.

TB made a Big Mistake and dug up the new dark pink prunus He had just planted. Then He and the neighbours got slightly unfriendly because if He had mended Our fence as requested in the first place TB wouldn't have been able to push through and find the prunus. Cheerful relations are now resumed but it took lots of hammering to the base of the fence, 2 bottles of wine and some of Her best cooking. (Was allowed to help. Very tasty indeed.) They used the conservatory because of the smell in the house.

And now for that rat under the cupboard in the Music Room. Has been found. And disposed of. At last. (Can't think how They couldn't have found it earlier.) But the smell lingers and She is Not-At-All happy about it. Has been burning candles, using room fresheners and leaving doors and windows open all day. Can't understand how, but for some reason it is All-His-Fault. So He has been spending every evening out on the allotment burning things. Including the rat.

Good Smell, Bad Smell and a Happy Beagle.

All is smelly. Exceptionally so.

TB is still happily looking for the baby rabbit that escaped yesterday. Sniffs and rootles around without any luck, but is very waggy about the entire proceedings.

They went out to a garden centre yesterday. Arrived back with innumerable new plants - Including a nice little prunus with dark red flowers. I helped Her plant it in the border and helped a frog find a new home when we disturbed it. (Frogs taste nasty but are great to play with. You never know which way they are going next. It found the pond before we had had much fun. Shame.) He has put several more fruit bushes out on the allotment. They smell wonderful and I have to sniff and rub every one. Today will be marvellous.

Drains and Trains

She made Him look in all the drains yesterday to find the cause of the smell. 'Tis very overpowering. To no avail as it's under the cupboard in the corner of the music room. They went out for meals yesterday - Said She simply couldn't cook or eat in the stench. Myself too I find it offends my sensibilities. If I had thought about it I would have taken it out to the compost heap to dry out.

TB ran away on Saturday. But in a nice way. We were snoozing in Her herb bed when it suddenly lifted its snout and sniffed. Hard. Turned its head sideways a little and then took off at a gallop. Little geriatric beagle legs pounding over the newly (re-planted) onions. Earth and baby onions and floppy ears flying in all directions. Very intent on reaching something in the distance. I eventually located the something - 'Twas a small rabbit happily munching on someone's broccoli. TB was going like an express train when it reached the rabbit which made a neat sideways hop and disappeared down a hole by the fence. TB kept going and finally come to a halt when it hit some netting in a rather muddled way. It hunted and searched for a while and then came back, somewhat out of breath but rather satisfied. (Why? If I chase something I want to play with it. Or I'm hungry. Or both.)