The Merc, and other things

Highlight of the day: a run, and a first time run at that, to the local car wash. 

We have a black Mercedes. We have had it for four years. Never, in all that time, has it ever been washed. In the back seat there has been two lambs, gone and got from quite a way away for a neighbour. The lambs had their feet bound with plastic tape. Blue it was. When we saw the way in which the lambs were parcelled up ready for travel, well it was a bit heart wrenching. However, there was nothing we could do except put them in the back seat and get them delivered to our neighbour as fast as possible. Upon delivery, and after their feet where unbound, they hopped and skipped away in her garden, no harm done. The little tiddles they left on the back seat remain to this day.

And then there was the two little Tamworth piglet girls, gone and got from the Charente area of France, which is about a five hour drive from here, or more if one gets stuck in a rare traffic jam, which Lester unfortunately was just after he picked them up. He had built a cage box which sat on the back seat of the car. Was not sure if it was going to big enough for those two girls, but it was. The little scratches along the door of the Merc bear witness to this work it did. 

Not to mention the endless rolls of fencing wire the car has had to carry across its back seat, nor the bails of straw which leave half of themselves everywhere. These are carried   in the back seat and poking half out of the boot. 

The Merc is not a farm car. It is a poshy car. We have been advised that it is best not to turn up anywhere in it if we want to buy something because the price will be hiked up because people will think we have  money. Ha! I wish! We didn't buy a Merc out of choice, but because we desperately needed a car and that one was the only one to hand.

The car has done a good job for us. But I have not been particularly enthused about  driving it, not because it is a horrid drive because it isn't, but because it has a bonnet and a boot. I can drive and park vans. No problem. Vans do not have bonnets and boots. They are square boxes, sort of. The Merc is not a square box. It is more a long oblong, and it has length. I bump things because of this, the bumpers bearing witness to how many times I have done this. 

Today it has to go in for its MOT. And as I was hoovering up the straw, the maize, the pig pellets, and other grains from the boot it came to me that we have not treated this car very well. It is a muck. 

So the adventure of the day was for me and my man to go into Plaisance and put our farm car Merc through the car wash. It took the two of us to do this. We haven't used a French car wash before. We were quite worried. We stood and watched. And no, the car did not fall apart from the shock of being watered, scrubbed and dried clean. Job done. Car half clean. It will take a couple of more car washes to get all the four years of grime off the body work. 

It must be white underneath. There are lots of scratches gleaming whitely against the black, but at least the doggie footprints, made by the dogs jumping up at the car, are now gone. As nearly was our young cockerel who was wandering along the middle of the lane without a care in the world as we drove up to the house. He even stopped, raised himself up, and gave a flap of his wings, just to prove what a clever and virile boy he was, and all that being done in the middle of the lane. At least we were driving quite slowly. Others race past. Hope the cockerel lives to keep our hens happy. Yesterday he did what must have been one of his first jobs on a hen. Right in front of me he did that. His dad wouldn't have. He would have taken the hens round the corner. He would not have wanted anyone to see what he was up to. But this young son of his, he has far more assurance than his dad. Hope he keeps out of the lane though. Would not want him splattered. 

Meanwhile, the goats are decimating a large chunk of bramble thicket, which is inconvenient at this time because it means we urgently have to put a fence up, the bramble thicket acting as a very good fence line up to now. They are getting plumper. Babies soon. Hopefully. 

Max the boar is waiting to get in with his girls. They are flirting with him from their side of the fence, and they are quite shameless about doing so. But he needs his tusks cut again because they are growing into the sides of his face. We have to give him a sedative to do that. Lester bought some yesterday. A job to do for tomorrow. 

The sheep are getting fatter as well. Lambs soon. And a worry. The Haute Pyrenees is the only area of France which is free from the mosquito born disease which makes lambs deformed during development within their mums. It was rife in the UK this year. Friends up in the Charente had deformed and weak lambs born this year. Down our way, none. Not yet. Fingers crossed on this one. 

So the Merc is off to visit the nice man in the garage. We could do with a good report from that nice man. Probably won't get one. Fingers crossed on this one too, although the finger crossing for the lambs is much more important. It is going to be horrendous to have to deal with this virus if it fetches up here. 

Sugar lumps. Must mention my new 'sin'. We ran out of sugar the other day. Hubs went in to the supermarket to get some. Couldn't see bags of sugar, so got a box of sugar cubes instead, plus a couple of bottles of wine, some choccie, peanuts, crips, etc. Well it had been a stressful day. Sugar lumps have joined the 'Baileys in the fridge' as my 'must haves' comfort food / drink, but only a swig, or a lump, never the whole bottle or more than one  sugar cube. 

House change around has gone well. Will post some photos up when I find the camera. 

Bye for now.....