Saturday 29 December 2012

My new sunbed


...... and here I am having a lazy dozy five minutes out in the sunshine, enjoying a roasty toasty sun bathe on my new sun bed. But perhaps, as you observe my booted feet you might be wondering as to what manner of sun bed this is, and here is another look sans moi:



..... and think you that perhaps this does not resemble a 'normal' sun bed, maybe even quite similar to the base of a settee? Ahha! You are right! For 'tis indeed that, and we have just removed it from the Half Barn in an attempt to halt the frightful smell that was getting stronger and stronger by the minute, thinking that interred within its shell was a rotting creature. 

Two hours later, we deduced that the rotting creature was still somewhere inside the barn because the smell did not leave when the settee did, thus leaving me with an opportunity to have a quick laze in the sun, which is something I do not do because I have not got a proper sun bed to lie, only the ground which is a tad on the damp side at this time of the year, plus Bools and Gus think that it is jolly good fun to have me at their level and won't leave me alone, so normally I just sit in a plastic chair to enjoy the sun. Each year I promise myself that I shall purchase a recliner for the garden, (what garden, we only have fields, but a girl can dream!) but can never justify the expense because renovating a ruin is a hellishly expensive occupation, so money is always being saved for important things, and this does not include a sun lounger. 

Lester went to get his hammer. He had decided to make a hole in the plasterboard to get to the dead thing, probably a mouse. He had decided that the mouse had got through the mousehole we had found by my side of the bed just before we blocked the hole up, therein becoming interred forever and after, or until someone decided to remove the plasterboard, but not Lester, definitely not Lester, because I put my foot down with an almight thump and denied him the use of his hammer, at least in the Half Barn. He wailed and carried on, but the hammer was denied him. Instead I got out some filler and went along the gaps where the beams and the plaster board met. Job done. The entombment is complete, and no smell doth drift through those now filled in gaps. But there is still a faint aroma, probably wafting through the gaps higher up in the roof beams. Am not doing those. They are too high to get to. 

So my sun bed / settee is now back indoors, and out in the Sheep Barn....



......mum and little ones doing well, although we did have a bit of a scare with her a couple of days ago because she hurt her leg, but not being able to move about very much has enabled the second born lamb to become part of her team and not be rejected. And the post? It is part of a proper pen so we can separate the sheep from each other if need be. 

And out in the field.....

..... the bramble hedge is shrinking, 



..... Lissie, our heifer, is still growing, 



....the chickens wait patiently for Lester to give them their supper, and the scythe waits patiently for me to sharpen it,



..... the chicks are growing, and their voices are now 'breaking'....



...... Orpy's son is strutting, preening, and generally showing off in the manner of cockerels everywhere....




..... and the grey 'hen' is most definitely a cockerel as well, so waiting for the two of them to start fighting. Not sure who we shall keep if they do. 


.... and today I had a joyous doze in the sun on my temporary sun bed. Wahoooo! Now off to sort out a ewe who has refused to come out of the field when the other do, this being the third day she has done this. I am going to have a chat with her, to see what's up. 

Bye for now.....

11 comments:

Jean said...

So glad you solved the problem of the nasty smell.
And I do envy your few minutes in the sunshine. The weather is foul in Derbyshire today - it's dark, windy, wet and cold. There will be no warmth in any sunshine here for a few weeks I think.
Still, I might get to the bottom of the ironing basket.......

Denise said...

I have to say, Vera, that your grey 'hen' cockerel is a handsome looking creature indeed.

And I am most envious of your sunshine because it is windy and rainy here in Old Windy 'n' Rainy Blighty, and the only thing that is keeping me cheerful is the emergence of a basket full of hyacinths which must mean Spring is on the way!

rusty duck said...

Sometimes confiscating the hammer is the only thing a girl can do.. but I do hope the filler goes the trick.

And as for laying out in the sun at the end of December.. Well. I could cry. Pouring rain here again today.

Vera said...

Jean, smell much reduced, thank goodness. Tuck up and stay warm. Spring will soon be here!

Denise, he is a really handsome boy, but he was sold to us as a hen, and we did think he was rather large but it wasn't until he started crowing recently that we realised that he was indeed a cockerel! He is a real gentleman with the ladies as well, whereas the other cockerel is an up and at 'em type of boy! You stay nice and warm as well. No matter what the weather does, Spring will arrive in a few weeks.

Jessica, the filler seems to be working a treat! And I did have my thermals on plus two top layers!

Horst in Edmonton said...

Love your blog today Vera. It's so nice to see the animals every now and then. Hope the stinky dead mouse smell goes away soon. Have a Happy New Year.

Niall & Antoinette said...

Glad that the filler has done the trick.

We sometimes have to go on a hunt when one of the cats brings in a 'kill' only for us to then find it is very much alive and kicking. Cue human rescue service: we catch the furry and deposit it outside somewhere well away from the house. Usually it's a vole they are more hardy. The mice tend to have died of fright by the time they are brought in!

John Going Gently said...

Those feet remind me of ma joad's in THE GRAPES OF WRATH x

Rhodesia said...

I would have gone nuts if Nigel had decided to open up the plasterboard.... At least closing off the holes seems to have done the job for you.
That few hours of sun was good yesterday, and we still have a blue sky now despite rain overnight and a chilly wind blowing. Keep well Happy New Year Diane

Vera said...

Horst, stinky dead mouse smell now sealed up behind the plasterboard. Wishing you a happy new year too!

Neil and Antoinette, this was definitely a resident mouse, probably with a family too!

John, crikey! Have just read up about Ma Joad, and what a woman she was!

Diane, hope you had a nice holiday with plenty of sun. Wishing you and Nigel a happy new year too.

Rosaria Williams said...

Ah, you got your moment in the sun!
I see everything is growing around you. Hope your new year rewards you with big harvests, and healthy animals. Cheers!

DUTA said...

Good pictures, lovely animals!Sunny days in winter are very precious.People enjoy going out on days like these. The warmth and the brightness do a lot of good to our body and soul.

Happy New Year!