The end of an era....

This week I shall be reading two poems written by local poet Mary Webb at a very small simple funeral where the only flowers will be from the hedgerows, the music will be J S Bach - Sheep May Safely Graze and Tom Jones Green Green Grass of Home...........

An Old Woman

They bring her flowers - red roses heavily sweet,

White pinks and Mary lilies and a haze

Of fresh green ferns; around her head and feet.

They heap more flowers than she in all her days

Possessed. She sighed once -'Posies aren't for me;

They cost too much'

Yet now she sleeps in them and cannot see

Or smell or touch.

Now in a new and ample gown she lies -

White as a daisy bud, as soft and warm

As those she often saw with longing eyes,

Passing some bright shop window in a storm.

Then when her flesh could feel, how harsh her wear!

Not warm nor white.

This would have pleased her once. She does not care

At all tonight.

They give her tears - affection's frailest flowers -

And old her close in praise and tenderness:

She does not heed. Yet in those empty hours

If there had come, to cheer her loneliness,

But one red rose in youth's rose loving day,

A smile, a tear,

It had been good. But now she goes her way

And does not hear.

Safe

Under a blossoming tree

Let me lie down ,

With one blackbird to sing to me

In the evening brown.

Safe from the world's long importunity -

The endless talk, the critical, sly stare,

The trifling social days - and unaware

Of all the bitter thoughts they have of me,

Low in the grass, deep in the daisies,

I shall sleep sound, safe from their blames and praises.

What is going on .........

Our radio alarm starts the day off for us at just after 6am - it has done so for many many years and I have listened to Sarah Kennedy and her 'leg in a pant' and not been too irritated. Aled Jones or Lynne Parsons waded into the breach when she was either off sick - often- or on holiday - again often. At 6:30am we would hear the news and morph into Wogan ...and the day began ...gently!

Just before Christmas I thought I was actually going to have to smash the alarm - I heard 'Its the most wonderful time of the year' at full tilt and then the hysterical Chris Evans banging on about something inane until I thought I was going to scream - he's still at it - what IS he on???? Then to add insult to injury, rub salt into a festering wound ...what happens? Vanessa Feltz at dawn - sorry but I CANT STAND ANY MORE! From Monday we will be having a plain bZZZZZZZZZ bZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I read Mountainear's posting with all her seed purchases and labels all new and ready to roll - it must be spring.......

S'pose it must be really - I went completely weak kneed over Zen the Venetian detective - then last night was apparently goggle eyed over the gorgeous James Blunt - yep its Spring. AND the rugby starts on Friday and that means Ronan O'Gara ......COR!

We went to visit our sheep in their new home a couple of weeks ago - overlooking the Dovey estuary. They look blooming and happy. I shall be going again.......and again........

All the puppies have reported in - they are all happy and thriving in their new homes, we have seen them all over the past few weeks at various places - they still remember us!

Happy New Year

The computer has today been retrieved from where it has been safely packed away to avoid brick dust and wet paint as we have been at the mercy of builders and decorators since the begining of December. It had been planned for October - say no more!

We have a much warmer house as a result and everywhere boasts a new coat of paint - 'TOO CLINICAL' squawked the junior shepherd when he eventually got her from Aberystwuth at the end of term! 'TOO POSH' uttered eldest son - 'ITS WARM' from middle son - so they are happy - as they arrive and depart with amazing regularity through the festive season - leaving the normal wet clothes, caving gear, football kit, towels, boots and the PUPPY called Lola to be seen to.

Our last puppy to leave left on Christmas Eve - Holly's owners had been unsucessfully trying to get back into the country for nearly a week - I have to admit that having had her for 16 weeks I was loath to see her go. There was definitely a lump in the throat that had nothing to do with a chest infection but she went happily off with her bag of toys to a very loving home. Peace again..............

Sadly we had to make a decision in October to sell all the remaining sheep. The end of an era as they will not be replaced. I suppose I ought to change the blog title or risk the wrath of Trades Description but I'll have to think on that for a while. The shepherd is sheepless for the first time ever and although very relieved not to have livestock in the recent wintry weather will undoubtedly be going cold turkey when it comes to the lambing season......

We did manage a trip to the winter fair on 29 November at Builth Wells in the snow - two sons and one girlf frollicked in the snow - idiots!

Meanwhile its that time of year and the old blowsy tart is back in the window winking invitingly at the passer's by like a fat bejewelled madam in an Amsterdam back street - we duly admired son and girlf's work of art which is their first Xmas tree n their first home - all symmetrical and colour coded and came home and laughed like loons at ours - its absolutely awful! I've told her - next year she's got a little job that needs doing ................

Happy New Year.......from Little Bo Peep who has lost her sheep.............

Misty Autumn Morning

I have never heard a stag roar before - today I did. In the misty woodland behind Powys Castle the bracken and leaves providing the correct background colours a gutteral sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, faintly at first but then as they came into view it became unmistakable.

Can anybody else see two faces in these trees or is it just me?








Meanwhile back at the ranch the puppies are eight weeks old and are all destined for loving homes, all relatively local, some will be working dogs, some will be much loved pets and that is definitely the end of puppies in this household - NEVER AGAIN! Skye is already booked in at the vets for an operation that will stop her cavorting with the boy next door in future despite the fact that she has been a model mother and has even enjoyed her pups - visibly smiling with pride from day one and still insisting on feeding the eleven pound monsters eight weeks later. She has to steel herself to get into the run with them, walking backwards and forwards across the lawn before she jumps down into the run and is immediately overwhelmed by seven hooligans.

















This is Lola - she's a showgirl - everybody start singing now...........








The first three go off to their new homes tomorrow so the dog whisperer thought he had better see if he still had the touch ............

Just look at the dust.....

and all the junk mail - stacks of it. Just write your name in the dust - I dont mind. Life has been frenetic all through the summer months - hang on a mo - that was summer? Yet I can count on one hand the number of times we ate outdoors which is our summer habit up here. We bought new chairs to do just that and I dont think we have sat on them for more than 10 minutes at any one time.

The junior shepherd is back up at the coast resplendent in student squalor - well it better hadn't be quite that bad - I know how much the rent is - shudder. It is actually a lovely little house in a very respectable area with the steam train to Devil's Bridge running along the bottom of the garden at regular intervals - choo choo - its like being in a Thomas the Tank film set. He rushed home yesterday - just for the night - to go caving under Llanymynech hill into the disused copper mines - as you do. Well I wouldn't go from here to the kitchen to go caving but when I rushed from work to pick him up and deliver him to Llanymynech and was there a tad early only to find car loads of fit looking men stripping down to their underwear to don scruffy old clothes and boiler suits - ahem. 'MOTHER - stop gawping!' Cor!!!

This has been the summer of the puppies - Skye gave birth to eight black labrador puppies on 23 August and has been a text book mother despite my original misgivings. I was sure she would just eat the lot! We dont advertise to find homes - its all been by word of mouth with J's girlf seeming to do most of the work - bless her. Just one little lady without a home - everybody go Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. We seem to be living in a sea of Weetabix at the moment - because every time I walk into the kitchen somebody is making up a tray of the stuff with hot water and milk - they hear the tray clattering and then they start howling - its like the hounds of the Baskervilles - if we have a full moon as well we could frighten a few souls.

The lambs are now big and beautiful and will be leaving us at the weekend - once we have mastered the application of the new electronic tags - I think a few swear words may be heard over Shropshire on Saturday - and with no jnr shepherd to assist I shall be there to hear the uncensored versions - now will my delicate, shell-like's cope I wonder - well mine will but will his?

Onwards and upwards......

Life goes on deep in the countryside - a wrench in the fabric of the family has caused many ripples and much soul searching but we are built of strong stuff - 'united we stand divided we fall' goes the song and we're still satnding - bring it on - we can cope!

Meanwhile we have not sat and sobbed into soggy tissues we have been out and about - one evening we went on a guided walk around the Asterley coalfield - no I didnt know there was one either - the wonderfully restored windmill enhances any scene and some beautiful derelict cottages that would make a wonderful des res. The pictures on the walls were very lifelike!!

Its that time of year again - street party time. This year the theme being a St Trinians reunion there was even a 'naughty step'! I looked out of the bedroom window at one stage to see dozens of gym slip clad bodies - hermaphrodites definitely - trannies possibly - whatever - its a one night thing - anything goes - the age range being from about 3 to at least 70. The entertainment was spectacular - hula hoops - ON FIRE and circus tricks. The food must have been good -well there was nothing left to clear up on Sunday morning but there were plenty of bad heads.

At last the junior shepherd has accommodation for September in Aberystwyth - what a nightmare that has been - then last week one of my harassing phone calls to the estate agents bore fruit - we had a family trip up to the coast on Saturday to see it. What an embarrasment! The current tenants were still in situ - in bed - asleep! One stood there bleary eyed and cheerily I asked him if it was a nice house and had they been happy there etc etc - 'Oh yes we've been very happy here - UNTIL WE'VE BEEN KICKED OUT!' Oops - cue - open floor and lets all get in. I havent a clue what's gone on there and I guess we will never know. Fingers crossed and lets hope everybody gets a roof over their head that needs one.

It was a lovely sunny day and the babes enjoyed every minute of it, we did the obligatory trip up Constitution Hill - it should be re named Windy Corner. On the seafront we played crazy golf and whizzed about on a longboard, listened to the open air music and fed the babes drippy ice creams.

Today we had the sadness of a friend's funeral to attend - then we played hookey - and ran away for the rest of the day into the borderlands of South Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys. We found Croft Castle - WOW! Why did I think it was a ruin? It isnt - it is an amazing country house with a colourful history and is still used by the Croft family - but the gardens - gobsmackingly gorgeous, lawns that felt like thick velevet carpet, a walled garden with exotic fruit trees, a vinyard and even a church. Mountainear - please put it on the list of 'must do's'........

Row, row, row your boat .........

....gently down the stream......etc etc

and so it was that after a very chaotic few weeks which saw the junior shepherd back in a hospital bed on a drip, one way of getting out of end of term exams I suppose. Ah well he has got them to look forward to when he gets back there in September - that's if he finds anywhere to live - you would never believe that there is a shortfall of student accomodation in Aberystwyth would you? So many empty and semi derelict properties that need doing up - so aggravating when there are in excess of 300 homeless students all chasing every property that comes up! So we emptied his flat brought him home let him rest then it was off on holiday. Even the dog came too!

We went down to Abergavenny to start our cruise leaving my faithful friend my blue Subaru at a garage on the way never to be seen again - hankies out - be brave it is only a lump of metal - but one that has served me faithfully without any problems for eight years - sob!

Ater a lovely welcome by boat owners and a thorough handover lesson we were off and headed southwards travelling through gorgeous scenery, the hay fields still uncut were stuffed with flowers all giving off a heady scent. Squirrels sat and watched us pass by making no move to dart away. The trees in full leaf made green secret tunnels for us to creep through. May flies flitted through the yellow flag iris that fringed the canal and the birdsong was unceasing - blackbirds, thrushes, chiff chaff, wrens, pigeons all clamouring to make most noise every inch of the way.

We reached the end of the canal in Cwmbran on Sunday teatime and went for a walk to find a shop for some necessities, the hills were huge, green and pricked with pylons, the rows houses nestling at the base. An ice cream van played tinny music and groups of raggedy children stood cluthing coins - I havent seen that for years and years - so poignant.

As dusk fell we would park up - sorry the word should be 'moor' shouldn't it? As galley slave if there was no canalside hostelry in view something had to be prepared, a couple of gins took the edge off cooking on holiday - and washing up! The novelty of no dishwasher began to pale after a week but my nails looked wonderful. The bed on board was luxury indeed and the bed linen was gorgeous and smelt of lavender - I feel asleep as the boat gently rocked, the owls hooted - hang on - what was that plopping sound? I lay there rigid listening for it - again and again - 'Wosssat? I hissed - 'RATZZZZZZ' replied dearly beloved who then proceeded to snore his head off as I lay there counting the plop noises and nearly expiring in panic. Next morning I sat clutching a mug of tea at 5:30am looking out as dawn painted the water silver - PLOP! It was fish not rats - I bloody hate him!

Every day was different, weatherwise, the views, the little villages and market towns to be explored. One evening as we were trying to park up for the night in the middle of nowhere - I had partaken of the gin allowance having been soaked to the skin earlier when yomping along the towpath walking the dog = not sure if the exercise was for her benefit or mine! Anyway there we were instructions being yelled by the captain - 'Just jump onto the bank with that rope...'

Who me? Dont be daft - I dont do jumping on a good day never mind a very wet day and a couple of gins! 'Go on quickly the gap is getting wider...' Errrr not on your nelly .....'Go On you can do it!' ..........'Err no I cant!'

'YES YOU CAN - JUST DO IT!'

'NO I CANT!

'YES YOU CAN'

No I couldnt - I landed up to my waist in muddy water and the shrieking hysterics that followed from all concerned could have been heard all over Wales! I still go of into gales of giggles at the thought of standing up to my middle in the canal whilst the men just stood there helpless in laughter!

It has to be the most relaxing way of spending a week, we read and played games and talked, we had no idea what was happening in the world, we never even bought a paper - reality could resume on Saturday with new smart wheels, a pile of washing and back to work...........