Sunday 6 May 2012

Nice Weather For Ducks!



Or so I thought when I saw the dykes so thoroughly flooded. But then we realised that the banks where all the ducks, moorhens, coots and so on build their nests are under water. There were dozens if not hundreds of birds on these dykes a couple of weeks ago. Now you hardly see any - most of them seem to be wandering round on the fields now in little lost-looking groups.

So what is a pain in the neck for us can be catastrophic for some of our wildlife and it’s the same over most of the country.

We don’t have a hosepipe ban here. Lucky aren’t we.

Indy had put on 300 grams when we weighed him after his bath, but he may still have been a bit damp and retaining water. At least that’s what he said. He also claimed that the stress of being on a diet had made him gain weight.


I think he enjoyed having one of his beloved little people aiding and abetting in the ablutions.


As it’s a bank holiday weekend, spare a thought for the people who have to work. It used to be worthwhile working on a bank holiday. Triple time or double time and a day off in the loo – I mean in lieu. Then it was dropped to double time, then time and a half and now I understand that many places don’t pay anything above the usual rate which I think is downright mean.

We had a Frank Spencer moment this morning when the paint pad my beloved was painting the stairwell with flew off the end of the pole, bounced on the stair carpet and landed on the dining room floor. I was just glad it wasn’t him bouncing down the stairs.

He was using this ladder contraption that has a touch of the Heath Robinsons about it and seemed to wobble rather a lot. Frightening.

And on the subject of paint, I found out today that if someone – mentioning no names – drips emulsion onto my white paintwork and I then have to scrub it to remove it – the white comes off! So not as tough as gloss I’m afraid, but I still prefer it.

Happy Bank Holiday – keep warm! I’m off to take Indy for his paddle on the field.


22 comments:

  1. Normal work day here tomorrow, I'm afraid. But I hope you enjoy your Bank Holiday.

    Poor ducks. I really don't know what's happening with our weather. We've just had the most awful hail storm.

    Your gorgeous little helper is doing a good job with Indy.

    XX

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  2. Cute pictues Teresa, we're having a day off tomorrow, so looking forward to that.x

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  3. The weather doesn't seem to know it's nearly summer, does it?

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  4. Enjoy your paddle, Teresa. It's pretty soggy here, too.

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  5. What lovely photographs, Teresa. We are having a lot of rain today and are glad we re-fenced our ponies' paddocks yesterday while there was a weak, but cheerful, sun showing and the ground was beginning to dry out. The ponies had great lumps of mud dried into their manes and the Shetland has started moulting so much that my husband thought we could have made a jumped with the hanks of hair I combed out of her.

    Our chickens have reduced our grass to mud and the rain has transformed the mud into a sloppy brown stew. The wind has blown our honeysuckle down and driven the rain through a gap in the chimney, soaking our bedroom. I must call the roofer who claimed he'd fixed the leak the last time the rain came in from that direction.

    And, Indy, I'm sure being weighed after a bath is bound to show a gain of at least 300 grammes.

    Enjoy your bank holiday, Teresa, and good luck with the rest of the painting.

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  6. Thanks, Suz - at least it hasn't rained yet today :-)x

    Hope you're having a lovely day, Suzy x

    I think it's time someone told it, Patsy! x

    Well the little one enjoyed the paddling today anyway, Martin - wet, muddy trousers, boots full of water and a big smile. And Indy's tennis ball is now water-logged :-) x

    It's not much fun for animals and birds is it, Joanna. Hope you get that chimney fixed soon - and that we have a dry spell! Happy Bank Holiday x

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  7. Well, I did invite Indy round here for some of our treats, so he must have enjoyed them! He's putting up with bathtime very courageously.

    Lovely pictures. Just glad we don't have to build our nests out there.

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  8. Loved the pictures. More inspiration for me! :)

    Enjoy the paddle.

    Thanks for supporting me on book launch day. It was nice to see someone from my old home, even though we have never met. :)

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  9. How wet it looks. Too much water, like too much snow, turns the world into an oddly unfamiliar place. I always think how little it takes....

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  10. Yes, he's very brave at bathtime, Maggie, once I've coaxed him in there. I think he just puts up a token fight and likes it really x

    It's so exciting to have someone from home publishing a book, Glynis :-) x

    Yes, it looks all wrong doesn't it, Jenny and it doesn't seem to take much to turn everything upside down x

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  11. Poor ducks! The nesting birds are having a tough time at the moment across the whole country I think.

    Indy and the little helper look like they were having fun! Caroline x

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  12. Blue sky and sunshine over here... today anyway! Have had my fair share and then some, of rain. Smiled at the 'Frank Spencer' moment. Cute pics too x

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  13. What a cold and wet bank hol we had here yesterday. It was pouring down when I went to bed, and I woke in the night thinking I could hear water dripping through the roof onto the bedside table! As I stirred myself to investigate, my husband turned over. And then I realised the noise was just him snoring! Big relief. I'd rather have snoring than water through the roof.

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  14. Amazing today, Caroline, the dykes are now simply full-up instead of overflowing and the birds are starting to return :-) x

    I have a friend in Oz, Diane, who told me she was sick of the rain - let's hope for more sunshine for all of us :-) x

    Oh, Joanne, I did smile - it's amazing the things they sound like when they snore, bless 'em! Glad it wasn't a leaky roof :-) x

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  15. What lovely photos Teresa. Yes Indy I mean you, even wet through you look gorgeous, and your lovely little helper. xx

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  16. I worked Bank Holiday Sunday - just normal time. It was sunny (hoorah!). But I had Bank Holiday Monday off and it rained (boo!) so you can't win!
    Just desperate to see some prolonged sunshine! x
    www.lydiajones.co.uk

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  17. Thank you, Sue. He looks quite slim when all his wool is damped down :-) x

    It was quite pleasant here on Monday,Lydia - till the afternoon! Certainly would be nice to see the sun for more than 5 minutes though :-) x

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  18. What a shame about the rain - although we're selfishly glad it's not our usual wet weather up here! Lovely photo of the little one and Indy.

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  19. Hi Teresa,
    Sorry about such a delay in commenting. Had to swim in from my back garden. Note since they declared a "drought", we had the wettest April on record and it continues right through the bank holiday and into what is now Thursday morning.
    Cute photos and quite the splash, I'm sure :)
    And paint? I second that emulsion...
    x

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  20. It could be worse, Rosemary - at least that's what I keep telling myself :-) x

    Tis called the law of sod, Gary ;-)
    And it seems to be the wrong sort of rain or it's falling in the wrong places or something because the drought goes on.
    Second that emulsion - lol x

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  21. Quite a nice day (at last!) here up on the Downs in Kent today. Very muddy, though - have had to wash Bluebell's paws several times (Romsey seems to manage to keep his clean without any extra help)
    x

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  22. It wasn't bad here either, Biddy, but that flipping mud hangs around. I made the mistake of going onto the nearby fields yesterday - ugh! It was back to the boring flat fields today, but they're like a sponge and like Bluebell, Indy seems to gather mud in his paws :-) x

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