Good news, bad news and no news at all

Sempervivum flowers in bloom.
They remind me a bit of aliens,
reaching out to the Mother ship.
 July 2012, Lesley Beeton

There's quite a bit of news (and some interesting photo's), so I'll start with the 'no news'. The histology results have not yet been received. I am trying not to think about it, just getting on with enjoying the gorgeous weather. That's good news, by the way. 


Themba is less keen on the warm weather (bad news). His heart problem seems worse when it's hot, so today as well as ice cubes, I have set up the fan to keep the Boxers cool. It seems to be working. They are nice and calm. We will do our evening walk later,  when it's much cooler. We have had to modify our walks because of Brin's foot; we were advised to keep him out of muddy bridleways and stick to the pavement. It's not ideal but we did find that the path which runs alongside the Footballer's house is nice and cool.

Stink bug on greengage tree.
Last year the wasps were all over the ripe fruit.
 July 2012, Lesley Beeton

More good news is that with the weather fab this week the garden is at last bursting into colour, and the veggies are storming ahead. 

Squirrels have been retrieving their nuts from the lawn.
Hope they stop stealing the greengages off the tree!
July 2012, Lesley Beeton

Chicken palace under construction.
Chooks soon to arrive chez Beeton.
July 2012, Lesley Beeton

Some bad news is that the Molly Maid cleaners have decided they can't clean my house any more. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. This is part of the email I received. No phone call, just an email.

'... I don't feel comfortable with the girls I've got coming to clean for you I'm sorry to say that we won't be able to continue your service. ..... I need to train new staff to the standard that I expect and re-train the girls I have... '

Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?
At least the rain is over.
July 2012, Lesley Beeton

To end with more good news, I had great service from LJP Appliances, Absolute Security and the farmers at Garlic Wood Farm produce great conservation beef, some of which is now in my freezer.

Big, bright and blousy

Just when I thought the garden had gone into a state of suspended animation, a few days of warm sunshine have brought out some long-awaited colour. This group of gorgeous blooms have brightened my day.

Big, bright and blousy, Summer 2012, Lesley Beeton

I had a little play with editing effects and found that some of the photo's look fab in black and white, too.

Big, bright and blousy in grey scale, Lesley Beeton, 2012

I'm linking this up with Mum's the Word, a photography linky Closer to Nature. 

Closer to Nature

Another day, another dog drama

 OK, well maybe not such a drama. We noticed a lesion on the side of the big big dog's toe. It seemed worse after his walk last night, but he wasn't limping or in pain. But this morning, it was red and bulging. So off to the vet. 

I felt very anxious about him having surgery, but he  won't sit still for them to poke about in it. The vet is concerned that it could be a mast cell tumour. Boxer dogs get this horrid tumour. He has previously had a histiocytoma removed from his foreleg. This lump looks like a foreign body reaction, something like grass seed for example, which should start to heal itself. The lump has not been removed, because the surgery would be too invasive for his paw. Samples have been taken for pathology, and if it is something nasty, well, then more surgery will be required. 

But for now, he is home, happy, if a bit sleepy. He has a super red bandage on his paw, and the lesion has been drained and dressed. He doesn't appear to be in any pain, thankfully.

It was interesting to see the little big dog's response, both to Brin being away for the day, and on his return, a bit woozy still from the anaesthetic. Dogs certainly are very perceptive. Neither dog has eaten anything since yesterday morning. 

And in other news, drama, too at the bird feeder. We heard the most almighty rumpus and saw a buzzard wrestling a young bird under the bird feeder. We didn't want to intervene, but the buzzard flew off and so did its prey. Desperate times or just opportunistic? Then, some time later we noticed a fledgling greater spotted woodpecker with a broken wing. It was trying so hard to get to the bird feeder but no luck with that wing. I put some food into the tree and hoped for the best, but when we went out for our walk yesterday, the remains of a woodpecker were on the road. I'm sure it was the same bird; I wish I could have done more but they are such nervous birds that I couldn't get near it.

To round off a busy week, we haven't had much sleep either. A neighbour's intruder alarm going off in the middle of the night, and another neighbour's teenage son having an all night party. Still, at least it gave me an opportunity to say hello to another neighbour who we haven't seen in a while because of work commitments. When the alarm went off, we all rushed around in various states of undress; at least she had shoes on and a useful torch!

Mr B's few days off work are coming to an end. Some things have been achieved - the summer house has been sanded and painted and looks lovely. The lawn has been mown, the weeds treated on the patio and the driveway. The chicken palace has not been finished, mainly due to the inclement weather. Perhaps if the weather continues to improve over the weekend....

Grateful for ..... Nostalgia

Nostalgia, reminiscing, memories. Powerful human emotions. In the past week, we have had visitors from Australia and South Africa; people who were very special to Mom, who loved Mom and whom she loved and treasured in return. It could have been a difficult week for us, but it wasn't. We laughed a lot, talked about Mom and unlocked some precious memories. I am so grateful.

Muddy Sunday, Monday, Tuesday....

When will it end? Not the World, just the weather! I have been rather stoic until today. Today is the first day of our holiday at home, and it's jolly cold and wet. We aren't going away. For one thing, we've had two weeks in Hawaii and ten days in South Africa already. And for another, I'm afraid to leave Themba at the kennel, in case the worst happens while we are away. Anyway, our PA is back from her holiday in the sun and I have Dr B to myself for a whole week. I remember just a couple of weeks ago, we were blaming the other half of another blogger for the wet weather (in jest of course). 

Jill at Christmas Pie Crafts was convinced it was his fault as he had taken a week off work. Well, this week we can blame Dr B. Who, by the way, thinks it's fun to watch the (boring) Tour de France on telly, even though we don't have a clue what's going on. He is also selectively deaf, and when I told him that the beetroots were doing well, he replied 'Figs? We've never had figs'!

Yesterday was the annual Cranleigh 10km run, normally a pleasant morning, but not yesterday. The runners were sent off with a warning - no mad dashes, the mud is treacherous. I wouldn't know about that, just that I threw his socks away.

Themba had his follow-up heart scan today. I found it all a bit much and was close to tears as he lay on the exam table. Dr B and the Vet, heads together, muttering over measurements. The conclusion? No change. His condition is severe, prepare for the worst. Pay another £100. At least we're agreed he won't have any more scans, just lots of love and attention.

Where does the time go?

Time flies when you're having fun. The older you get, the quicker the time goes. I've run out of time. And my personal favourite: time thief. I have been pleasantly indisposed of late. Not much time for blogging. Which is a shame, really. It seems that the last six weeks have just whizzed by; a whirlwind of Themba's diagnosis, the Jubilee celebrations, our wedding anniversary, not to mention a certain dog bite and a bee sting! Add to that Dad's surgery, work, and family visiting from Australia, and well you can see why I'm struggling to find time for blogging.

I'm not complaining, though. While I was recovering from the infected bee sting episode, I had time to catch up on reading some lovely blogs. I tried to comment on every one I read, so thank you for keeping me company.

The NGS open gardens for charity came to Shackleford at the weekend. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how the garden at Norney Wood has developed over the last year. It is also another chance to show some community spirit. The garden looked splendid, especially the new veggie garden, and the cakes were outstanding (even if I do say so myself).

Boxer back-chat

The Boxers meanwhile think all this activity is just fab, that us humans sign up for all these things for the sole purpose of dog entertainment. They are such lucky, happy dogs, trotting along where ever we go, hopping in the back of the car, ready for the next adventure. They had an especially happy walk yesterday evening. After a grey day and on-off showers, the sun came out, so we put on our welly boots and set off across the farm. The 'girls' were in the top field, grazing and lazing. The farm border collie ran across to make sure the Boxers stayed away from her sheep. We crossed two more fields, climbed over three stiles. I loved the way that Themba's tail could just be seen, bobbing above the top of the meadow grass. The happiest dog in the world.

And the time thief? There are plenty of demands on my time. I am learning to say 'no' to some things. And I don't need to make excuses, either. Time is a resource too precious to waste.

You're Beautiful - New Forest

We planned our getaway at the last minute. Our twentieth wedding anniversary snuck up on us, hidden underneath real life drama's involving a dog and my Dad. Not being naturally spontaneous, however, I did wonder if we were doing the right thing, as we joined the masses of traffic heading south on Friday night. We were lucky, though, as the rain cleared and we arrived in time for dinner. 


On Saturday morning, we set off on a 5 mile walk, dogs in tow, camera in hand. It was easy and lazy, stopping for lunch, stopping to snap pictures, stopping to let the poorly dog rest. Four hours later, we stopped for cream tea. It was a perfect day of togetherness, humans and dogs, husband and wife, with nature.

The New Forest is a beautiful place, and it made us feel beautiful, too. These photos are amongst my favourites from the weekend. You can see more here, and find out how the Boxers got on in the country hotel.

Pop over to Cheetahs in my Shoes to find out what is beautiful in the Cheetahs' world this week x.

You're Beautiful

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I've been lucky with the weather

Gasp! Yes, I have. The showery weather this week has kept me indoors, with my bee-sting infected leg elevated, guzzling antibiotics, and watching the tennis at Wimbledon. Never before have I been able to do this. I think I planned it rather well; except for the pain, the side-effects of the antibiotics and the tutting of the doctors 'this could develop into necrotising fasciitis'. Scary stuff.

Today it looks like I've been hit by a tennis ball, perhaps one of those 130mph serves from a large Croat. Never mind, I am at last on the mend. And so I treated myself to a walk round the garden. The Boxers were rather bemused that I am up on my hind legs, heading outdoors and not just to the fridge. I've hardly moved all week but I've eaten everything I can find. I even had Waitrose deliver this morning so I could plan my lunch and afternoon tea! Better not get used to this or I will be as large as a house. All things being well, I will be at aqua class tomorrow and I will walk the Boxers. 

They have of course still had an evening walk. Mr B has been very good at that. Not so good at the emotional stuff (or cooking or tidying the kitchen), but we are managing. Especially as our capable PA is on holiday and has left me dealing with Mr B's office. Thank goodness I can do that from the sofa - game, set and match!


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