Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Spring sprang, but now it's raining!

Hello y'all!

We had quite a bit of exitement here yesterday. There was a helicopter circling the neighbourhood so we were wondering if they were watching out for someone. Suddently the garden erupted with police men and women. Once was in plain clothes, one of the women had a huge alsatian police dog and they were obviously chasing someone. The police van was parked at the top of the drive and some of the folk came running down the drive like a herd of elephants (poor things were laden with flack jackets and tons of equipment on their belts). Others came up the stream and down the bank.

We locked our doors and watched from an upstairs window while they pounded up and down looking for their miscreant. Still don't know who they were looking for and why - there was nothing in the paper today or on telly last night, but the woman with the dog plowed on up the stream while the helicopter continued to circle for sometime. If the person being chased headed upstream onto the Mynd they'd have found him/her easily as there's precious little cover up there. So much for our safe, rural backwater! I'm going out to get a padlock for the shed!!!!!

We're still coughing away, but it isn't a bad as it was and I don't have a temperature any more. However, I did give in and go to the doctor yesterday as I couldn't seem to stop the chesty cough. Antibiotics were prescribed and I'm beginning to feel better already. It still tires me to move about a lot, but at least I'm awake for a whole day now - instead of sleeping my life away!

We've just been over to Birmingham to Ikea today. This is the trip we were planning for the day after we arrived, so we're running about 2 weeks behind on our plans! We now have a cabinet to stand the telly on and three more bookshelves which are to go in my room. It will be nice to be able to put my craft and computer books away - the boxes they were in were starting to sag and crumble!

Here's a picture of our little rock garden. It's beginning to look very festive as the small daffodils come out to join the heathers and the pushkinias. It's amazing what a few days of warmer sunnier weather can do. Unfortunately it's now windy and rainy, although it's not nearly as cold as it was. Temperatures are now in the high 40s mostly.

Last week I actually did a bit of light gardening. Found all sorts of pretty things buried under leaves! There's lots of stuff coming up and coming out around the place. In addition to the small daffs, heathers and squills, there are a good few crocusses, primulas, etc. out too.

One of our pheasants is now mating with all the females that are still around (4 or 5) and seems to have chased off the other males. The last of the "inferior" males, who we called Darky because he's much darker plumaged than the others went off a couple of days ago. He was looking very mopey and had wet feathers so I think there was a big fight and he may have been hurt a bit. Finally, Mr Big chased him from one end of the garden to the other and there was much squawking and flapping of wings.

Our dominant guy is very tame. He lets me garden around him as long as I don't come closer than about 15 feet. I don't actually want to get too close - I'm scared of getting bird flu! He struts about the garden and talks all the time - a little cooing sound that sounds like a dog barking a long way away.

I guess that's all for now. Stay in touch please!