Toby Too's Progress

Toby Too is very happy with his new life in the country.    

He is loving and eager to please.
I love him, too.

The cats still prefer to live in the polytunnel, the log store and the gardens.
As long as they get fed and can assist us with the vegetable gardening
without 'that dog' being around,
they are content,
for the moment.

I am trying to broker peace between them
because
I like all my furry animals under the one roof at night.

The hens occasionally get a little more exercise than normal.
Sometimes Toby just can't resist giving chase.
I'm working on that.

Toby has taken an inexplicable dislike to my brother (Owl Wood).
Toby is not drawn to him, which is very unusual -
I assume he reminds him of someone in his past.
He growls, he barks.
So does Toby.
I'm working on that relationship too.

It is a long list!

A few days ago we began some 'serious' training.     

I say we, because I have as much to learn as Toby Too.    

We are using reward based 'clicker' training.    

He is responding very well and enjoys his training sessions, 

so do I.

 I know that the time and effort invested now will pay dividends for the rest of his life. 

A friend in the village has agreed to train us.       

She has over 20 years of experience in dog training and it shows 

in the ease with which she 'shapes' the behaviour she wants from him.

Watching her instruct Toby is like watching a ballet, or reading poetry.

He recognises her authority and responds.

Our instructor has twice been asked to represent 'the South' with her agility dogs, at Crufts!
with a lot of success and placements.  

She knows her  stuff.

Toby and I are putting in lots of homework.    

We don't want to let her down.
    

The dog shows great promise, shame about his mama!

Wherever I go, Toby follows.
I enjoy gardening, so he enjoys gardening.   

I love poppies - he says he does too.

Bennie, however,  finds all this gardening exhausting.

Spinach and chard are growing well, beans and peas have begun to climb higher.

The gardener in chief is working dawn to dusk.

Problems with my laptop computer have meant that I am way behind on
reading your posts, commenting, etc.
Apologies!
I hope the problem has now been resolved, but if I go quiet....

"Time out, Gran"

These building blocks are about 25 years old.   

They have been in storage since my children grew up.

Davina, Tim and Jonny got so much enjoyment from them that we decided to hang on to them, 

for any grandchildren who may come along, 

like Harry and Francesca.

Now that Harry is five, and has nimble fingers, we have brought them out for him to enjoy.

He has similar bricks at home, but they are all geared towards building spaceships.

He is enchanted by the little horses, the soldiers, pirates and sharks.

Each evening, as we meet him from the school bus, his first question is always whether he can play with the castles and horses until mummy and daddy come home.

George usually plays with him, but yesterday he was busy.

So Harry had to settle for Gran instead.

I thought I was doing really well, pouring boiling oil on people, firing arrows and defending my castle...

but suddenly I heard the words

"Time out, Gran."

Apparently only Harry is allowed to win.

I have never been in time out before - but it is strangely appealing.

One minute for every year of age 

Yippee!  

That means I have a whole hour to myself!

Bliss.

Anvils under the Hammer

Yesterday afternoon news reached me that our village blacksmith (click the link to read about over a hundred years of  his family business in our village) was selling up, everything in his forge and workshops was up for auction - NOW!

He is an elderly man with no one to take over the business, so I can fully understand his reasons, but I also felt a little sad at the loss of yet another traditional trade from our tiny village.

Ninety-six year old John, the beekeeper, recently visited us to borrow a book which I had previously lent to him...an 1898 account book for a village blacksmith's business.     He wanted to show it to his friend,  the blacksmith.

How could I refuse?   

Besides, who better to peruse the old entries than these two chaps, both of whom are nearly as old as the book and to whom the old terms and old farming equipment would have been so familiar.

They had a wonderful time poring over the book together and were able to decipher some of the stranger terms and to explain how things were done all that time ago.

The old and rusty equipment, covered in so many layers of dirt and dust was wonderful to behold.

I love the old and worn metal work,  the grain of the wood which has silvered and worn.

This equipment was used for making wheels.

Keith, our local village pub landlord, found this old knife, it is bone handled and has seen a lot of use.

Our wonderful Railway Tavern often gets a mention in posts, here is one.
We have lost our Post Office, village shop, butcher's shop,

the village school
and now the village blacksmith.

Luckily,
we still have the pub and the village hall.

As we left,  prospective purchasers were pouring in.

I didn't want to stay and watch.

x

The Owl and the Pussycats

Yesterday evening I decided to try to photograph the Barn Owl 

who regularly patrols the boundary of our garden.      

I stood next to the big ash tree in the corner

and waited...  

?the same Barn Owl - a photograph I took last year
near the fish ponds opposite Owl Wood.

It was cold and flying insects were feasting on me.

 I could hear the rustle of creatures moving through the wheat field margins.

Rats, I imagined, especially as I had seen a medium-sized one run through the garden earlier.
However, I stuck to my post, determined to get a great photograph.  

Bennie investigating the rustling sounds.

The cats appeared from nowhere and wouldn't leave me.

Sparky performed circus tricks on 

the fence posts while

Bennie sniffed around the garden.

Toby Too watched from the conservatory,

desperate to join in.

I ignored him.

"I can do this standing on my head, watch..."

Eventually even the cats got bored and moved away.

On any normal night the Barn Owl would have flown down one side of the garden,

turned at the big ash tree

and then swooped up and down the wheat field

hunting for supper.

"This is boring, I'm going in."

I gave up after an hour.

I was cold, frustrated, bitten to pieces by those darned insects.

Today, I got up early and

saw to the hens, the cats and the dog

and then made myself a hot drink

and went into the conservatory

to think about the day ahead.

Five minutes later, the Barn Owl suddenly

 flew around  the conservatory,

across the vegetable garden,

past the old summer house

and disappeared into 

Owl Wood!

I borrowed this illustration from the RSPB
'My' owl is much lighter in colour
and every bit as beautiful.

It was amazing.

S/he was no more than six feet away from me,

I got to see her in great detail.

A beautiful bird.

Of course I had no camera to hand.

Happy Monday.

x

King Canute and the Chocolate Cake

Meet

"Remarkable Oak"

remarkable, because it is reputed to be over one thousand years old.

Remarkable Oak stands in farmland
 not the easiest tree to get close to, for photography purposes,
(Well, that's my excuse.)
for it grows in a meadow right next door to a red brick Tudor mansion.
The fence is electrified.

I had intended to take a photograph during the winter, 

while the tree was bare...

King of the forest, father of trees
Bare branches antlering the winter sky

alas, I forgot.

So, here is Remarkable Oak a clothéd all in green.

It is definitely not the tallest tree, nor does it have the most amazing canopy span,
but check out that girth,  middle-age spread, and then some.
Through the years it has suffered, bits have fallen off,
one thousand years is an awfully long time.
Even viewed from the roadside,
or the adjacent field,
it looks ancient.

This is the earliest Ordnance Survey map of the area, it shows a 'Remarkable Oak' standing in this very spot.
It was drawn two hundred years ago.

Even the current map shows the remarkable old oak tree.

If it truly is a thousand years old - think King Canute (Cnut),
The Norman Conquest, The Domesday Book...
and everything else from thereon in.

Allowing for exaggeration (surely not!)
even if this tree is a mere youngster of 500 years
it has been standing
since around the time Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon... then Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour,
Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr.

It stood tall while the English Civil War took place,
watched over the Agricultural Revolution,
and far too many wars and battles,


However old this wonderful oak tree is, it is a youngster, compared to
the Fortingall Yew which is between two and five thousand years old!

This beautiful engraving of a mighty oak is by Andy English.

Oak trees are thought to attract lightning more than any other kind of tree,
they also survive it rather better,
possibly due to the extremely long tap root which anchors it to the earth.

The acorn
is said to represent
long life and good luck
and an acorn placed on a windowsill
is thought to offer protection.


Because the oak is one of the longest-lived trees it is associated with
endurance and stability.

It was traditionally used for ship building...
"Heart of Oak are our Ships
Jolly Tars are our men..."

If you are wondering where the chocolate cake fits in...
well, I baked it at the weekend.

It was amazing!
Deep, dark, chocolate flavour.
I rarely bake cakes,
but this one was worth the effort,
and the calories.

The Fox and the Hens - the Barn Owl and the Rat

I found this four-leaf clover today.

I admit that it looks as though it has seen better days,

but it has already brought me 

some good luck...

...for on today's walk I spotted these little dots

and managed to snatch 

a photograph

just before their mama hid them in the bank

of the Great Eau.

The weather is cold, damp and gloomy

but the hedgerows are

filled with the golden buttercups

and red campion.

I found this fairy door...

... and my good fortune continued,

for I found these two families

on the fish pond.

Moments later a large and beautiful Barn Owl flew out of the trees,

a mere fifteen feet away from me,

she had a young rat in her mouth.

It was an incredible sight - no time to get a photograph, alas.

Image by dries gaerdelen

Home Sweet Home!

However, Mother Nature hadn't finished with me yet...

for as Toby and I made our way through the garden 

to the Boot Room

I was treated to the sight of a large and very beautiful fox...

...I had a moment of sheer delight at the beauty of him/her

then my thoughts were for our hens

who free-range in the woodland.

image by irishfieldsports

Mr/Mrs Fox had run off through the wheat field by this time.

I think I got home just in time to deny him his breakfast.

It may take more than a four-leaf clover to keep our girls safe.

Walking to Heel...

The last ten days or so have been spent very quietly.   

I have much to learn about Toby Too and he has a great deal to learn about what I expect of him.    

So we have walked.

At first he was spooked by some of the more unusual sights,

like this giant boot lives in the Enchanted Forest,

opposite the old watermill.

We have trudged many miles along the pathways

and through farmland and beautiful countryside.

The weather has been wonderful.

Toby has sniffed and explored to his heart's content -
on an extendable lead.

He has seen sheep, horses, cattle,

pheasants, rabbits, dogs and cats.

At some point in his short past someone has taught him to sit, to shake paws

 and also to sit and wait for his lead to be put on him.

He has manners.

It is just that he forgets everything

when he gets excited.
He gets excited when he sees, rabbits, cats, dogs,
sheep, cattle, pheasants...

Luckily, I know a woman who can help me.

She is a dog trainer, of 20 years experience, and she lives just down the road.

As soon as it can be organised this handsome dog and I will be taking lessons.

I have no doubt that I have more to learn than the dog,

so it could take some time.

As you can see, Harry and Toby-Too work well together.