The weather has taken a turn for the worse recently. It’s not the sub-zero temperature which is the problem; it’s the blasting wind. So working outside doing things like dismantling pallets has been temporarily suspended as it’s just too unpleasant. Mind you, there are still a lot of indoor tasks which can be done. I’ve bottled the barley wine, and sloe wine. I’ve racked the blackberry wine ready for bottling tomorrow. Once that’s out of the way, the mead needs to be racked as it’s not quite clear enough yet.
We have not yet seen any baby bunnies. There is warmth and movement in the nest, but it’s best not to disturb them. Last week one of the kits died; LSS discovered its half-eaten body in a corner of the hutch.
The electronic cat-flap has now been locked; Cat brought one too many mice into the house. The final straw was when LSS opened the plastic bag of porridge oats to discover that a mouse had taken up residence therein. The chickens were delighted to eat the oats. Of course this means that we now need to open the kitchen door to let the cat in and out; but the advantage is that when the cat meows to be let in, it’s obvious that she doesn’t have a mouse in her mouth.
This afternoon was the scheduled visit of the aged FIL to the retirement home. When he was told of this visit a couple of weeks ago, his response was “Fine, whatever. I don’t care.” According to one of the carers, apparently he has recently said that spending his life in bed is not as brilliant as he thought it would be; it’s somewhat lonely. Now please bear that in mind for the next paragraph.
After lunch, LSS went to the other house to await the ambulance. Of course, as soon as it arrived, the aged FIL decided he didn’t want to go. The ambulance staff were unable to force him to go to the appointment. They did try reasoning with him – but without success. LSS returned home and telephoned the manager of the local branch of Social Services (the one who advised her to apply for the retirement home in the first place) for advice. Unfortunately there was no answer, so LSS left a message. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode.