Guard dog….. I don’t think so……..

Blog 34 /  December

 

Well here we are, at the end of the 2014 calendar and we will no longer have our babies in Canada welcoming us to a new month. It has been fun, and we are making plans to go and see them in 2015 in their new home on Vancouver Island.  I am Ok for a calendar so far as the fireman have already made their visit to the front gate and sold us the 2015 Carentan calendar full of pictures of the crew, and there are 30 of them, with pictures of house fires and car crashes that have happened in the past year. A little macabre you might think but Mike and I have this feeling that if you don’t contribute and your name is not on the list then they may not come when you need them….totally not true I am sure, but nevertheless this has become a must do each year   and besides, they put the monthly tide table in as well so we know the state of the tide at any time in the week and for us ex sailors, it is a habit we’d like not to loose

I  had a busy morning in the week as my nesting instincts told me to make jam, cake and bread, so I did. I suspect we are in for a chilly winter. Our new ducks did a quick moult and fattened up in a week and the cat looks like she is ready for an arctic spat so with all these little messages from nature I guess I had a need to join in. I added a slug of whiskey to the marmalade ‘cause it’s winter, and very nice it is too.

 

 

Napoleon is doing well and Mike and I have made a mental note of where he is roosting so we can watch out for him if it should snow. He also did an aggressive moult and looked a bit beyond help and very un-napoleonic in style but we are pleased to see that he is back in polished and proud plumage and is just as vigorous with the morning wakeup call, but gladly with the late sunrise it is not as annoying or disturbing.

 

 




Whilst we were away on our UK road trip we set the ducks up with a monster sized feeder and Mike put a months’ worth of corn in hoping they would keep themselves from starving. Sarah and Peter were organised to pop in a couple of times to see to the cat and top up the feeders if required. When we got back I noticed that the ducks did not waddle up to say hello as was their habit before we left and I was a little disappointed.  I watched them for a couple of days and realised they had food on tap and did not need us any more so we took the feeder out, and we are back to the welcoming committee and I am much happier with that state of affairs, no point having pets if they don’t come over for a chat now and then.

 

 

 

 

 

The new Espace is working out well, Mike calls it my hearing aid as we are now conversing and discussing as we did before my hearing loss and all is well. Sadly for HOSS the whole back end of the car is carpeted. How posh, I hear you say, but when you are a dog it bodes trouble as it attracts a spare bag of hair with every visit and when your master is thrilled with his new car but not your hair loss a solution had to be found and for a few extra Euro we bought this fab Velcro studded plastic liner and everyone is totally delighted especially misis who does the dog hair clean up job.

 

On our way into Carentan we pass an abandoned manoir on the cross roads at Catz and many of our visitors have asked why such a lovely place can be left to fall into disrepair. For 7 years we have watched it fall further and further back to nature until a few weeks ago we noticed that there were people cutting down trees and clearing the site and are delighted that they have left a big tree on the front drive and another in the middle of the back garden. It all smacks of design and we hope that there is a couple with grand ideas of renovation and hopeful that this blot on the landscape will find its identity and be a home once again.

The chateaux in Brevands village had the same radicle attention some two years ago.  We had friends come over to us for supper this week who mentioned that they saw lights on in the actual chateaux which can only mean, that the owners are at last moved in, enjoying the life of a chateau owner in a little village in the country.

 

And finally Mike and I took HOSS for a run on the beach in Grandcamp Maisy but didn’t think to check the tides this one time and got it all wrong. There was no beach so we decided to run HOSS up and down the pier heads and got a real treat as the whole fishing fleet was on the move and we waved to at least 15 fishing boats on their way out for their days work. It was cold and we were buttoned up tightly but these guys were preparing their ropes and kit in bare hands with little like heavy coats and jumpers on. How is it that we all feel the cold or heat for that matter so differently?  Our children in Australia have it hot the ones in Canada have it cold and we whinge if it only looks chilly. 

 I am up at the crack of dawn today as the noise of a windy storm outside has upset our gallant guard dog who tried to climb the stairs to be near us, but at least we are warm and snug and he is just delighted to have the lights on and a bit of company as the shutters rattle and the wind whistles down the chimney …….Guard dog….. I don’t think so……..