The sun shines (for now!) and a good forecast for the weekend (mind you with my weather reporting luck I have no idea why I care to believe it. Thank god weather forecasters aren't on performance related pay...) After a week of mostly rain, the monsoon kind, I hope the 'duck plague' to have been washed away and now expect some serious drying weather to aide recovery of the area. Always learning, one comes to be more cautious in encouraging nature's delights so when discovering Mummy duck and 8 babies in our neighbours pond yesterday instead of the usual 'ahh aren't they cute' I was secretly hoping they don't take a walk down to my duck land as the DVE can be spread by wildfowl...last thing I need is it back in the area! The other thing that happened yesterday was a man knock at my door with a bali crested chicken in his arm (beats the old 'want yer drive doin luv?' I used to get up North from such van driving men) No, this man wanted to know if 'it's one of yours?' (presuming to know I keep chickens - which I don't, not yet anyway.) I was tempted to give it a home but took a look at my salivating labrador and promptly sent him on his way to try the farm up the road.
The 'Doubles D's' are looking very skinny these days so this weekend they can have their sheep nuts back having suffered an enforced 'Aitkens' type diet for the last 2 weeks to dry their milk up. One lamb (number 11) is still wary of us all, quite skittish and constantly calling out to Mum but Mum is getting braver each day and basically turning a deaf ear. I'm hoping in a week or so to put them back together again. Just looking at Dors and Dolly though I notice their fleece back around their necks already, not surprised the temperatures we've had these last couple of weeks.
The squirrels are still wreaking havoc in the barn and DH is now convinced a gun is the only way. The fox has yet to be sighted for 3 days but I know he'll be there, waiting... This weekend involves reading up on on trimming sheep feet (gone on the days of reading Tatler on a Saturday afternoon) disinfecting duck land again and probably the barn given the infestation of the fluffy rats and spraying our fruit crops in the hope they come good. Better get a grip of the house garden too with DH else it will overun and come late autumn all the uncleared things will die down...into our stream..and come January I'll have everything upstairs or on bricks again expecting to be flooded...3 feet is the closest the water has come to the house so far!
Opposite the land is Plashett Woods - arguably the oldest Woods in Sussex (saying something given Ashdown Forest is in there.) With that comes the reputation for having the most diverse group of naturally inhabiting butterflies in the UK. I can tell you that 3 years ago it was spectacular with the explosion of migrating Painted Lady's. Last years gave huge cause for concern with poor numbers. This year, the big guns have yet to appear (Red Admirals, Peacocks, Comma, Monarch etc) but seeing plenty of Marbles Whites, Meadow Browns, Clouded Yellows, Small Heaths, Gatekeepers and my personal favourite - the 'icon' of my marriage, the Adonis Blue. As you can tell, I have a thing for butterflies (hate moths - just too City bred for moths, had 8 EIGHT, in my Hunters a few weeks ago that I left outside overnight. AND they were they the huge, furry, squeal inducing Gypsy Moth!
Will update over the weekend.
Weather: Sunny with the odd random black cloud passing over. 19 degrees currently.
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