Spring chapter two, or Spring cleaning you have to be joking.

You know its time to do another blog when all your comments are coming from 'Anonymous' trying to get you to view their web site which is usually pointing you to their website, titled, Acne, Haemorroids, (I cant spell it and neither can they), or bordering on pornography. I had thought about doing a complete post showing everyone what I get as a comment, I would have of course have carefully copied, and pasted, so as not to alert the robot that had sent it that there was some idiot out there who had actually been so daft as to take it on board.  A good sign for all you  is the post they are commenting on is usually months ago!

Howsomeever, back to the title.  Well, when you are working on a nearly flat battery and cant really do much other than move from chair to chair, your eyes land on .....

The bedroom curtains you put up when you moved in.     Dark, well one has to have dark curtains come the Spring time dawn which shines in at about 6 a.m. now and will get earlier, and by June it never gets dark.  

We put up our maps in the entrance hall, which do come in handy when we get knocks on the door from numerous delivery people wanting to know where ????  Satnavs do not work round here.  Drivers are sent by them down cart tracks to ruined houses.  And the map on the left, which is a 1949 Ordnance Survey map depicts many of the places they want to go to.

Also in our entrance hall is the meter cupboard, an essential for the meter reader, the mirror, one should always check ones image before venturing out, and the dreadful dried flower arrangement, with peacock feathers, which my Mother would throw her hands up in horror as being very bad luck. 

Once one is allowed in as far as the inner hallway which is swamped with art work, photography, and this again, awful dried flower/false flower arrangement

Into the sitting room, one thing we would never dream of changing, Minerva McGonagall on the leather chair.  Also in the sitting room, a three seater and two seater leather settees, easily cleanable, unlike material sofas, equals no fleas.....

Our antiques. inherited, and precious, (despite my frequent visits to websites to see if they are worth something.) (Dont care how precious they are once they hit the over £100 tara.)

 My lovely, evergrowing, nurtured, plants in the kitchen.

My Orchid collection on the kitchen windowsill (theres twice as many elsewhere, waiting for them to reburgeon themselves, which they will...) (well they have before).

And then you look out of the window and see the remains of the Dawn Patrollers Wild Flower Meadow.

And as you meander, having a sit down every three steps, not forgetting to take your antibiotic, you really wish you had the energy to clean, dust, vacuum cat, remove awful crap, get a man in with a scythe, begin to hate orchids, read every book, again, on the book shelves, change the curtains, go make a few cushions, paint every wall sunshine yellow, drink a glass of wine.......and its the last one wins.

Changes.

Changes.

The Dawn Patroller's car, the one below, has recently had a fair bit of money thrown at it.  I say thrown as you might as well throw your money in the air when it comes to cars.

We tend to run them into the ground figuratively speaking.  So do get our moneys worth out of them.  
Where we lived before was more inland and had deeper snow, so a four by four was essential .  
We were also used to having big cars as we had four children to transport. And when they moved to university lots of goods and chattels to be transported.


We do need room for baby car seats now,  but twice a year filling a car up with people and babies is a bit of a silly reason for having a large car.  And we do still have two cars.  
We are not on a bus route.  So if one car has a problem we are stuck.  So we need two cars.  We also like our independence of each other.


So let me introduce you to our latest.

Suzuki Alta.  The car tax is £30.  Can you believe that?  I am now looking squint eyed at my Honda HR-V, which I love, mainly as I can see over walls.  But should I be paying a shit load of money just to see over walls?  

Definitely that time of year again.  This is a house sparrow.  The nest box is on our electric pole which quite clearly states on the yellow notice you can just see, "Danger of Death".
This is but one reason for a)not putting nest box on pole.  Also b) house sparrows prefer terrace houses/nest boxes in which to nest.  But then sparrows can't read.  Nor are they members of the RSPB who state that house sparrows prefer terraced nest boxes.

 Sunrise this morning, with gorse which has bloomed the whole winter.  This is an artistic photograph courtesy of the DP.  Presumably his flash lit up the gorse. 

 And at last we begin to see lambs in this neck of the woods.

And a Rook heading straight for the photographer.


Could be change there to the DP!

Thursday's Therapy.

First of all today I cleaned downstairs, which is where we and the three cats live.  Dusted, vacced and mopped.  Without one sit down.  

The Dawn Patroller did the shopping.

After lunch it was down the garden to the shed.

Music, The Ultimate Tenors, well my friends, this is a somewhat tortuous cd.  People long dead and to be honest they sound as if they are singing from the grave.  Not your strong Pavarotti, more a wavering, will he reach the high notes?  But stars in their day.

So here is my take on Mr Hoppers 'Highland Lighthouse'.

Probably turning in his grave.  
Also I do not know where the title came from, as I dont think he ever visited the Highlands of Scotland.


I finished the painting and then drew this.

I couldn't find a laughter line anywhere.  His brother in law who I have met says he is a "Miserable Buggar."  But he did throw a pose for the DP.  So here he is for posterity.


Then the real therapy.  Spring!  Birds singing.  Bonking.  Investigating our nest boxes.

Spring is sprung.  And lots more therapy to come.


Should mention that the 'dead' bushes are Cherry Trees, we have tons which is why our hoosie is called (yawn) Cherry Cottage, instead of a proper Scottish title.  Anyone know the Scots for Cherry?  And will the Postie know it too?

Art or vandalism?

A sculpture by Sydney James Burnett, erected in the late sixties at Fraserburgh Community Centre.    It depicts Seagulls.

 Photograph by Stanley Bruce.

As you can see it has been subjected to a lot of graffiti.  Should that have been cleaned off?


Or had done to it what one of Fraserburgh's artists in residence got the kids to do to it?

Which, according to some of the natives, is indeed vandalism.  And encourages kids tro daub other works of art.


I tend to agree, not sure what Mr Burnett thinks.


Now a few images of Spring.

Memories of primary school days when there was always a jug of catkins in the classroom in Spring!

Now two robins in the garden.  The Dawn Patroller has along with other nest boxes, erected one the Robins should like.  I am sure you are all aware that different birds have a preference on their boudoirs, hole, no hole, large hole, small hole, ledge, platform of twigs, somebody elses nest.....

I spent almost an hour watching this lot of Rooks and Jackdaws.  Wheeling around the field, landing, taking off again.  I just thought it was like the Mecca of my old days where you drifted about, did a bit of a dance, keeping your eye on the talent around before homing in.  They were not feeding.  Definitely eyeing up the possible future partner.

So I really feel Spring is on its way.

Pity about the weather forecast.