Warm comfort and not quite a farm

A friend says that her sister’s cat has died and she would like to give a home to the tabby kitten.  Of course, that’s my favourite – it would be the case.  She’s a nice woman, long divorced and lives alone, isn’t in great health and has a fairly serious drink problem.  I suppose I’ll have to be kind.

Eddie had a problem with his car and will come another day, but I had a nice surprise when Weeza texted to suggest they came over, with a view to chop logs.  They arrived in time for bacon sandwiches – luckily, I bought a pound of bacon yesterday and raided the loaf that Roses bought for the chickens a couple of days ago and then we went out and got started.  It was a really hot day and Phil wielded his 8 pound axe with verve for some time, with the rest of us loading logs into their van and then, once the back was full, into my wood store.  Some of the logs were from long-felled trees and were frankly past their best – J had doubted that they were worth bothering with, but we all felt that free wood was better than buying it and, even if it burned quickly, it was worth having, for the most part.  Some of it was fine, of course and the wood pile is much smaller than it used to be, so I’m on the way to a cleared space.

I’d got in extra food because of Eddie and Charlotte coming over, not being sure how many meals I’d be cooking, so I gave the sirloin steaks I’d bought to Weeza and Phil, along with courgettes, tomatoes, carrots and a cucumber.  So good to have home grown vegetables.  The outdoor tomatoes are doing better than the greenhouse ones, though I have to admit that it isn’t surprising.  For convenience, I put the indoor plants into growbags and they’re such a nuisance to water, I don’t do it as thoroughly nor as often as I should.

The other job I did this morning was to begin preparing the indoor tortoise run.  Stevo and I cleared it a couple of weeks ago and I’ll put in fresh soil and newly washed gravel and stones.  Once I bring them in, that is where they will stay – the bother of searching for them to bring them under cover at night is beyond me.

2 comments on “Warm comfort and not quite a farm

    1. Z Post author

      It’s in the porch – a wooden construction about 8′ by 4′ with sides high enough that Ben the dog couldn’t look in (he doesn’t jump) – in any case, it would have to have sides that Edweena couldn’t climb over. Then there is about 4″ or more of soil or stones inside. At one end, there is a vivarium without its glass front, so that they can get under cover if they want to. There are big stones to climb on and big enough pieces of bark to climb on or hide under. Tortoises like exploring and scrambling. I also have two sun lamps for them, for dull and cold days. This year, I will also have to cover ththe whole thing with net or wire, so that the cat doesn’t jump in and use it for a lavatory.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Z Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.