Where did I come from?

Our friend Tom  has posted some great blog posts in recent days on some of his childhood memories. Our childhoods are all different but they have this habit of staying with us regardless. 
I had a really weird dream the other night. Do you dream?  It's not usual for me to dream at all or at least I don't remember anything about it. Anyway, this other night I met up with this funny little girl.  She looked a bit unkempt and mucky just on her own with seemingly no-one else around. We got talking and I asked her who she was with.

'I'm with you.'

' You can't be.'

'Where do you live?'

'I live in Llanidloes.'

'Come on I'll take you home'.

'But I want to stay with you.'

I gently persuaded her to sit beside me in my Focus. I turned the ignition key. Wouldn't start and I just couldn't get that car to start.
And then it all dawned on me. She WAS me, my own little inner child from way back. I was the one who had pushed her out of the way and ignored her. But she didn't want to go away.
How strange was that! Yes of course I let her stay with me, well she had to. She was part of my life, just as  everybody has a little inner child claiming part of their lives too.

In my early years I lived on a small farm known locally as the Coppy House. My dad used to have a milk round around Four Crosses where he used to collect all the neighbouring farms' milk in 17 gallon churns and deliver it in an old Commer lorry to the creamery at Four Crosses. We had a neighbour called John from The Maerdy who often used to help dad out with the farm work. During the school summer holidays all my cousins would descend on the Coppy House and stay for the whole six weeks to give their mams a rest. I remember this one day we decided to play hide & seek. I had a super brilliant idea of hiding in an old 17 gallon milk churn in the lorry shed. It was a blooming good  hiding place because nobody did find me - got fed up and all went for their tea. When I'd had enough I made a move to haul myself out but found my bottom firmly wedged against one side of the churn and my knees jammed solid against the other. I was absolutely welded. I couldn't move and yelled my head off. Eventually discovered, I was transported in the churn out into the open air. It was getting mighty hot and stuffy by then. The adults stood around, pondering and peering in, offering opinions on the best course of action. Calling the fire brigade was one of the options on the agenda. Luckily, Old John, bless him, was the one who managed to get me out. I don't know how he did it but I didn't try that again I can tell you! My beloved dad passed away twenty four years ago but one of the things he gave me was the actual 17 gallon milk churn. I've still got it  but there would be no chance of climbing into it now - even if I wanted to.
Do you have a memory, light or dark - would love to hear it.

Farm Sale

Today, lovely, I've had the whole day to myself. Every three months the local auctioneers hold a not-to-be-missed sale of antiquated and otherwise, auction of farm implements, tools, machinery, you name it, on a field just outside Welshpool. We called in yesterday just to have look. Himself spotted a handy bucket that would probably fit the loader on his International so 7.30 am this morning, I waved him off with his flask and his butties and settled down to enjoy the day.

Tractors

....... and Fergies

 As the sale progressed Other Half got talking to a thirty-something young woman with her little daughter. (Not the one in the picture)  Thirty-something was debating whether to bid or not on a Stihl chainsaw. She asked O/H if he would start it for her. He apologetically declined owing to a bit of a delicate state of health but a couple of robust young farmers stepped in to help. She said that her husband lopped the occasional tree trunk and left it by the door for her to cut bits off it as needed. She decided that the saw was a bit heavy after all and then took off to bid on a sheep cratch ( her hubs was too busy at home). And there was me thinking that I was hard done by!

Other Half didn't manage to buy the bucket he wanted (too dear), but looking on the bright side, he didn't buy this environmentally friendly dryer either. It sold for £30 - somebody's wife will be over the moon! He did come home with a van load of bargains though.  Don't think I want to look!



Linking together with  Shadow Shot Sunday in quiet remembrance on this day of 9/11

Where's it all going ?

It seems that no sooner does the weekend start and then its Monday again. Is it just me or do you find that too?

Seems like yesterday it was this ......

And this ......

The days accelerated, then it was this .........

Harvest over and gone

And now it's this. Where's it all going to?

Here's to another Shadow Shot Sunday - hope it's a good one.

Indian Summer

The weather has been fantastic here all day today. And what have we been up to? Just the day for picking potatoes for our enjoyment and I've got an aching back to prove it.

We grew a type called 'Desiree' this year. Normally it's a battle to keep potato blight at bay which can create havoc and destroy a whole crop in a matter of days. Because of the dry, cloudy summer, thankfully it didn't happen this year. We did cut the top foliage off as a precaution two or three weeks ago. What happens is that the foliage yellows. Brown speckles appear on the leaves. They then go slushy and the potatoes rot in the ground. So hopefully we have enough spuds now to keep us going (and a few to give away as well), until the new potatoes come again the end of next May.

We planted a row of swedes next to the hedge. I tried something new this year by starting them off in plugs last April -

As in this sort of thing - (although the veggies in this picture are actually carrots (Ronda), same idea. Good really. What you do is sow the seed in the individual cells, tweak out any extra seedlings and then when you've got a good root ball, plant them out in prepared ground - no thinning - easy to weed.

Lifted the onions at the same time. They look a bit small but I didn't plant them until May which is a bit late as they should have been in the ground in March, but the local garden centre had the sets on offer for 10p per net just to shift them, so not a bad return for my money. (Too cheap to leave there). I shall probably use the smaller ones for pickling.

And if this wasn't enough, I've been up the apple tree, picking apples. This variety is called 'James Grieve', They are not much of a keeper, but just right to eat now, if you can beat the wasps.

I hate that horrible musty taste you sometimes get on supermarket bought apples. Nothing like that on these. A bit marked and odd shapes they may be, but to me this is how food should really taste. What do you think?

Onslow Bank Steam Rally

What have you been up to this Bank Holiday? We went to the Steam Rally at Onslow Bank today - just West of Shrewsbury and about ten miles away from where we live. Quite a big one this year - 50th Anniversary. The wind was a bit cold and the sky was a bit overcast but we downed tools early and got there soon after 9.30am. Managed to park up reasonably easy. Come on, I'll take you round.

An old 'International' or a ' Massey Harris' ? , whatever - just look at those spiky metal wheels. They are called 'spade lugs,' (fitted because of the lightness of the tractor and ability to grip the terrain)

And the Fergies - this one had a Ferguson baler attached to the side - there are only eight of these balers world wide.  When Massey Harris took over Ferguson, their own model of baler was superior to this one. Thus this model was discontinued owing the tendency of throwing up massive clouds of dust  when in operation, practically exterminating the unfortunate operators. The one above is apparently the only one left in working order.

Field of corn all cut - these two are adjusting the transport wheels on the straw binder to travel to the next field to be harvested.

This little dog poked her head around the door of a road maker's site caravan. It was so neat with wood stove, kettle boiling, bunk bed. Barriers, picks, forks and road lamps parked outside the door.

There was the 'Posh Pram' parade, the barrel organs, the craft marquee and the fairground merry-go-round.

The beautifully carved polished wooden bowls.

And wooden flowers.

And the time we spent talking to the Master Craftsman.

 Just a perfect day!

Baby Blue

This is my car. It's the first car I've ever owned in my life, chosen by me, with my name on the registration document, my name on the insurance documents, my name on the MOT certificate and my name on the cheque book that bought it. I've owned it now for 2 years and it's my pride and joy. Our grand daughter has been staying with us for the past month. We took her home today. She lives just the other side of Chester, about sixty miles away. We'd parked outside her house and were waving fond goodbyes, turned the ignition key - dead as a dodo. Not a bleep. Not a peep! My Other Half turned the ignition key four or five times - nothing! 'It's the Distributor cap - I'm sure it's the Distributor cap - I'd better take it off and have a look!' 'And perhaps you'd better not!' By this time I was already dialling the Road Rescue on my mobile. 'We'll be with you within the hour. What's your mobile number?' In an emergency can you reel off your mobile number just like that? In all honesty I haven't got a clue what mine is. But he said it didn't matter because the number had come up on the screen and he'd got all the details .... Other Half was cheerfully envisaging it being towed off to the scrap yard or a bill of at least £1,000 to put it right. Anyway, true to his word, the RAC man was there on the hour. He drove up along side, took one look, said, 'Try the key again.' The engine started up on the first turn and purred like a self satisfied pussy. 'Ahem, I think you might have flooded the engine. Give me a bell if you get stuck again on the way home.' We got home safe and I still love my Focus!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Two whole weeks have just disappeared like the speed of light and I haven't ........ posted on Shadow Shot Sunday that is! Shame on me! But this week I took the day off and went chasing shadows around Shrewsbury Quarry!

There's a wooden board just as you go in which gives you a potted history of how it all came about! During the 14th century, the Dingle Garden was actually just a wet quarry hole consisting of poor quality red sandstone and the gardens were developed over a period of time. In 1647, Mrs Foxhall was burned at the stake there for poisoning her husband! (All you who are rotten cooks beware - Thank the Good Lord for Gordon Ramsey, Nigella Lawson and Delia she says! )
 Anyway, moving on ......

Come and walk with me along Victoria Quay - the old cabin cruiser is still moored up along the bank. Look how it reflects in the water of the Severn

Or take a laid back cruise along the river. I really want to do that one day!

Look at the ducks, they're in no hurry...

Autumn's right on our door step. Everywhere underneath the trees, a deepening mass of crackly copper bronze leaves and brittle seeds.

Let's walk along the pathway

See how the sun has cast a shadow on the peeling paintwork.

Look you can see the Shoemaker's Arbour just across the lake.

And take in the reflection on a tiny inlet.

And trace the shadow of the ferns and the narrow bendy tree.
 I've loved your company. Thank you so much.
Happy Shadow Shot Sunday