Muggles

I can't believe it but Muggles my house rabbit is dead. What's worse is that I was sitting posting here and didn't even realise he had gone as he looked as if he was resting. The first I knew was when I went to lift him out of his cage to clean it- he was even warm. He didn't appear to be ill at all so will keep fingers crossed that it's not RCD although he was vaccinated against this. I am so upset as he was a lovely rabbit and I enjoyed his antics. I don't know perhaps it was his heart? He was so small when he was born that in a larger litter he would have died but with there only being two kits and having a great mother he survived. I've buried him in the front garden and disinfected his cage and all this by 6.30am. Needless to say I'm completely stunned.

Goodbye 2006

Haymaking has finished here on the farm with all the bales safely stored in the barn in the paddock next door. However one was left in the baler- not a good idea I thought when I discovered one fat donkey stuffing her face yesterday morning.

Red is the largest horse amongst the three here. By the look of him he is an ex racehorse as these are often sold on as hacks once their racing career is over. The three horses aren't ridden very often at all, in fact the Kaimanawa seems so wild that no one can get near her. I would love to try and give her some one on one training just to tame her down but she's not my horse. I will really miss them all once we move as will Briar.

Yesterday morning Gypsy brought a thrush in the house with nothing but bad intentions. The bird managed to get away from her only to be caught by Peaches but I managed to free it again by shaking her. When I finally caught it I was rewarded by a severe bite. It appeared totally stressed with a bloody wound on the side of its head. Not expecting it to survive I placed it in a box in the darkness and warmth of the hot water cupboard. The aftermath of the chase was feathers and spots of blood all over the place with the bathroom the worst hit with blood and poop on the floor and up the walls.

An hour or so later I heard scratching coming from the hotwater cylinder cupboard so took the box into my bedroom. The thrush sat looking up at me for a minute before taking off out the open window and flying into the manuka tree on the edge of the front lawn. I hope it survived its terrifying ordeal. I don't think I'd like ending up as Gypsy's plaything. At least now I know how she lost part of her ear when she caught the other thrush two weeks ago- that bite was pretty hard.

Today is New Year's Eve and I for one won't be sad to see the end of 2006 with all its dramas. Fingers crossed that next year will bring some positive changes. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

The week before Christmas raced past much more quickly than I expected. I managed to complete two jobs that were worrying me: washing the outside of the windows which were covered with muck from when the cottage was waterblasted prior to painting and also cleaning out Chocolate's outside hutch and removing her long coat. She looks so funny now but at least she's cool for the summer.

I came in a few days ago to find feathers all over the floor and the skeleton of a thrush in the bottom of the bath with blood up the walls of the bathroom. The only animal that plays in the bath is Gypsy and when she appeared a minute later she was in a terribly good mood plus missing a small chunk out of her ear so looks like the something had fought back. When I took the body outside I found it to be the beautiful thrush that has been keeping me company for the past few weeks. Or so I thought as when I went out to feed the chooks in the afternoon the body of another thrush was laid neatly in the laundry. My cats rarely catch birds so I have no idea what this massacre was all about and feel badly that these lovely creatures met with such a terrible end.

Anyway it is Christmas morning here in New Zealand so I'd like to wish everyone a happy day and hope you're sharing it with loved ones. I'll be having a rest and veging out after all the hussle of the past few weeks. The painting to the left is one I completed as a Christmas swap a couple of years ago- the original went to America. Merry Christmas!

The Search Begins

My rural rental adverts in the Friday Trader and Wednesday Mover brought two replies. One was an offer to live in the Ormmondville School which is situated near to Dannevirke and therefore is too far away. The second was for a 100 year old farm cottage with one acre of grazing at Maraekakaho, west of Hastings. It was part of a family farm that has been slowly cut up for lifestyle blocks. The landlord told me he felt that there wasn't enough grazing, especially as Maraekakaho is extremely dry and hot and doesn't have much grass growth. However I felt I would regret it if I didn't take a look so Tuesday morning my brother Richard, his friend Lorraine and I drove out to see what the property was like.

We met the landlord at the cenotaph in the middle of Maraekakaho and followed him down a little winding shingle drive amongst other houses to this tiny cottage. I couldn't see that there an acre with this place- maybe a quarter and although they had a lot of rain recently the grass that was there wouldn't have lasted two days for Briar. The remaining farm land is leased out to someone else so no more grazing available. The promised double garage turned out to be a series of woodsheds. The house was rough but livable- by the sounds of it they had only recently moved the toilet inside as it used to be in the wash house (which was outside and darkly depressing consisting of only a tub behind a door). Afterwards Lorraine gave her opinion that the place wasn't worth $185 rent a week and she was right. It had some things going for it but there was a lot against and by the sounds of it the landlord has a high turnover of tenants in there.

I came home, rewrote my advertisements to be more specific and placed these back in the trade magazines. I am still waiting for a reference from my current landlord- even put a message on their answerphone a week ago with no success. The Tenancy Tribunal advised me to give prospective landlords Ken's phone number plus show my bank statements which will demonstrate that I pay my rent regularly. The guy I spoke to heartened me by saying that I have strong record as a good tenant as I have lived here for eight years- a bad tenant would have been thrown out long ago.

I have begun going through all my unopened boxes of stuff sorting out the rubbish to be thrown away from things I need to keep and items that I can put up for sale on Trademe (I have added a permanent link to my auctions to the left of this blog). Hopefully I will be able to earn money to pay for the move so I don't have to take a loan. I am now extremely determined to buy my own place so I have some security in life.

Kingfisher

Yesterday afternoon I found a kingfisher hopping around at the back of the cottage. Demelza was extremely interested but every time she went to pounce on it the creature jabbed its long beak at her. Unfortunately it didn't recognise someone who wanted only to help so I was bitten a few times before I donned gardening gloves and finally managed to pick it up. The kingfisher gripped onto my left hand while I came inside and tried to ring my friend John, fount of wisdom on all subjects to do with nature and farming. Unfortunately he was outside but Marg promised she'd get him to call once he finishing tinkering with his rover.

I made up a little box with a towel and took the bird into the Widdly Room (the bright yellow storage room at the end of the cottage which is a repository for empty boxes and spinning fleeces) as this was quiet and sunny. After John rang and told me try it on some chicken mince I mixed up a mushy worm of meat with water and tried to get some down its beak with little success. When I checked on it later in the day it had perched on the edge of the box and was looking around with some interest (I managed to get a couple of photographs while it was doing this).

Before heading to bed at 9pm I checked on it but it had disappeared. After some frantic searching I found it had hidden itself behind a canvas board leaning against a basket. As kingfishers apparently burrow into river banks I didn't feel this was strange and left it alone.

This morning it had died. Not a shock as it obviously had some severe injury which had prevented it flying. I know people feel kingfishers are bad luck and bring death into the house but I couldn't help marvel at the sheer beauty of this wild creature. As an aside as I write this there was an advertisement on the radio for an eatery called the Kingfisher Cafe....

Merino Yarn

A cold snap blew in yesterday bringing a little rain to settle the dust. I have been finishing off some spinning to sell. Merino needs to be spun finer than most other wools as it really fluffs out when plied (a bit like angora). I still have nearly a whole fleece left to work with but have gone back onto core spinning for The Shearing Shed. At the moment I am picking through the white angora, getting rid of second cuts from shearing and fluffing up the fibre ready for spinning. I missed working for them so am happy that business is doing so well Heather was able to take me back on.

Got a little advertisement placed in the Creative Fibre magazine Friday and the hits on my website have been phenomenal. The problem is that angora is a specialist fibre and at the moment alpaca is "in" and bunny hair "out".

Song thrush

Every time I go outside there is a thrush which comes and sits on the fence and watches whatever I happen to be doing. Sometimes it even flies down and lands within four feet of me. The common and garden thrush would have to be one of my all time favourite birds both for its song and also for its personality. Some people believe that birds are spiritual messengers. Whether or not that is true I find the bird's presence strangely comforting at this time.

DIY Fly Trap

The heat has set in and brought the flies out in large numbers, especially around the hen house. My friend John uses a Gordy Fly Trap (left) which is a clean pesticide free way to kill flies by trapping them. He taught me how to make a DIY version to use here which consists of a 3 litre juice bottle with a small fly sized aperture cut halfway up the bottle. You drop meat (lamb mince is the best I've found) into the bottom and then cover with an inch of water. To finish it off you cover with clear plastic and secure with a rubber band so that the flies aim to climb up to the top of the bottle rather than out the hole again. Hanging the trap in a semi sunny situation you watch as the flies first feed on the rancid meat and as more and more meet their end, on each other.

I put a bottle out two weeks ago and already there is a thick black inch of flies dead on the bottom. It sounds a gruesome activity but flies not only carry disease they can cause flystrike within a few hours which is an incredibly painful experience for any animal. I don't like using pesticides which is why I still have the bottle of flyspray I bought eight years ago. These DIY flytraps really do reduce the fly population.

Looking

I've spent two days ringing anyone I know with rural connections asking them to keep their ear to the ground about a cottage. Registered with a couple of land agents, asked my mailman to talk to his clients, Bart the equine vet is asking around and Doug my other vet is allowing me to put a sign up in his office. I've put adverts in trader magazines as well. There is a free country newspaper that comes out monthly so will wait for the next issue and see if they allow classifieds. My cousin Margh spoke to a real estate agent friend of hers whom I rang first thing yesterday. She said she has places come through every so often but it might take her a few weeks to find somewhere for me. After speaking to her I felt so much calmer and able to do a few things round the house rather than just sitting stressing.

I managed to find a home for another of my bantam roosters on Tuesday evening. A gentleman from Middle Road chose the more colourful of the ones I am rehoming (a screamer who made out I was murdering him if I picked him up). He'll be running free with his new women and altogether living a very happy life. I did ask the guy if he knew of any empty houses in his area and he said Mt Erin Station has several cottages but they're all tiny, more for shearers really so wouldn't be suitable. However he did say he and his wife would keep an eye out for me and as a last resort if I'm stuck for grazing for the donkey they would look after her till I am settled somewhere.

I am so fed up with all the work being done here. They're still waterblasting so the hose is tied up all the time so each day I am carrying 25 litres of water from the house to the chickens. They pulled out the pink hollyhock plant in a pot my sister gave me three years ago which was looking so beautiful next to the east wall. It is shriveled up and I can't revive it. I had two seedlings from this by the garage which were in bud but I discovered these weighed down with stones on the ground yesterday. Everything is covered with paint- the plants, my plant surrounds, my pots. They even used my brand new garden trowel to stir paint. By they I mean the back packers as the landlord and his partner haven't been near since delivering the news although I am hopeful they will deliver a reference soon at least.

The Joke's On Me

Yesterday I was coming back from taking letters out to the mailbox when my landlord walked into the backyard saying he had something unpleasant to discuss with me. I immediately thought that after all the work they've been doing lately he was going to increase my rent but instead he told me his partner's father needs to come and live here and I'll have to move on. I have until April to find somewhere else to live as they want the place vacant by winter. However he did say that at least I would have the place looking nice for the summer!

Spent the remainder of the afternoon ringing everyone I know with rural connections, leaving messages to keep their ear to the ground for any properties for rent. This couldn't come at a worse time for me financially either. I never recovered from my last two moves in 1998 and I haven't any savings to fall back on as I have been coping with disaster after disaster since then. I have already been listing auctions on Trademe so will continue doing this throughout the summer to try and raise some cash.

I am devastated to say the least but need to keep going and find a safe place for the animals and myself.

Thyme For Work

It's been pretty busy around here so I haven't had time to update the blog. The garden has had a major shock for a start. My landlord has finished the east garden by chopping down the remaining shelterbelt trees and removing their roots with the tractor before putting up a new eight wire fence to replace the three wire "abstract" edifice that was there before. He also finished chainsawing the wattle tree that fell down last Autumn and chopped back the shelter belt on the south side and dug out the toi toi bushes at the back of the rabbitry with dire consequences for part of the south wall which cracked and fell to bits. I am hoping he will find something to repair this with before long. He also brought in the tractor and dug out a huge flax bush at the front fence.

The cottage has been washed, water blasted and primed and is now being painted. The walls are cream again, the roof fire engine red and the foundations deep green. The backpackers are currently working on the shed doors which are no longer Karitane yellow but the same bottle green as on the cottage. Unfortunately a downside to all this activity was that at some point someone put a hole in my garden hose and cut twelve feet off it so I can no longer get it round to the hen house. This means I carry 25 litres of water out there by hand every day.

Last week when I was feeding the bunnies I noticed that Pip, my old Harlequin angora buck, wasn't interested in his food and kept looking round at his rear end. When I flipped him on his back I noticed one extremely enlarged testicle. Early 2005 he had this problem so was half castrated and we had hoped that the cancer wouldn't move into the other one but unfortunately that was not to be. I booked him in for an operation on Wednesday the 15th and got him to the vet's at 8.25am. I had already informed the vet's receptionist that I would have to change his nickname from One Hung Lo...........

Pip survived the operation and the trip home in 29oC heat. I kept him inside overnight and next morning washed and disinfected his cage before taking him back out to the shed in the afternoon. After being quiet and depressed Pip perked up soon as he saw the other bunnies and began cleaning himself once he was back "home". Since then he's been eating normally and seems quite fine again. Hopefully that will be the end of his adventures.

Although the garden is extremely bare now I still have some plants flowering. There is a lovely deep pink hollyhock growing up beside the east wall of the cottage and three more plants beginning to flower along the garage. My thyme plants are also looking good and I was pleased to discover that the cuttings I took a week ago have taken. As thyme seems to grow fast I should soon be able to transplant these.

More chaos

It's been a hectic week with more work being done round the cottage. On Monday Ken sent one of the backpackers in to sand down all the window frames and sills. Then Tuesday both young men came in with one hacking out the blackberry threading its way through the trees and agapanthus plants by the front fence. He then went on to scrub down the rough cast cottage walls ready for painting. It was a terrible job as in some areas ivy had been growing and when this was pulled away it had left leaves and stems embedded into the paintwork.

I had already gone out at 8.30am in order to do some more gardening but because of all the hard work going on around me felt impelled to stay outside a lot longer than I intended. So although I completely weeded the three gardens along the front of the cottage by the next morning I could barely move. Not quite bent like a human pretzel but getting there.

Tuesday they began waterblasting the cottage while Ken came with a chainsaw and cut down the stumps he had left in the winter along the drive. Pulling down the fence on the east side of the property (Toby goat was shifted to the front paddock so he wouldn't come in) he later came back in the early evening with his big tractor and dug out roots and the troublesome ivy that was smothering everything. There are still three or four stumps needing to come out which will leave big holes needing to be filled with dirt. While he was over here Ken also cut back a few trees on the southern boundary and removed a dead silver birch in the backyard. He also began pulling apart the rotten windowsill on the east side of the cottage. This only had two inch rotten area when I came here eight years ago- now the whole sill is crumbling away. After he finished I could see the wirenetting holding the concrete walls together but fortunately the rot hasn't extended into the window frame.

Wednesday morning one of the backpackers came in and continued waterblasting the walls. What a job! The ground is covered with flakes of cream paint and the cottage looks very shabby chic with its bare patches.

Thursday it dawned cold and grey and soon afterwards it began pouring with rain so no more work was done. The place looks so bare now- no shelter from the east and no privacy either. I guess though that I'm going to have a lot more garden to play around with. Just a shame I'm so broke at the moment and can't afford to buy anything to plant in it!

The Big Clean Up

Once a year my hot water begins to dwindle to a dribble which means that there is a build up of lime or gunk in the ajax valve of the water cylinder. This is an unpleasant job involving much mess and water so I tend to procrastinate for a long time before I ring the landlord. However when it takes half an hour to run an inch of water into the bath you know you have to do something soon.

Thursday I rang Ken to give him the bad news. The next morning he arrived with a drill and also one of his backpackers whom he set to weedeat the three foot high lawn which has been unmown since May. Then another backpacker came over and they began clearing the garage out of all the previous tenant's rubbish that was left here eight years ago. While they were filling up a huge trailer I took out my dead vacuum cleaner, heater, two deceased mops and the base of a rabbit cage that Cheezels my departed house rabbit used to chew through while I was out so she could play with the dog and cats. I can't believe how big the shed actually is now all the boxes of crud are out of there.

After Ken finished with the water he set one of the tourists to mowing the lawn. We had a hell of a job shifting two of the hutches due to the grass growing through them and the mesh floor came off the bottom of one of them. However it was wonderful to see the grass being cut. Ken cut back a fushia in the driveway for me and discussed the next chore of pulling out all the stumps in the driveway garden and filling the holes with dirt so I can put in a new garden. To this end he took his truck and collected dirt which is now in a pile in the paddock next door. He also gave me a bale of hay for the rabbits.

After lunch one of the backpackers came in and washed down the cottage walls and scrubbed the spouting so it's no longer green. By the end of the day the place was looking respectable again- just a shame about its inhabitant who brings the whole tone of the area down. :o) After all this activitiy I have a sneaking suspicion my rent is going to go up soon- either that or else it's an early birthday present!

And if you want to know why so many backpackers stay here you just need to look at this photo of the Tuki Tuki Valley where the farm is situated. We're to the left of the river up in the hills. Unfortunately since I moved here quite a few new houses have been built in the area which not only have taken up good farm land but are blights on the landscape. But when you're a millionaire you can do what the hell you like in Hawkes Bay as long as you grease the right palms. Just goes to show that money doesn't automatically buy you good taste or a conscience.

RIP BWB

When I went out to feed the hens first thing Wednesday morning I found Bloody White Bastard lying dead by the garden by the back door. Looked like he was waiting to be fed and had a heart attack. Buried him in the garden with all state honours. Ten years was a good age but I really miss him following me around the place.

The farrier braved the rain Tuesday morning to trim Briar's hooves and came to tell me she was limping quite badly. She had been fine Monday so he felt she'd either been kicked or else had an abscess. He suggested I leave her a few days to see if it burst on its own. By Thursday Briar could barely hobble around so left a message with Bart Thompson the local equine vet. He returned my call in the evening and as luck would have it he was going to be seeing a horse on a farm down my road at lunchtime Friday.

He arrived dead on time and we braved Tobermory goat to get to Briar who was standing near the tack shed with the Kaimanawa horse. She had an abscess deep in her right hind hoof which Bart lanced before giving her a huge injection of penicillin and a shot for tetanus. He says it's the time of year that caused the abscess- we have days of rain and then it becomes hot. He left me four packets of painkillers but I have to say that after only one day Briar is nearly walking normally again. I had only just sent a cheque for the last of Demelza's vet bill so am not happy I'm back in debt again but you can't watch an animal suffer like that and not do anything.

I have been busy upgrading and revamping my menagerie website and now it has all my stock uploaded I'll hopefully get some orders before Christmas. I am also hoping to complete more spinning for the handspun yarn page and have asked my sister for help getting me back knitting so I can make small items from my angora fibre. Haven't knitted since I was about eight or nine and it's true- if you don't use it you lose it. I think I can vaguely remember how to cast on and cast off.

Bye Bye Birdie

The big Plymouth rock that was hanging round the hen house and making overtures towards Cordelia the black Aracauna decided to take on one of the smallest bantam roosters. He lost! That Game Fowl blood way back in the background still comes through when it comes to defending one of their women. Despite this when I put them to bed after their forage the big rooster followed them into the shed. To his horror I picked him up and carried him back outside. Shocked and traumatised he took to his heels (do chickens even have heels?) and ran all the way home. However he was back over here later on when he perched in a tree by the back gate and proceeded to crow loudly all night. The next day he was gone. I assume his vocal exercises had annoyed his owner and she moved him on.

Last week I advertised a few of my small unnamed bantam roosters free to good home. Had a call from a lady wanting three but she never got back to me. This is the third time this has happened and I'm so fed up with it. I hate tyre kickers and time wasters. Perhaps I'm being too tough and she's only lost my phone number. Anyway will readvertise them this week and see how I get on. They've been sprayed for lice etc. so they're ready to go.

Since my eastern shelter belt has been cut down I have been able to see the lovely specimen trees growing near the big homestead including a colourful Kowhai. I remember one in my parent's garden and how it would attract the tuis. This is a lovely time of year apart from the terrible nor westerlies. The other day they got up to 120 kms and I thought the roof was going to lift.

After three weeks my nettle and thistle programme is showing results. I've nearly cleared all the scotch thistles next to the hen run and have removed two thirds of the nettles and thistles near the back boundary. Once I get these under control I can get into the garden out the front which is pretty overgrown. The fact is it's hard to see the weeds as my lawn hasn't been mown since Autumn and is nearly three feet high in places. I asked John if he could keep an eye out for a couple of lambs I could run on the lawn but I don't think he realised I was serious. If he were still alive my Dad would be appalled. He mowed our lawns once a week in the warm weather and perhaps once a month in winter and God help anyone who made a mark on them.

Mills and Boon in the Henhouse

The local electricity company cut off our power all day yesterday to repair lines somewhere down the road. Made a thermos so I could have a couple of hot drinks through the day and tried to cope with the silence. It's weird how acclimatized you become to having noise in the background.

Not that it was too quiet with my landlady's Plymouth Rock roosters are crowing fit to bust. The other afternoon I was getting ready to have a bath when I saw four out the front attacking Bloody White Bastard. By the time I hauled on my clothes again and rushed out they were strutting away leaving a white heap of feathers on the grass. Appalled I picked his limp little body up in my arms and cuddled him to my chest as I came back up the drive. Halfway along he lifted up his head and looked around as if to say "Are they gone yet?". Little bloke was playing dead! I frightened him even further by giving him a huge hug before feeding him some grain as a reward for being so clever. I guess you don't reach ten years of age without learning a trick or two!

One of the roosters has taken up residence in my backyard however. I have chased him out repeatedly but he just keeps returning. I was so worried when I let the chickens out yesterday but he ignored my roosters and zoomed in on Cordelia the black Aracauna. Doing the broken wing dance around her he tried to round her up only to be attacked by Widget, a bantam rooster about one sixth his size. Surprisingly the small bird intimidated him and he backed off. However half an hour later he was following Cordy around clucking at her, even following her when she walked into the hen house. He acts like a rooster in love whereas she has no interest in him whatsoever. That's my girl- treat 'em mean keep 'em keen.

After our cold snap last week a strong norwester has brought temperatures of 28oC (82.4oF). I knew the hot weather was coming as Angel disappeared two days ago...........

Cold Snaps Blows In Visitor

Freezing weather has blown this way from the South Island bringing rain and a bitter southerly wind. Put paid to my "five-a-day" programme that I began on the weekend- digging out five thistles and five nettles every morning to try and get the jungle under control.

My sister was up from Dunedin this week and came out to see me Monday. Naturally Angel (her cat) was still away on one of her expeditions. I always joke how that cat leaves with the warm weather and returns with the cold. Sure enough last night there was a noise at the window and Angel had come home. Starving hungry and pretty grumpy but strangely pleased to see everybody (except the dog). I assume she'll stay as long as the weather is rotten. She's better than any barometer!

Bloodbath!

Last Saturday night was definitely made for fighting. Firstly there was a crash in the kitchen and found Peaches had "played" with one of my hen salt and pepper set and smashed it onto the floor. Then Demelza chased Gypsy up into my bedroom and by the time I got there Gyps was behind the curtain and there was a pool of blood on the sill. There were spatters of gore up the curtains and about thirty drops of blood all over the carpet. Gyps then followed me into the bathroom, smeared more on the walls and then got in the bath which was soon covered with blood. Checked and she was bleeding from under her tail. Was up till 10pm trying to get the blood out of the curtains and carpet and me as she sat on me at one point and bled over my night attire.

Haven't seen anything as gory since the great Three Blind Mice Massacre of 1999!

Cobwebby Morning

It's getting light at 5.30am at the moment so the thought of Daylight Saving Time beginning tomorrow is welcome. Since all the trees on the eastern side of the driveway have been chopped down the sun has begun shining in the back yard and this morning when I glanced out the back door there were 15 perfectly round cobwebs suspended between fence wires or amongst the undergrowth. The spiders have also been busy building all round my windows but may be in for a nasty surprise as I am about to wash the outsides of these this weekend.

It's been an interesting week. A few days ago coming home from an appointment in Napier I saw a couple of wire cages sitting on the grass verge at the side of the road. Called in at the nearest cottage but no one was home so drove across the paddock to the house next door which still owns all the land. Met a very nice guy called Olly who said he used to keep angoras twenty years ago. He had nine banks (each with three cages) and also took us to his old rabbit shed where he had a roll of brand new floor mesh as well. Named a price and my brother paid straight away (I just have to pay him back now).

Last Thursday friend John arrived out with his ute and trailer piled high with the cages and mesh. A couple of banks have no bottoms and a couple had slight rust but the rest being perfectly preserved even after all these years in the open. He piled them down the back of the property so we can get to them when we start to replace my old ones.

It has been an interesting few months as angoras suddenly seem to becoming popular again. I have had quite a few enquiries about buying stock with a shocked response when I say that I no longer sell my animals. Firstly you get people thinking they're going into breeding angoras and are going to make a fortune with their fibre. I am very open with them as to the fact that the market is tiny and ever decreasing since alpaca has become so popular. So many rabbit farms went down in the 80s and 90s after China flooded the market with inferior fibre and the market will never return. Unfortunately people think I'm deliberately withholding information from them, that I'm making a fortune on the quiet and just don't want to share my spoils. In 19 years of keeping angoras I have yet to make my feed bill!

The other kind are the people who say they only want an angora as a pet. I and other breeders find these are the ones that say the same thing to a couple of breeders so they can get a pair which they then burn out breeding for the pet market. The offspring of these are then sold on to pet shops and after the new owners discover how difficult angoras are to keep the poor animals end up in the RSPCA or at vets. I have had several come through here in a bad way. Sometimes they have such severe blockages from wool they expire within a short time. Angoras are not a pet for the faint hearted and I applaud the breeders who vet prospective owners as to their intentions although many of us have still been conned. The bunny mill breeders are one of the lowest forms of life and have no regard for their animals- only the money they can make from the unsuspecting public.

Cats Feeling The Joys Of Spring

Kind brother spent a long time Wednesday trying to get the TV amplifier repaired. Finally succeeded by completely taking it apart and redoing all the wiring. Turns out the booster part is actually up on the aerial and the box down here is just a power pack. Anyway he got my TV reception back after 11 days.

Yesterday Demelza turned up with a baby rat. Fortunately it was dead but despite this she still wanted to bring it inside to "share". My cats never take on rats so the only explanation for this aberration is that Melz thought it was a very over grown mouse. I am amazed she even killed it as she usually plays with her prey till she loses them. She spends most of her time looking bewildered wondering where they've gone while (I assume) they sit under a tuft of grass giving her the proverbial finger.

Piper has done a disappearing act this morning. She was lying asleep by the back door last night when next door's cat attacked her so I brought her in. However she proved so restless that at 10pm I let her out again as I had given her her heart medication. Looking at her you'd never think there was anything wrong with her at all as she seems so fit and well.

The phone went out again yesterday morning. Told Telecom I didn't want to be without it for seven days like last time so they actually had it repaired within six hours. When you live in an isolated position the phone takes on mythic importance as it is your sole contact with the outside world.

Suddenly the weather is warming up. It was 25oC yesterday and the temperatures are set to be as high today. All Winters mud has dried up which is wonderful.