Demelza and the Unigoat

Since Piper died Demelza has become clingy. For the past few weeks she has been joining me in the office early morning while I do my writing but always sitting by the heater or else up on top of the computer station. Since Piper died a week ago she has been curling up on my knee which is most unlike her. Demelza is an incredibly beautiful cat (I think) with such unusual markings but as she is so reserved I can never properly capture her in a photo as she'll always look away as I snap the shutter. I guess being left at the dump aged six weeks takes its toll somewhere along the line.

Tobermory has become a whole lot less cranky since he lost his horn. The wound looks gory but clean. I was telling my friend Gina about the event and mentioned wanting to turn him into a unicorn. She informed me he is now a "unigoat" so that's what I'll tell people he is from now on. Roll up and see the eighth wonder of the world- the magical unigoat!

Horny Goat

I didn't see Tobermory the goat when I went out to feed the chooks early yesterday morning. I had seen him Thursday evening and he was fine so I wasn't too concerned that he hadn't come to say hello. Later that morning as I went to clean out the hen house I noticed Toby walking towards me. I kept looking at him and thinking something wasn't quite right and as he neared the gate I noticed blood all over the right side of his face. Then I saw a bloody stump where his right horn used to be.

How he lost it is any one's guess as it was very strong. I checked the boundary fences to see if he'd got stuck in the wire and pulled it off in fright but there was no sign of it. He must have one hell of a headache. It's fortunately still cold though so no flies about but I will keep an eye on the wound to check it doesn't develop an infection. Of course being me I was trying to work out a way to pull his remaining horn into the middle of his forehead so I could tell everyone he's actually a unicorn........

Keeping Occupied

I've been trying to stay busy to keep my mind off Piper. When a chronically ill animal dies you suddenly realize how much you did for them and how much your day revolved around their care. No more daily washing of Pipe's bedding or getting heart meds into her twice a day for example. One nice note though is that on Tuesday I received a bereavement card from CHB Vets who'd diagnosed her with renal failure.

The day after Piper died I went to town. My big excitement is usually going to the library and I found myself just getting more and more books until my bag was so heavy I could barely lift it- eleven in all. The Wednesday morning was art group at Otane before a lovely lunch at Abbottslee Tearooms in Waipawa. All this activity took my mind of losing her.

I now have a little man to mow the lawns here. He's profoundly deaf so I have to yell my conversations- it's a wonder my family can't hear us in Napier. He also looks like a hobbit which is mildly disconcerting. However he made an excellent job of mowing the grass although he says the lawnmower is about on its last wheels (literally as one is falling off) plus the blades are bent and not cutting properly. Next time he will bring one of his own. All that for $15!


Early mornings while I'm on the net Demelza sits with me quietly in the warmth of the office while Gypsy and Peaches go crazy running up and down the hallway. When I go out an hour later I usually find the mat halfway across the kitchen and pens and any other small objects on the floor where they've been used for footie practice. Usually Peaches is a quiet cat who poses beautifully for photos and keeps coming to check how I'm doing. She stands up and puts both paws on my knee before reaching one right across, placing it in my lap as if to ask if I'm OK. Well that's what I like to think anyway. She probably is asking when her next meal is.

RIP Piper

Piper died an hour ago. She really fought to stay with us as I had expected her to pass away Friday. I moved her bed along mine and when she called out during the night would pat and talk to her until she settled. Over the weekend she wouldn't eat or get out of her bed but I carried water to her and kept her clean. This morning she couldn't meow or raise her head and by lunchtime she was breathing through her mouth. I decided if she was still with us tomorrow morning I would take her to the vet to have her put to sleep but typically Piper had other ideas and beat me to it.

I have buried her by the front carport overlooking the fields towards where the sun rises in the morning. I laid a pink camellia flower in her grave and one more on top and said a prayer that she's finally in a place with no more illness and where she will have the fine long tail she always wanted. Her sweet soul will be sorely missed around here.

Nearing The End

It was a freezing cold day yesterday- the coldest this winter. I was inside by the fire wearing two jerseys and with a hot water bottle on my knee and I was still chilly. Most depressing though is that Piper has finally gone off her food and I can find nothing to tempt her with any more. This morning she didn't want to get out of bed so I carried her into the sitting room where it was warmer. I feel she won't even survive a car trip to the vet and that she's nearing the end. She has been inside three days now and I know she'll never go outside again.

I realize people would say that at least she lived fourteen months more than the vet originally envisaged but even so I can't help reflecting on how unfair it is that a cat so young should have been born with so many problems. Through it all she has remained remarkably good tempered. Piper has certainly earned her angel wings.

Little White Balls and The Tornado

While sitting watching TV last night the wind came up suddenly and with such force the cottage shook and the windows rattled. Cats scattered in all directions and the dog spent five minutes barking. Strangely it seemed to come in from the front of the cottage before switching to a norwesterly which battered us all night. At 3am I got up and listened to something crashing out the back and had convinced myself that the hen house had taken flight before first light finally came.


Part of the roof on the tack shed had lifted so I've placed a small piece of wooden pallet up there to try and hold it down. Couldn't manage a large piece without bursting my Fufu Valve. The chicken house was battered but still standing. The walls had buckled badly and the catch on the door ripped off which accounted for the crashing sound as the door kept slamming itself. The worst damage was the trellis at the side of the cottage (left) which has been blown in against the lemon tree. I can't move it back so will have to wait for someone strong to visit. Grateful the damage wasn't worse I spent five minutes picking up fallen branches off the drive for kindling and just got inside before heavy rain began pelting.

Yesterday I decided to wash Mishka's denim bean bag he sleeps on at night. Put the machine on gentle cycle and headed off to do some housework. When I returned half an hour later there was water on the laundry floor along with dozens of tiny white balls. The denim had ruptured and spilled its guts. Took the whole thing out half dry and sewed the holes shut and dried the bag on the clothes airer in front of the fire for the day. Now I am living with the aftermath of little white polystyrene balls which I can't flush out of the washing machine. They get everywhere and stick with grim determination as if they have minds of their own. Mish's beds are a constant concern as he now needs something soft as he gets stiffer in the hips with increasing age (don't we all!). If he lies on the floor he seems to have to psych himself up to get back on his feet which can take a while. You need your home comforts when you get older and that's for sure.

Little Moments Mean Alot

Tuesday night it became bitterly cold despite the fire and yesterday morning there was a frost plus snow on the foothills at the back on the cottage (pictured left one day when it was just raining). I rushed out at 7.15am and took photos of the snow on the ranges turning pink in the sunrise plus the dusting on the hills. Just as well I did because two hours later it had melted.

I spent most of the day at Otane at the painting group I attend once a week. I really look forward to these days out as not only do I get alot of painting done but I get to meet really nice people. There is a spinning group as well but I haven't managed to get to that yet. In fact I have done very little spinning at all lately which I feel badly about.

World War III continues with the cats. Kit knows she's doing wrong hurting them and will run out of the room when I tell her off but she seems consumed with jealousy. Piper couldn't give a hoot. She is so improved this week that she is eating all her meals and wanting lots of cuddles while we sit on the sofa.

The other morning I was washing out one of the litter trays as you do (a horrible job) while enjoying looking at the beautiful camellia tree which grows by the backyard. I noticed a bellbird hopping amongst the pink flowers feeding and it actually came within just three feet of me. I watched entranced for ten minutes until it flew away. Those little moments make life worth living.

The Answer To The Killer Donkey Episodes

Briar made another attempt to murder Toby the goat on Friday. This is the scene of the crime- the side paddock seen in grassier times (Autumn) with Mishka the dog and Demelza The Phantom Sprayer checking their Pmail. The good news though is that yelling abuse at the donkey out the sitting room window appeared to do the trick and she pulled on the brakes and pretended she'd never chased him in the first place. I was talking on the phone to John at the time and he asked how long it was since the first attack. Well it's a month. That gave him the answer. Apparently mares become extremely nasty when they're in season so Briar's crankiness is due to the fact that she's "in the mood". Great- so now I have a randy ass to deal with as well as everything else!

Piper Back After Chasing Rainbows

Piper turned up at the back door Sunday evening yowling at the top of her voice. Terribly skinny she wouldn't touch her food went straight to sleep. Monday morning she vomited up a mixture of kitty litter (yes that's her latest habit) with some black muck which a visitor felt was a dead lamb. She fasted all Monday but by Tuesday she still wasn't eating so in desperation I gave her Homeopathic Nux Vomica. Shortly afterwards Piper began meowing to go outside- in fact she whined and yapped for an hour until I gave in. Thinking I wouldn't see her again that day I was surprised to hear her wail at the door a few hours later. In she marched and when I gave her a dish full of her special dry food she began wolfing it down! I think I will give her some more Nux Vomica this morning to see if she continues eating. Not only is it effective in digestive disturbances (constipation and lack of appetite) it's great in cases of poisoning.


We get alot of rainbows up here and this shot is facing south west towards the ranges. I just thought it was a beautiful view worth commemorating. Perhaps that's where Piper was on the weekend- away chasing rainbows.

After The Rain

I think I have about unwound myself from being a question mark shape after all the firewood stacking I did a week ago. The wood has dried out and is burning well although it has been so warm the past few days I've barely needed a fire. After watching two small rivers running down my driveway for seven days a strong northerly wind arrived which dried them up as well as clearing the puddles from the front lawn.

Tuesday morning I went to town and saw the devastation caused by the flooding at Maraekakaho near Hastings city. When you saw how high the school was situated and yet children had to be carried out by the army you realised how massive the rains actually were. Several houses were still being cleaned out and workers were scurrying about the bridge and nearby paddocks which had been turned into huge mud baths. Worst hit was the small fire station. The rain had rampaged underneath the building and ripped holes in the concrete foundations. The shingle driveway had been scoured away and concrete ramp into the shed broken. Dirty brown grass hung on the fence wires giving an idea of how high the water crept. Now we're being told that more heavy rain is on its way this afternoon so goodness knows what tomorrow will bring Hawkes Bay.

In the middle of all this Piper had been going walkabout in the fields at the back of the cottage. She would ask to go outside mid morning then arrive back later in the day happy enough before vomiting up half digested rats. Over the past few days she had gone off her usual food. I have had trouble waking her in the mornings and stranger still she abandoned her post by the fire to take up residence on the sofa with me. Then on Friday she disappeared and has not come home. I am hoping that she's just hunting and that her bad heart and wonky kidneys have not taken her away from me for ever.

Demelza seems to know something is up as she's refusing to go outside except once in the early morning with the dog. She sleeps on the sofa if I am there or else sits on top of the computer unit while I'm working. Last night she came to watch while I had a bath and scared the heck out of me by walking around the edge "kneading" the metal. I had visions of her slipping into the water and clinging onto my vulnerable bits in her frantic efforts to get out.


When I first moved here I would sit on this stump out the back with the sun shining on me looking up to the ranges. Of course when I took this shot it was raining up there so you can only see the foothills. And what is at the bottom of the foothills? Why toes of course!

I Don't Have A Wooden Heart....Maybe A Few Splinters

The rain set in more steadily today without any breaks at all. This was quite depressing as I had an early phone call from the firewood merchant saying he was delivering the macrocarpa at 8.30am. Sure enough right on the dot he arrived in his truck and looked disbelievingly at me when I told him I was going to put the whole cord away by myself. To be honest I didn't think I could do it either. However he turned the truck around on the sodden lawn and dumped the wood near the top of the drive away from the worst of the small creeks that are streaming down the full length of the shingle driveway.


I began to barrow wood to the back carport and stack them next to the ramp as I had with the previous load of pine (pictured to the left on a sunny day in May). Then I began piling wood on the front doorsteps as these were one of the few surfaces that were dry. Seeing that the entire shingle floor of the front carport was wet I had no choice but to start stacking macrocarpa there but after three hours my stacking deteriorated and I was just rushing with barrows stacked with wood and throwing them in one great central pile in order to get them out of the rain. After this I collected as much bark and kindling as I could pile in the wheelbarrow and pushed this through a now very boggy pathway into the carport where it is still sitting.

I have been assured the wood is dry as the trees were cut down over a year ago so I hope the rain will dry off it very quickly as the weather tonight forecast a cold blast (with more rain) arriving on Sunday and I foresee many days spent next to the fire.

Tonight as I write this I am hunched over the keyboard shaped like a pretzel, the tips of my fingers raw as if I have been playing The Devil Went Down To Georgia on rusty banjo strings. However my hands smell delightfully woody and I still cannot believe I shifted all that wood in three hours in the rain. What an idiot!

Third Day of The Big Wet

The rain is beginning to subside this afternoon although a couple of rivulets are still running down my drive from the back paddock. Everything is soaked- even under the house is wet. Yesterday the last of my firewood in the front carport was rained on so I spent a frantic half hour barrowing it round to the back carport where at least it's a bit more sheltered. An unexpected financial bonus has meant I was able to order some more to be delivered by Saturday. One cord of macrocarpa for me to move and stack on my own. I'll be shaped like a pretzel by the time I finish.

7.15 am today found me up to my elbows in mud trying to haul the goat's shelter out of boggy ground onto a piece of concrete path that juts out into the paddock from the back yard. After seeing Toby covered in mud I figured at least on the concrete he'd keep fairly clean and it'll wear down his hooves. He watched with interest as I groaned and swore trying to move the heavy thing and I was half afraid that as I strained to pull it along he would headbutt me in a vulnerable area. However he was more curious and soon as his house was positioned he took up residence.

The chickens are knee deep in water in their house but although I let them out for a run round between showers they only did a desultory circuit picking up a few sad drowned worms before heading back inside. All except one silly hen who decided she was going to sleep out under the stars tonight. She's in for a shock!

I've heard of one poor farmer who has lost 100 lambs. After the drought this rain must seem like the final straw. Everyone has a story to tell of damage to their property. Now they're calling it a 50 year flood as no one can really remember anything as bad.


Finally got my film developed which had photos from my old place interspersed with ones of the new. I took this shot in late afternoon on a cloudy day. This is the front of my cottage. My room is on the left, the office where I'm typing this is in the middle and the sitting room to the right behind the latticed carport. The driveway runs up the left towards the garage. More to follow when I have a bit more time.

Hawkes Bay Floods

The TV news promised heavy rain in the Hawkes Bay Ranges last night and of course that's where I live. When I woke at 5am I heard faint rain on the roof but couldn't see what was going on until 7am. When I went to feed the chooks there were puddles in the paddock and water was beginning to gather at the back of the garage and flow through. No biggie.....till 9am when the rain gathered force and within an hour the drain at the front of the property had turned into a 30 foot wide lake to the right, flowing across the driveway over a bank into the drain in the left paddock where it joined the creek. Water washed across the paddock at the back, cascading under the small wire gate and down the concrete path into the backyard. From there it scoured out the shingle down the drive. Even the back lawn beneath the clothes line was under water.

Maxine rang after lunch to see how I was coping. Apparently the creek near her had risen one and a half metres in a short time and Civil Defence had called in twice. Someone had stacked a few cord of firewood on their property only to watch it swept away. Apparently the army is evacuating people further up State Highway 50 at Maraekakaho, Flaxmere in Hastings is cut off and Puketapu near Napier is in trouble. 150 mms more rain are expected up here within the next few hours.

Killer Donkey

A grey drizzle descended again this morning so I stayed inside to kill the dust elephants. Maxine arrived later and fortunately was present to help prevent a murder.


At lunchtime I heard Briar braying but it was a most unusual sound as if she were very upset. Next we saw her gallop past the sitting room window before turning and running back up the paddock again. Thinking she was just playing we listened as she started braying again and then saw her chasing Tobermory back down the side paddock. But then it turned nasty for as he ran she bent over and bit him in the withers and then pulled him onto his haunches (no mean feat as he is the size of a German Shepherd with the strength of an ox) before biting him again. Toby's mouth was open in distress and he managed to escape again before Briar bit him again and he fell to the ground. Then he lay there and Briar prepared to slam her hooves into his body. By this time Maxine had run outside and was shouting at her to stop and even began firing windfall lemons in her direction.

Briar lost interest in Toby and walked away and by the time I grabbed my swandri and got out to the paddock he was in his house and she had calmed down. With Maxine watching from behind the gate I gave Briar a carrot to occupy her while I checked on the goat. Toby baaed when he saw me and happily accepted his treat. His nose was dirty and his coat wet from donkey bites. Tomorrow it looks as if I'll have to subdivide the paddock and separate them.

I have no idea what inspired Briar's attack but I have a feeling Toby may have charged her. Usually she only plays in fun and never becomes so angry or agitated. Last week when she stole a carrot he was eating he wheeled around and began to sidle towards her chest with his head down. I was wondering if something similar had happened again and caused this usually placid animal to lose her temper.

Hopefully the stress of this attack won't cause Tobermory to go downhill. He's nearly 16 and this sort of thing is too much for an old goat to bear let alone me!

Unexpected Ending

This is my 100th post on Follyfarm but unfortunately it is an unhappy one. This as a result of shock from the accident early last week or else the extreme cold I don't know but it looked like he died in his sleep. I raised him from a baby two and a half years ago and he'd grown into such a character. He was enjoying playing with the new bell and mirror I bought him last Wednesday. This is the best photo I have of him.

Strangely enough it wasn't the bird I thought I'd lose this week. My friend Tanya and her daughter visited on Friday to bring out Aliesha's old mattress to replace my 50 year old one with the dip in the middle (a hollow so deep you'd get trapped and have to mountaineer your way out of it). Anyway it was bitter so we sat in the sitting room talking and saw Briar walk past the window. Aliesha asked if the goat was mine as well and when I looked out I saw Tobermory standing hunched up with his tail between his legs. His eyes were closed and he was swaying and nearly falling over. We rushed out to look and he was shaking. He had been trembling when I fed the hens early in the morning but then so was I as it was so cold. I fed him an apple but when I returned to let the hens out mid morning he hadn't eaten it.

I rang John (my free vet adviser) and he cautioned that as Tobes is nearly 16 it could be his time to go. However when I went out at 5pm to check on his he was eating grass again. Yesterday he was back to normal.

Obviously it wasn't his time to leave us but Tuppence's. It's never easy to say goodbye to a pet and it seems harder when you weren't expecting it. I had two and a half years of great fun with that little sparrow and it was two and a half years he wouldn't have had if the cat hadn't brought him inside so I was able to rescue him. I've kept birds since I was five and each one has been a character that you never forget.

The Rain It Raineth

After so many months of drought we seem to be blessed with too much of a good thing now. The rain began late Monday and here Friday it's still drizzling. A side effect of rainfall is grumpy cats who are stuck inside having to put up with each other. My days consist of cleaning out litter trays and breaking up fights. I worked out yesterday that it takes me half an hour to get organised when I get up as I work to keep everyone happy. First I wake at 3 am as apparently when you turn thirty your bladder turns 103. The Demelza wakes up and knowing how she'll yowl at me for hours I have to shut her out of the bedroom so I can cat nap till 5.30am. That's when Peaches wakes up. Her strategy is to jump off the bed, then on the bed, run across my chest to leap off the other side. She knows she only needs to do this three or four times before I give in and get up. Then the following routine happens.....

Pull back the bed covers. Haul on winter tights and socks so feet don't fall off with cold. Open bedroom door to find Demelza crouched down behind it in order to leap on unsuspecting kittens. Go across the hall and open bathroom where Piper now sleeps in her little sheepskin bed since she began wetting mine. Say hello to Piper. Check to see if she's wet her bed (which she usually has) and/or used the litter tray. Head to dark kitchen. Turn on light and nearly pass out. Unlock back door and allow Mishka dog and Peaches and Demelza go out (Peaches doesn't do anything but sit on the woodpile waiting for the dog to return). Open sitting room door so that Piper can hiss at Kit who sleeps in there. Gasp at how cold it is. Turn on light, radio and heater in that order.

Go down to the bathroom and collect wet Piper bed. Throw in washing machine. Carry litter tray to kitchen, return and wash bathroom floor with disinfectant. THEN I can visit the little room myself. Go into office and turn on computer. Check to see if dog is at the door. When he comes in try to prevent Kit from picking a fight with Demelza who is following him. Peaches makes a run for the kitchen chair.

Get dressed. Turn off heater. Carry nightie and thick jersey I sleep in back to bedroom and pull back curtains. Feed Kit her special dried food. Tip Piper's special food into her red dish and carry this and three other cat dishes with cat food into sitting room. Shut door so I can work in peace. Dish out food and then balancing four dishes and two cans of food on lap return to the kitchen where I feed Demelza high, and Piper, Peaches and Gypsy on the floor. Feed dog last as he's lowest in the cat pecking order. Check Kit has finished her breakfast and let her out. Shut dog in sitting room to stop him clearing up everyone else's food.

Wash hands. Get the computer started on dialing onto the Internet. Make a cup of tea. Check everyone has eaten and then let the dog out. Light the fire and allow this to heat the room for an hour while I go on the net. The evening rigmarole isn't as complicated but it's getting there. No wonder I'm tired!

And news about Angel. She turned up at my old place last week after a seven month abscence. Walked into the cottage where the old man was having his evening meal so he shared his steak with her. He then let her go. She has since been seen in the hay barn but runs away from them. I just wish they would bait the oppossum trap with meat and catch her so I could have her here.

Tuesday night Kit did a silly thing by cramming herself behind the birdcage on top of the fridge for a nap. All I could see were two hairy white feet hanging over the edge. An hour or two later there was an almighty crash. I arrived in the kitchen to find the cage on the lino with the floor lying elsewhere and a worried bird sitting there wondering why he'd woken up out of a pleasant dream about owning a millet factory. His drinker was smashed as was his favourite toy (a bell/mirror). Got him sorted out and vacuumed the seed off the floor at 10pm. Kit then spent the next half hour attached to my jersey desperately apologising. I've docked her pocket money until she pays for the new drinker and toy I had to buy the bird the next day.

Busy week. Thursday I spoke at the Tikokino CWI meeting and Friday morning my landlady's two sisters in law came for morning tea. Rachel has two boys and has moved into Linda's house a km further down the road and Gina is German and lives ten minutes away in the village.

We had a lovely time even though it was pouring with rain and cold. I had the fire going and made a hot drink and Rachel and brought home made banana cake. Gina had been telling her about my painting so she asked to see everything. Rachel left at 12.15 but Gina stayed for another hour so we could chat about art. She is picking me up in a week and a half to take me to the Otane Arts and Crafts painting group. She says there are also portrait classes on a Friday and you pay $5 to help pay for the model. That would be one way to improve my life drawing and I can count the hours towards my course work.

I also sold the two skeins of alpaca yarn on Trademe. Still have 400 grams left to spin. The last couple of days I have been opening wardrobes and looking under the spare bed appalled at my stash. I never realised I had accumulated so many fleeces. It truly is an illness.

It's been very chilly the past two days and Piper and Gypsy have refused to set paw outside so the litter trays are taking a hammering. Where does kitty litter go to when it dies? It's a question which perplexes me every time I have to clean the trays. With the cats being stuck inside tensions have increased. Kit has begun bullying Demelza and Gypsy yet leaves Peaches and Piper alone. It is easy for her to intimidate others as there is always the threat she'll place her huge hairy backside on them and crush them into submission. Obviously in her mind she's a tiny svelte exotic who can trip lightly along mantlepieces and gently alight on laps. I worked this out when I saw her try to cram herself in small places like bookshelves and under the sofa. She reminds me of a larger woman trying to cram herself into too small hipsters.

Winter Hits Hawkes Bay

It's been a week of terribly bitter weather here. Thursday I awoke to a black frost which didn't leave the grass until 11 am. Thank goodness for the fire is all I can say as I am basically living in the sitting room most of the day. It is even worse round the rest of the country- Queenstown basically shut down for a few days as no one could move in or out due to snow. The photo is of the Ruahine Ranges which run west down to Wellington. Not the exact view from here but very similar. The other morning when I went out the back door the snow was right down on the foot hills. Looked like they'd been dusted with icing sugar.


I am still unwell. Doctor says it's not a bad kidney infection but it certainly has made me feel like death warmed up. No spinning at the moment, just some art and reading between checking on everyone outside.

Two Goodbyes

Hallelujah! Changed my email again as well as my password and I'm back in with Explorer. Phew.

Last week was eventful for two goodbyes. Firstly my neighbours Linda and Hans were flying out to a new life in Holland. Sunday 10th June was gloomy and very cold. When I went to feed the chickens I saw why- there was a good coating of snow on the ranges. Linda rang and asked if would I go down to their place to say goodbye as they were expecting visitors and didn't want to leave it till too late to come and see me. She picked me up in her car and I was there by 11.15am. Fortunately they had their fire going and the room was toasty (empty but toasty as they'd sold their furniture). First the other lady bus driver who works locally turned up with her boyfriend and stayed for three hours. Then my landlady's sister in law who will be renting the house came in with her husband and two boys. She had no idea who I was and asked where I lived- when I said "Cathy's place" the light bulb turned on. They left at 3.45pm and I was hoping to get home as it was raining and beginning to get dark but Linda asked me to stay for a late lunch. It was getting colder and colder even with a heater and fire on and Hans told me it was 5oC (41oF) inside. Anyway when I said goodbye to Hans he got all choked up and tearful and held my hands. Linda dropped me off, gave me a quick hug and then ran out the door. When I looked out the window she was crying. It was so so sad. So now they're back living in Holland but say they'll keep in touch via email.

Maxine arrived Monday when it was pouring with rain (the farmers were so grateful as Hawkes Bay is having the worst drought we've had in 100 years) and said I'd been asked to give a talk about my artwork by the Tikokino Country Woman's Institute on 3 April. We thought they got it wrong and meant 3 July but no they do mean 3 April........2008.

Then came Tuesday 12th which I knew was going to be a big day. Meadow's eye had flared up again after I gave her some hay so I took her back to the vets at 10am. Nicki put dye in her eye and found the tear duct had blocked again and would need to be reflushed. Went to get a warrant of fitness for my car- it failed. Needed four new tyres. The only funny bit was the guy looking in my car and asking "Where's the dust?" I told him I'd shifted and didn't have a long shingle road to my place anymore. Anyway we drove to tyre places and none would give finance under $400 and I only needed $260 so Rich lent me the money and we had the new ones fitted. In fact the people "Firestone" (NZ made tyres) gave us both hot chocolate drinks while we waited.

Had a trip to the doctor's myself to get a few things sorted (looks like I have a kidney infection amongst other things) and then collected my sister in law from work before heading out to the vet to collect Meadow. Nicky came out and said she wanted a quiet word with me and then brought Med out in her cage all wrapped in a towel. She'd managed to unblock the tear duct but it ruptured and a whole lot of pus came spilling out and the eye began bulging. She told me that her eye would never be any good and the infection could go into her brain. I would have to inject her with antibiotics but the problem would reoccur. I asked what she would do if it was her pet and the result was that she put Meadow to sleep. I cried and cried with the vet with her arm about me, handing me tissues. She carried the empty cage out to the car only to find Richard on his knees changing the back tyre. Yes the new back one had gone flat. Not a day I want to repeat..................

Absent

I have been having major problems with Blogger which is why I haven't posted this past week. For weeks now I have been able to log in through my Netscape browser but unable to upload photos, however I was able to do this through Explorer. Now when I try to log in through Explorer it tells me that my email doesn't exist. I changed my email and the same thing is happening. As you can't contact a real person directly in Google and their help section doesn't mention this situation I am stuck with no pictures on my blogs. I may have to move the whole lot to another system.