A night in the daffs

I try to be a good puppy mama, I really do.

When I told dear Drogo: Do not eat the pineapple. I kinda meant it.

Fast forward a few hours, a puppy paced and scratched in his crate, exploded for a three foot radius at 11pm, 12:20am, then again at 1:15am, and was whining and pawing at the door at 3am, well I just wanted some sleep.

So out he went.

Turfed out on his peedie 'ninky tush. (To quote local dialect)

I found him face down in the daffs.

Rough night boy?

Now, I am going to chug my coffee and get the carpet shampooer out.

Oh the glamour.

Goodnight Sun

Now that the day is done.

It is going to be night time soon.

Good night sun, it is time to say, hello moon.

Hatchling no3 sang this to hatchling no5, and told him 'You are my happiness, just because you are you.' 

(The sheep in the field are fine. They just lay down like they have died, when a strong wind blows through.)

'nudder dinosaur

This little boy, as well as a bath and a hair cut, needs cookies.

He tells me so.

What he does with these biscuits is another matter.

His little artistic side shines through.

'Dinosaur! Roar!'

'Elephant!'

'Tiger'

'Lal - agator'

'nudder dinosaur!'

His style is a bit Monet really, and like many a great artist, he seems to sense his visions are lost on those whose lives he is trying to enrich.

Middle of April

The weather here has been crazy. We woke up to 4 inches of snow.

By noon, we were on the beach, in the sun.

It looked so beautiful out. 

Last night we walked down and had dinner, picnic style, on the shore. Watched the tide roll in and the sun set. And I forgot my camera.

So I thought what a great plan to repeat for lunch today.

The children and the dogs jumped out of the car. Then they jumped straight back in. 

That is a lie. Girl puppy would not get out at all. We tugged, pulled and begged. I offered sandwiches...

She stubbornly declined.

Hatchling no4 told me 'Oh My Dog Mama! It is freezing.'

We had lunch in the car, and just looked at the pretty waves.

Which is apparently the best picnic ever and we must do that again.

Now, I must figure out how to get ketchup out of the car seats. 

Poor car, it has been so good to us.

Brrrrrrrr

Good (Snowy) Morning!

Where is this Spring people keep speaking of?

Missing you

We were missing you, so we went out for a walk.

Being a bright sunny day, we met many a neighbor.

This little guy has five thousand identical twins. He says, he is tough, but we found the rabbits come up close for some chick crumb. Not the brightest bunny, he doesn't seem to understand the hatchlings as they discuss stew, but he is really soft.

This is Nate. Nate likes having his face stroked and likes to nibble hair. The girls have been offered to come over and ride Nate if they'd like. 

Not neighbors, per say, but the cattle probably deserve a mention. They tolerate our attempts to feed them apples admirably. (Does anyone know why they act so petrified of apples?)

Just outside my bedroom window, I look out at these guys.

So darn cute.

There are more lambs on this island right now than people. We stood and watched one trying to stand up in the wind. What a way to come in to the world, and be wind blown dry. 

There is one sheep that comes to the fence and Maaaaaahs! right at me each morning. Her voice is deep and she maintains eye contact like she is trying to tell me something. Whether she's trying to say 'Good grief all you people look alike! Are you my person? I'd like to lodge a complaint.', or ' Maaaaaaaan, that is a waste of good pineapple top, just chucking it in the compost.', or maybe I'm loosing it... thinking the sheep are talking to me. 

Moving on up... to the Eastside

We hope they appreciate it,

because they are a rather adored feathered bunch.

Happy house warming to the Chickens.

(The ducks are currently making inquires into poultry favoritism, and their being housed in the sty. Waterfowl are a fussy lot.)

The Journey

This should come with a disclaimer. Don't try this at home. Honest, it is not because you can't, it is simply because loading five small children, ducklings, dogs and chickens into a car and traveling hundreds and hundreds of miles, taking two ferries,... 

Well just imagine one dog being car sick, the toddler grumbles, the baby crying, another dog whining, the ducklings cheeping, and I sadly kid not, the rooster begins crowing... and for a while you start to think you are staring in the funny farm.

Let's start at the beginning.

First we bathed some ducks

because lets face it, the next people want a clean tub.

Then the hatchlings ate their body weight in ice cream, 

while they patiently waited

for the biggest moving van I'd ever seen to be filled up.

Then we scrubbed,

and scrubbed,

before having the carpets shampooed by two, very friendly, dread lock clad carpet cleaning uh dudes.

At last it was time to board the ark!

We drove all day, and most of the night. 

The journey made more challenging... I mean fun, yes fun, by the petrol strikes.

It was like playing the lotto, as to if the next station would have any petrol or diesel.

We had a slightly nail biting experience around Inverness. Thankfully, a full truck, carrying the only diesel for miles, pulled up, at 10:45pm, and we were back on the road.

We arrived a few hours ahead of our first ferry.

So, hatchling no4 took the wheel.

At last our ferry arrives,

and excitement shines through the tired.

Then it all starts to become a lot more real.

This

is

what 

we have 

been

journeying

towards.

Of course moving in would be too easy,

if it did not snow!

At least our moving van 

came by tractor.

The day that continues long after dark

I had planned to post about our journey. Which I will... should this day ever actually draw to a close.

Because it has been one of those days.

Where I feel rather like I am bouncing from one catastrophe to the next.

Like a bad sitcom. 

So it is, that I find myself, at midnight.

The plumber, a very nice man, with a very thick accent, is carving holes in my walls.

Looking for where the water is coming from.

The water that continues to pour, with out source.

It is certain that it it is pouring from some where.

As the carpet from one room to the next becomes sodden.

It all started when a hatchling tried to perch on a radiator.

A lot like this one.

The radiator tore away from the wall, and despite the amount of effort it took to lift the great heavy beast back, apparently something was still wrong in the wall.

Not that the day started with this water and dead radiator issue. 

I'm just hoping this is the last of todays character building exercises.

Happy Easter

After a successful egg hunt,

this little guy gave his jumperoo a try, 

let the chickens out free for the first time,

and then went for a drive.

To check out

a new beach,

where a puppy found many good things to chew,

and helped the hatchlings dig for treasure.

All in all

a very happy easter.

(I'll get to the journey soon... but it was long, really long. Did I mention tough? 'Cause it sure was! Though now we are here and very very happy.)