Last week, it was a new car exhaust... cost - £173 - and one day without my car...
This week, it was a new car clutch... cost - £255 - and two days without a car...
And to be "car-less" in Milton Keynes is like being on holiday without any spending money!
Then this morning I had to take my car back to the 'clutch garage' cos they'd done summat to my new exhaust and it was sounding more like a Lola! ... a further 2.5 hours kicking my heels in their waiting room... and while they fixed it (f.o.c) they told me I had two front tyres that were below the legal limit for tread! Oh, deep joy!!
So on the way home this morning, I had to call into the 'tyre fitting garage', and spent a further £129!
£557 spent in a week!! Not bad for a pensioner is it! ;-(
Thursday 17 May 2012
Wednesday 2 May 2012
If you go down to the woods today...
At last, the rain stopped and we were able to get out for a half-decent walk round Linford Wood, which is a about 100 acres of ancient woodland not far from our home.
Although the sun didn't shine - it remained grey all day - the wood was awash with colour, scent, and sound. We like to count the numbers of different kinds of wild flowers we see when we come here, and today we were absolutely thrilled to see several dozen Early Purple Orchids scattered throughout the wood! Not many years ago, we were lucky to see one or two, let alone dozens!
The Bluebells are coming out now - some fully, some still all in bud - and what a wonderful carpet of vivid blue they'll be in a week or two, if we get some decent sunshine!
Coltsfoot are nearly over, now, and their white seed heads are getting 'fluffy'. There's still quite a few mauve Violets, even on the more exposed ditch banks, which is good to see them spreading across the wood again. Lesser and Greater Stitchwort show snow-white amongst the long grass and Ground Elder, and then suddenly, there's a few Red Campion (though quite pink), standing brightly in a shaded glade.
The shrill sound of a Hawk got me looking sky-wards, and we were rewarded with the sight of a stunning female Sparrowhawk alighting on the topmost branch of a very old Beech tree, hardly even in bud, so quite visible to us 30 feet above... She took absolutely no notice of us as we watched her preen her feathers, and look at us, with those piercing yellow eyes!
Let's hope the sun shines soon, and we can go to the woods again!
Although the sun didn't shine - it remained grey all day - the wood was awash with colour, scent, and sound. We like to count the numbers of different kinds of wild flowers we see when we come here, and today we were absolutely thrilled to see several dozen Early Purple Orchids scattered throughout the wood! Not many years ago, we were lucky to see one or two, let alone dozens!
The Bluebells are coming out now - some fully, some still all in bud - and what a wonderful carpet of vivid blue they'll be in a week or two, if we get some decent sunshine!
Coltsfoot are nearly over, now, and their white seed heads are getting 'fluffy'. There's still quite a few mauve Violets, even on the more exposed ditch banks, which is good to see them spreading across the wood again. Lesser and Greater Stitchwort show snow-white amongst the long grass and Ground Elder, and then suddenly, there's a few Red Campion (though quite pink), standing brightly in a shaded glade.
The shrill sound of a Hawk got me looking sky-wards, and we were rewarded with the sight of a stunning female Sparrowhawk alighting on the topmost branch of a very old Beech tree, hardly even in bud, so quite visible to us 30 feet above... She took absolutely no notice of us as we watched her preen her feathers, and look at us, with those piercing yellow eyes!
Let's hope the sun shines soon, and we can go to the woods again!
Tuesday 1 May 2012
We've got a new fox!
Last night, Channel 4 TV showed the first in a series of "live" programmes about urban foxes, called "Foxes Live" (dead original, yeah?) Anyway, we had recorded the prog. and watched it whilst having our lunch today. I'd had a roast chicken quarter, and, being on a diet, (??!!) I always (?!) take the skin off, and any other bits I'm not going to eat.
Lunch over, I took the handful of scraps down the back garden and threw them over the back fence, onto the greensward that lays between our row of bungalows and the tree-line behind us which runs the length of the main road, and screens it from view.
We feed a LOT of birds, both in our front and back gardens, and also "our" resident crows that live in the tree-line behind us. They know when lunchtime is, so can often be seen waiting in the trees for any scraps I throw over! Today was no exception, but I'd hardly got back into the kitchen, when one of the crows started up, "cawing" like mad! This was so evidently either a distress call cum anger call, that I decided to go and take a look... ...
Peering over the back fence - and fully expecting to see one of the local cats (hiss! boo!) - I was astounded, but very pleased, to see the most beautiful ginger fox finishing off my chicken scraps! She/He spotted me, even though there was only the top of my head peering over the fence, liked his lips, and as assuredly as any "top-dog", turned and loped into the cover of the tree-line! Magnificent! Real joy broke across my 'fizzog', and I came scampering in to tell " 'er indoors" the glad tidings!
Both Ann and I love foxes, and over the nearly 26 years we've been married and lived 'here', we've seen, and fed, many a fox that lopes along the greensward behind our bungalow - but rarely have we seen one in broad daylight (well, grey, drizzle, today!)
Only 2 weeks back our previous resident fox, an outstandingly handsome dog-fox, had been run over and killed on the main road not 50 yards from our back garden. I'd been driving home from a meeting, and saw his poor, mutilated, body, in the middle of the dual carriageway, facing east, so he was probably trying to turn away from the fast-approaching motor, as he'd attempted crossing the road. Saddened, I'd pulled over, and ran into the road to retrieve his body, onto the verge, before his beautiful dark-red coat, and handsome 'mask', was crushed further by the traffic. So seeing this 'new' fox on the block is wonderful news! I shall probably celebrate by buying another chicken quarter which I'll save especially for our new "Reynard"! ;-)
Lunch over, I took the handful of scraps down the back garden and threw them over the back fence, onto the greensward that lays between our row of bungalows and the tree-line behind us which runs the length of the main road, and screens it from view.
We feed a LOT of birds, both in our front and back gardens, and also "our" resident crows that live in the tree-line behind us. They know when lunchtime is, so can often be seen waiting in the trees for any scraps I throw over! Today was no exception, but I'd hardly got back into the kitchen, when one of the crows started up, "cawing" like mad! This was so evidently either a distress call cum anger call, that I decided to go and take a look... ...
Peering over the back fence - and fully expecting to see one of the local cats (hiss! boo!) - I was astounded, but very pleased, to see the most beautiful ginger fox finishing off my chicken scraps! She/He spotted me, even though there was only the top of my head peering over the fence, liked his lips, and as assuredly as any "top-dog", turned and loped into the cover of the tree-line! Magnificent! Real joy broke across my 'fizzog', and I came scampering in to tell " 'er indoors" the glad tidings!
Both Ann and I love foxes, and over the nearly 26 years we've been married and lived 'here', we've seen, and fed, many a fox that lopes along the greensward behind our bungalow - but rarely have we seen one in broad daylight (well, grey, drizzle, today!)
Only 2 weeks back our previous resident fox, an outstandingly handsome dog-fox, had been run over and killed on the main road not 50 yards from our back garden. I'd been driving home from a meeting, and saw his poor, mutilated, body, in the middle of the dual carriageway, facing east, so he was probably trying to turn away from the fast-approaching motor, as he'd attempted crossing the road. Saddened, I'd pulled over, and ran into the road to retrieve his body, onto the verge, before his beautiful dark-red coat, and handsome 'mask', was crushed further by the traffic. So seeing this 'new' fox on the block is wonderful news! I shall probably celebrate by buying another chicken quarter which I'll save especially for our new "Reynard"! ;-)
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