Thursday 21 June 2012

A Few Diary Entries.

There’s a signpost at the top of my lane where it joins the main road. The board that points left says:

Norbury
Ellastone
B5023

The board that points right says:

Ashbourne
Sudbury
B5033

Now, since each board points along opposite directions of the same road, one of them has to be wrong. In fact, they should both read B5033. It’s a relatively new sign, having been erected to replace the old one only about three or four years ago.

It’s often occurred to me to wonder whether it’s down to human error, or whether this place is so old fashioned that they don’t know the war’s ended yet, and the disparity of information has been put there deliberately to confuse invading Germans.

*  *  *

The cows in the field behind my house are the maddest bunch I’ve ever known. They’re forever galloping across the land and bucking, and they don’t have ‘but we’ve only just been let out’ for an excuse. They’ve been there for two months.

I don’t think I’ll be going into the field to pay the hedge trimmer this September if these wild things are still around. Last year’s lot were a placid bunch, and even then I got charged at by one of them.

*  *  *

I feel sorry for the sheep up the lane. They were sheared two days ago, and now it’s turning wet and chilly again. The lambs are OK, of course, but the poor ewes have gone from winter coats to shirt sleeve order.

16 comments:

andrea kiss said...

Bucking cows? That is mad!

What do you mean by pay the hedge trimmer?

JJ said...

They are young bulls, don't forget, so I suppose it's part of the competitive instinct. They have play fights as well.

I have about 200ft of tough field hedge to trim every autumn, and it's a difficult (and even dangerous) job doing it with ladders and a domestic hedge trimmer. So now I pay the farmer's son a modest fee to trim mine with his machine while he's doing theirs. It takes him less than an hour, whereas it takes me about a week doing it the other way.

andrea kiss said...

Haha... when i read hedge trimmer i just imagined a machine rather than someone who would use the machine to trim the hedges, that's why i was confused.

JJ said...

No, you were confused because you're a strange mountainy girl with weird eyes and unpredictable intent! It's a good job you're a mother, else heaven knows what you'd get up to.

andrea kiss said...

haha. Weird eyes? :P

JJ said...

The sort that operate independently while you're playing the banjo.

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JJ said...

Don't know what the first half means, but thanks for the second.

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JJ said...

Ah, thank you. I thought nyc meant 'not your concern.'

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JJ said...

Tell me, are you several people or just one under different names?