And then there's the mud of course...mustn't forget the yard which was once covered in a thick layer of crunchy stones and is now covered in a thick layer of mud...the dogs rush about outside...well, actually they don't rush anymore 'cos they are ancient and have creaky bones and stiff joints...but they still much prefer to walk in the muddy patches and then hobble indoors leaving footprints everywhere...
And our cottage is very plain you know...it isn't quaint...doesn't have interesting corners or twisty stairs...there are no heavy beams held up with a wing and a prayer...it's just three small rooms in a row...with the leaky kitchen built rather hap hazardously on the back of the sitting-room...all the walls bulge mind you...especially the outside wall of the bathroom...that has a very big bulge.
Don't even have a porch in front of the front door filled with scarlet geraniums and a wicker chair placed just so...had one in the first cottage and the geese used to come in and pick the flower heads to shreds...
And we never thought about lowering the ceilings either which was silly 'cos you climb a ladder to paint or swing off the light-bulb and you're suffering from heat exhaustion within minutes...
It isn't pretty round our street either...there aren't any stunning views of beautiful mountains swathed in mist...just a field out the front with an excessive amount of reeds and Tom's new shed full of cattle who choose night-time to bellow their discontent...
The mountains aren't far away...just a couple of miles up the road and on a clear day you can see Ben Bulben and the Caves of Kesh...but you can't see them from here.
If you go in the opposite direction you come to the river...beautiful, slow flowing is the river...famous for the size of the Pike who live in its depths. There are swans and moorhens...otters and mink...kingfishers dart past and in late summer come the dragon-flies...scarlet and iridescent blue and vivid emerald green, they hover over the reed beds and thwart all attempts to photograph them.
The banks on either side of our street are smothered in Spring by primroses and patches of dog violets...then there's the Queen Anne's Lace in great exuberant clumps followed by meadowsweet and wild marjoram...honeysuckle twists around old trees and wild orchids stand proud.
It isn't so much the mud on the street...though we have it there as well...it's the fox and hedgehog poo you have to be wary of...and the truly humongous slugs after rain...slurping across the road in front of you or lying in wait when you're picking a bag of rabbit food...
Family have come to stay and disliked it...not the right kind of fish in the river...not as green as they thought it would be...they'd come in September...shops not opening until ten in the morning...no department stores to browse...the ancient sites were boring...home grown garlic was 'weird'...soda bread tasted odd...couldn't understand the neighbours accent...
Now it's just Teresa and Reuben who come every year twice a year...they walk down the street and stop to chat to Tom...come back with a description of a flower they've seen and can't identify...T will eat a whole soda bread to herself...
Done it again...rambled on so much I've forgotten the original thread...
Just love reading your posts,I buy Soda bread bet it does not taste as good as the ones you have,I imagine all the river banks look gorgeous when all the wild flowers are out.
It's not just the river...it's the roadsides as well...tend to forget how lovely it is in spring and summer! Soda bread has to be very fresh and eaten on the day it's made I think.
We have neighbours Sassy but they are a field away on either side...there for us should we need them, as we are for them...but no-one closer than that. I don't know the South Downs at all...not a part of England we ever visited...
Isn't it wonderful to live somewhere you enjoy and others can't see the joys of. We used to have on a smallholding on the Welsh borders. True friends were happy to come and squelch around in wellies tho some kept a wary eye on the gander who was fearless in protecting his goslings. Those who were amazed at the lack of an M and S came once and never again, how wonderful.
But I digress the reply is to suggest youmove for the arthritic dogs. It smells awful but has worked so far on our greyhound and lurcher, so might help yours.
vashti, you sound a little sad. Hope it's just the weather, when the sun comes out and the flowers open, hopefully you'll wonder what had you so blue.
Sometimes I see my house as way too 'rustic', the chickens' poo every where, big dog tearing up the grass, and everything just a little rambling. But when I realize our closest neighbor is a mile away and the woods is a buffer to all the hustle of modern life...I don't want to be any where else.
I love violets and primroses, I remember when I was young they would bloom in the hedgerows. Don't see them these days. Particular favourites of mine are forget-me-nots, followed by lily-of-the valley. I haven't been able to grow them though. I tried for a long time to grow lavender and finally succeeded a couple of years ago. There are some bluebell woods not far from here so I hope to visit them soon.
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