Meadow | The Nature Diaries

Thursday 12th April – 3.30am and up like a shot! Perhaps should have had a Gummie?

Framing this morning and got done by midday.

Beautiful day (When out of the breeze).

Saw a Peacock Butterfly sunning itself in the meadow.

Daffodil leaves poking through.

Work continuing well with Gallery extension

Friday 13th April – 6am, nae even finished me first coffee and Barclay was digging the biggest hole in the garden!

7.30am and I waved goodbye to our charming guest Angela, wishing her well with her next chapter in life. And … that is now me having a week off from Airbnb! This will be the first in over a year. Love it, but I am just exhausted at present.

It turned out to be a grim cold day, an abundance of Finches in the garden.
Jim & David made great progress on the Gallery extension and got tables, chairs etc ordered for it today.

Saturday 14th April – 3.01am and that was me up!
Saw the breaking news of us bombing Syria.
Today was nae a day I was looking forward to, yet, has always been a great one in previous years, The Grand National.
For as long as I can remember, Dad would put my bets on for me and we always had great chat in the morning about it.
Today would have been no different and then we would have been discussing the latest news on Syria, we enjoyed talking politics too.
Mother telephoned am, did I want a bet on the National, I said no, everything had changed, it did not feel right.
Though as the day wore on, I began to have second thoughts, Father would indeed want me to, so I made my selection and got my bets on with William Hill.
Alistair home early and a spur of the moment decision was made to continue work on Loch McBasil, am exhausted as I type, but thoroughly enjoyed it.
4.55pm, dropped tools and headed on indoors to watch the National.
Champions theme was playing, (That was what Mum & I walked into Church to at Father’s Thanksgiving Service).
Jockeys steadying their rides and they were off, by time they had finished their first time round, I was already out of my seat, heart in mouth and talking to Dad, Pleasant Company was in the lead and was looking comfy.
What a finish, a photo finish and congratulations to Tiger Roll & Davy Russell on your win and to Gordon Elliott and his yard, not forgetting owner Michael O’Leary.
But, not only I had I got 2nd place, I also had 3rd with Bless the Wings.
Just a shame that William Hill app & site is down and no one can collect their winnings!
Back out to Loch McBasil to tidy up, then will finally collapse on the ole sofa as soon as Ive published this.

Father & I with his horse Claudia Miss

First Place

What a difference some sunshine makes

Gallery Visitors!

Loch McBasil

Progress slowly been made

Christmas and Hogmanay have just flown on by, it seems to have been nothing but constant work and there hasn’t been enough hours in the day and I ended 2016 feeling a tad frustrated at been behind the schedule in my head, but, today has seen GREAT progress.

AT LAST, work has begun on the wildlife Pond (Well now actually a Loch).
We have a builder here at present and his work required the use of a mini digger, I said brilliant, as I had just the job for it!

Now this ~~pond~~ Loch, has been in my mind for sometime, Alistair and I had discussed it, planned a size etc.
Our builder (Who we shall name as Bob), got the digger into position and would begin the scraping, he had soon gotten round to working round the wee island, I halted proceedings and said I thought that we should go bigger.
Off Bob went to get stakes etc and the new size was marked out, he began to continue and I would go to make us a Coffee.

Coffees in hand, I returned, he had pretty much got it done.
Bob jumped off the digger for his beverage, saw my face and said; ‘You want to go bigger don’t you’?
I said, yes, just a wee bit.
It was 15minutes later, when the ~~pond~~ then became a Loch!

There is lots more work to do yet, but am filled with joy at todays progress and my mind is full of excitement and am already imaging the Flocks of Ducks and Skeins of Geese which will visit us in the future (Unless Barclay claims it as his very own Swimming Pool)
– Karen – x