FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD - almost!

 

 

I just craved a few hours in quiet, peaceful,  beautiful surroundings - and found it here. Birdsong, a babbling brook and no-one else in sight. Bliss!

At the side of the ford stood the ruins of an old packbridge and a stone footpath: Benji and I used the footpath but I wouldn't chance my pony and cart on the old bridge! Maybe needs a bit of attention?

What a great playground for children.

The stream is a tributary of the River Inny.

Be there Hobbits about?

After our wander along the stream it was time for a drink and then to relax with my Kindle while Benji had his afternoon nap.

But then - a car pulled up, right at the side of me. Within minutes, several more cars parked on both sides and people jumped out, greeting each other, sharing hugs; children running around and it was PARTY TIME! 

"Who? What? Where? . . . . "

Edward Bear, my camping companion, looked on as boxes and trays of food were ferried between cars and it suddenly became clear that I was right in the middle of a wedding reception. 

The first car contained the bride and groom, in all their wedding finery and their family had joined them in this beautiful spot to comply with the Covid restrictions on numbers of people allowed to gather indoors. Brilliant idea - just a pity that I had chosen that same spot on that particular day.

AWKWARD!

Have you ever tried to remove yourself from such a situation whilst trying to be invisible? 

I withdrew as gracefully as I could, face burning, drove through the ford and parked a few hundred yards further along, behind a huge old oak tree.

I couldn't help thinking that the old tree would have made a splendid background for the wedding photos - but I kept that thought to myself.

Five, NO! SIX years of Rosie's Ramblings (with a few gaps!)

How things change in 6 years: in that first post I told how I'd met up with Elizabeth, a fellow Cornish blogger, and spent a lovely afternoon in her company at Pencarrow House. (She it was who persuaded me to start a blog of my own) We wandered around the estate and ended our walk with coffee and cake, chatting non-stop and putting the world to rights.  There were no masks; we weren't afraid of hugging and being too close to each other and we shared a car without fear of infection. 

Most of my ramblings centred around outings with my dog, Zac: coastal path walks; rambles over Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor; beach walks; camping holidays; cottage holidays; visits to pretty little villages with many opportunities for photographs - and lots of photos of my garden (whether you appreciated them or not!) That came to a sudden, devastating end in August 2016 with the saddest post I've ever written.  Without my lovely boy, walks just didn't appeal at all and the surgery I had that December, for a replacement knee, kept me housebound for a while, so my blog suffered. 

However, life goes on, doesn't it?  My leg healed and once I pulled myself together and realised I had to get active again, I thought it might be time to offer a home to a rescue dog. In mid-April 2017 I took on the long-term foster care of Benji, a Bichon Frise, supposedly 4/5 years old.  But when I received his microchip documents I saw that he was actually older than that.  He will be 11 years old on 1st August this year. Because he was very overweight, our first walks were slow and short; I was afraid he'd keel over if he walked too far so the challenge was to get him fitter and healthier.

Head or tail?

Gradually the length and speed of our walks increased and Benji was well and truly socialised - with people, other dogs, ponies, sheep and cattle. Rabbits, ducks, squirrels - not so much; he would prefer them on his dinner menu! He came camping with me - he enjoyed it but he had to be closely watched as, unlike Zac, he couldn't be trusted not to escape from the tent (just push the bottom of the zip and it would magically open).  It was easier when, for a holiday in Hayle, West Cornwall, I booked a caravan with a verandah where he was happy to keep a watchful eye on passers-by, with the patio doors open between lounge and verandah. The caravan was very close to the beach so we spent many happy hours on there; in fact I booked the same caravan for the following year. Not so brilliant though, as it rained non-stop from the day we arrived - we sat in the car for half an hour hoping that it would ease off, but it didn't - and on day 5 I gave up, packed everything, cleaned through the caravan, handed in the keys and came home, reasoning that I might as well sit in home watching the rain as in a caravan in a flooded park.

That turned out to be our last holiday, thanks to Covid: for the following year I booked a sweet little holiday home in North Petherwick on the north coast of Cornwall, for a week in early October, but as the time drew nearer, I worried so much about how thoroughly it might have been cleaned (like - how do you clean the soft furnishings, or all the crockery, kitchen tools, cutlery, etc?) that I cancelled it, too scared to risk it. 

The blog struggled on - and struggles still - through the restrictions of Covid: I have become a hermit, staying at home all the time, not going anywhere or doing anything apart from taking my car out at intervals to keep the battery charged and to ensure that the tyres don't go square through standing still. 

A short time ago, I came up with the idea of converting my Berlingo car into a mini-campervan, in anticipation of freedom from the Covid restrictions. 

I bought a single bed module which, when folded, fits neatly into the boot, leaving all 5 seats free for passengers but with the addition of bedding becomes the beginnings of a getaway vehicle for me and the BenjiDog.

** This is from the website of the manufacturer - my Berlingo is red. **

Now I wait with bated breath to see if we are to be allowed out, to travel, to go to campsites, to mix with other people - in other words, to have a social life again, so that all the 'gear' that is in my spare bedroom can be fitted into my 'would-be' mini campervan.

And ultimately the FREEDOM to go camping again and find fodder for my blog!

Oh and that overweight little dog is now looking better.

Flowers to brighten the day.

On a cloudy, grey day last week I found a box in my front porch and inside were these - 

A totally unexpected selection of colourful flowers, sent by my daughter-in-law, Sheeja. 

When I rang to thank her, she wondered if they were as nice as the picture she was shown when ordering them, so I took this photo (above) to show her how lovely they were, even though some of the blooms were in bud. As there were so many, I had divided them between 3 vases.

Today, exactly a week later, the Lilies have opened fully and the red roses have also opened up and are at their best. 

They really did brighten my day - and are still doing so a week later.  

OI!!! YOU MUCKY LOT!

 Another job that Peter and Nic did when they came over was to give my car a thorough clean.  Power-washed it all over, then added shampoo & conditioner plus the soft brush to the hose and went all over it again, rinsed with clear water and giving a final polish to the windows and a final flourish to the wheel trims.  Oh my word, it looked a real treat afterwards. Straight out of the showroom! 

The very next morning, it had been dive-bombed by the local seagulls, all over the roof, down one side on the windows and door and all over the bonnet.  GRRRRRRR!!!! Is it that the shiny vehicle upsets them?  Do they call all their mates to come and join in?  

So it was out with the bucket & sponge for me; so far it has stayed unmarked. 

A Few Tentative Outings

Covid has a lot to answer for; I can hardly believe how nervous I feel about emerging from my long 'hibernation' to mix with actual, real people. But after receiving 2 doses of vaccine, the time had come to venture out and my first destination was to the home of my son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren - still no hugs allowed but it was so good to see them and spend time chatting and catching up with them. Those children had grown & changed so much (I'm actually wondering if they will consider themselves too big and grown up to do hugs and kisses with Grandma, but I hope not!) We enjoyed a fantastic barbecue, sitting in the sunshine in their garden - so much food, but big, tall grandson was a willing volunteer to keep eating so that there would be no wasted food! I hear that he lit the barbecue on the following day as there was more food that had been taken out of the freezer and needed eating. Good lad! Sorry I didn't take photos of the spread, but we were too hungry and eager to eat to even think about cameras!

Since then, I've met up with son and DIL at a local popular cafe/restaurant for lunch at the outside tables; lots of people, a long queue for orders, but as it was a lovely, sunny day we didn't mind at all, it was very well organised and safely distanced. And the food was very good!

So were the views - 

There were more photos but for some reason, Blogger is not playing ball when I try to upload them to my blog.  Grrrr! I will try to sort the problem and post more when I can.

A-Splishing and A-Sploshing!

What to do on a lovely, sunny day? Spend time in the garden, of course, complete with coffee and a book. Or forget the book and enjoy the antics of these sparrows in the bird bath. 

 

Aren't they a delight to watch? 

Golden Sunshine arriving by Post

 A double dose of sunshine today, inside and out: blue skies and fluffy white clouds with a whole day of gorgeous sunshine plus a box of sweet-smelling narcissi from the Isles of Scilly, carefully wrapped in green tissue and a sturdy cardboard box.  These were ordered by my son, David, for my birthday back in early February, but at that time, the narcissi were still growing.  So Fentongollan Farm sent me David's personal greeting card and a gift token which I could exchange when the flowers were ready for cutting. So here they are - plus the blue sky!