Travels with my camera

Few things today. Firstly, little Ryan is in for a treat tonight, I hope. I went and bought him some chicken! No mean feat for me, just hope I don't puke when I prepare it for him. For those of you who don't know, I don't eat meat. I can't say I'm a vegetarian any more, I was for about 7 years, but for the past 5 years I eat fish/seafood now and then, as long as it doesn't look like fish. I could no more eat chicken now than I could eat Emma. So getting this chicken was a big decision. I looked at the raw ones in Morrisons and thought no way, I couldn't hardly bear to look at them, handling them would be out of the question, so I went to the deli counter and asked if they did cold, pre-cooked chicken, there was only hot ones here cooked with various spices. Anyway, got chatting to the guy serving, explained my predicament and what it was for, and then ended up in a three way conversation with another guy who works there about hedgehogs, lol. He takes home all the bits of left-overs from the meat counter and feeds his, but oh no, he gives them a saucer of milk! I explained everso tactfully that this is bad for them, and upsets their tums, and he seemed very surprised and grateful I had told him, so at least good came out of that. The bloke serving sorted me out a couple of bits of breast and put a low price on it for me! Yeah, a result. Now I feel mean as hell because Emma would probably give her right leg for a big of chicken, and has never been given the chance, I wouldn't buy it for her (well it would be too expensive, and I just can't do it)

I called in at the audiology department of the hospital on the way home to find out what has happened about my hearing aid. I thought even if I only stick it in now and then to hear the telly or the phone it will be something I suppose. Good job I did. Talk about NHS and it's problems, they create their own. I found the right place eventually, told the girl my story, and she came up with they'd sent me an appointmenbt on the 5th April 2005 which I didn't attend. Problem was they sent it to the address that I had moved from 7 years ago! Apparently, seeing the specialist for my hearing problems is a different department, nothing to do with them, and the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and my address doesn't automatically get changed on her computer. It was changed on the hospitals other computing system! How bloody stupid is that. So anyway she has changed it now, and I will get another appointment within the next three weeks. She will put me back on the waiting list. This is two years apparently, so I suppose it means I will go to the bottom of the list again, through no fault of my own, and have another two years to wait. I shall see what transpires when I go.

I went to the farm shop because I needed mixed corn for the birds/chickens/rats and I bought a new bag of bark chippings for my back border. It looks so pretty at the moment, all the heathers are out in bloom, but it also looked crap because the bark had all slipped down the hill or rotted down, and all you could see was the weed block fabric! Got a 100litre bag for £4.75. Trouble was they store this stuff outside, and when I got home, I couldn't hardly lift it out of the car, it was so heavy. Had to get the sack barrow and wheel it round the back with great difficulty. Got soaked, filthy, and traumatised, but at least that's another job done off my list of things to do.

As I was soaked anyway (it was pissing with rain almost constantly today) I cleaned all my feeding areas down again with the hosepipe on full blast. The sparrowhawk was up in the tree and I clapped my hands to make it sod off, and it did, and swooped on a poor bird in the air over the gardens at the front of me. I felt bloody terrible, if I'd left it be, it would probably have sat in the tree, and then just gone away, I felt like I'd murdered that bird. I didn't see it actually catch it, because it went down behind a tree, but I know it did, the bird never reappeared and neither did the hawk.

Oh well another action packed day has gone, time to get the tea on I suppose, that's if I can move off this sofa now, my back is killing me.

My new feeder is getting used.

My re-barked border