2 hours ago, jmurray01 said:

Sold...  I know, I said I wouldn't do it - but it needed work and I couldn't fix the poor starting issue.  Plus not having any off road space meant that once the MOT expired there was no choice but to fix it or get rid, and I couldn't do the former so that only left the latter.

I really need an automatic anyway, so it's probably for the best.

A Focus automatic or a Peugeot?

There is an Mk2 Focus 2.0L Ghia automatic estate in one of the drives I walked past on Brandy's evening stroll tonight with a big "For Sale" sign stuck in the windscreen for £1500.  Although that might be a bit too far away for you

20 hours ago, GMX said:

I do like the near summer like weather outside.  It was far more like June this morning on Brandy's walk than October! The wind has turned round 180° to a south westerly, making it it feel even warmer than it did yesterday,  when it was a north easterly.

I found another Britool 12mm spanner on the bridleway in the woods, it's always 12mm spanners!  To date, in close to 15 years of walking with Brandy I've found four 12mm spanners, two Britools, one Laser and one Draper, in some of the oddest of places.

There is another 2-3 kilos of tomatoes to pick on the hanging basketed plants.  Tomatoes are ripening faster than I can eat them

Squashes are rising rapidly up the nation's top 10 favourite veg. 

Aren't turnips also grown as cattle fodder? @Preecematt will know.

Do they still grow mangelwurzels up there?

Tend to be called Stubble Turnips which are deep rooting & you can out winter cows/sheep on them.  Have to have a buffer feed as well + back/front fencing/rationing as they can get poisoned off the greens.  Same goes for sugar beet.  And dry cows waste a hell of a lot of stubble turnips.  Sugar beet can be picked up, washed & chopped and if it's done at the same time as maize 60% maize & 40% sugar beet & ensiled at the same time, otherwise if not its 90% maize.  Or can you leave it whole straight from the trailer/field and chop it with the normal ration.  

There are loads of sheep and a few cows round here so that's good possibility...I keep coming across them unexpectedly on walks.  I hate having to walk through a field of sheep, I know they don't have sharp teeth but they could easily knock me over and the man ones have horns as well.   And as for cows...there's no way I'll walk through a field of them unless they're right over the other side lol.

I do like there's a pleasant easterly wind blowing, shifting all the randomly scattered leaves to western edge of the drive, in a neat pile but leaving spilled over gravel behind.  Something that can't be done with a broom, which doesn't discriminate between leaf and stone

It seems only my Focus owning neighbour and I actually read and noted the council's new wheelie bin calender had commenced on Monday.  Previously, today would have been recycling bin day and yesterday refuse bin day.  The council have switched to fortnightly collection, yesterday was refuse bin day but it's next Monday that is the new recycling bin day.  Each bin alternating each week now. Everyone but us had placed their recycling bins out for emptying this morning. I keep seeing puzzled neighbours looking at their full bins, and then examining their immediate neighbours full bin too and then going back inside, waiting for an emptying that won't come

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

There are loads of sheep and a few cows round here so that's good possibility...I keep coming across them unexpectedly on walks.  I hate having to walk through a field of sheep, I know they don't have sharp teeth but they could easily knock me over and the man ones have horns as well.   And as for cows...there's no way I'll walk through a field of them unless they're right over the other side lol.

There used to be loads of sheep around here, until they all vanished during the foot and mouth outbreak.  They never returned in the vast quantities that used to be here, the odd hobby flock dotted here and there.  Cows however, are in abundance, although there isn't much variation in breeds: Freisians are the order of the day.  There's a massive herd (looks like thousands of them) near the aptly named Cowgrove, on the NT owned Kingston Lacy estate. 

How do manage to keep the cows over the other side of the field when you cross the field Cows are very curious and all want to come and say "hello" , except when they've got calves: then they can be not so friendly.  Despite getting the credit for curiosity; cats are not as curious as cows

We don't go into fields if they have youngsters with them or if they are pregnant, cow mothers are quite protective of their calves and dogs usually come off worse, in the presence of an annoyed mother cow.

Despite her collie parentage, Brandy is largely indifferent to sheep, wary of cows but is intimidated by pigs, geese and peafowl. Brandy refused to cross a field of geese near Sherborne, we had to go the long way round (extra 3 miles) to omit crossing the goose farm.  She equally won't go on the bridleway that goes through a field of pigs near Bransgore

 

like being imbetween jobs with another week at home, and going out mid afternoon for a drink or 3 at a local pub. very pleasant.

and just talking to my neighbour and just changed jobs also, same trade as me, must be something in the tap water. lol

13 minutes ago, iantt said:

and just talking to my neighbour and just changed jobs also, same trade as me, must be something in the tap water. lol

Don't you mean something in the beer Ian lol

I do like that I have spend a couple of hours cleaning my car inside and out. Did a much better job than the so called valet when I got the car new.

Down side is I am totally fubarred.

could be the beer, waiting on my other neighbour to change jobs now, we all in the same trade ha ha

know what you mean about when a car has been valeted prior to having the car. i had to clean mine again properly when i bought mine, such a difference after doing it properly yourself.

1 hour ago, GMX said:

I do like there's a pleasant easterly wind blowing, shifting all the randomly scattered leaves to western edge of the drive, in a neat pile but leaving spilled over gravel behind.  Something that can't be done with a broom, which doesn't discriminate between leaf and stone

It seems only my Focus owning neighbour and I actually read and noted the council's new wheelie bin calender had commenced on Monday.  Previously, today would have been recycling bin day and yesterday refuse bin day.  The council have switched to fortnightly collection, yesterday was refuse bin day but it's next Monday that is the new recycling bin day.  Each bin alternating each week now. Everyone but us had placed their recycling bins out for emptying this morning. I keep seeing puzzled neighbours looking at their full bins, and then examining their immediate neighbours full bin too and then going back inside, waiting for an emptying that won't come

There used to be loads of sheep around here, until they all vanished during the foot and mouth outbreak.  They never returned in the vast quantities that used to be here, the odd hobby flock dotted here and there.  Cows however, are in abundance, although there isn't much variation in breeds: Freisians are the order of the day.  There's a massive herd (looks like thousands of them) near the aptly named Cowgrove, on the NT owned Kingston Lacy estate. 

How do manage to keep the cows over the other side of the field when you cross the field Cows are very curious and all want to come and say "hello" , except when they've got calves: then they can be not so friendly.  Despite getting the credit for curiosity; cats are not as curious as cows

We don't go into fields if they have youngsters with them or if they are pregnant, cow mothers are quite protective of their calves and dogs usually come off worse, in the presence of an annoyed mother cow.

Despite her collie parentage, Brandy is largely indifferent to sheep, wary of cows but is intimidated by pigs, geese and peafowl. Brandy refused to cross a field of geese near Sherborne, we had to go the long way round (extra 3 miles) to omit crossing the goose farm.  She equally won't go on the bridleway that goes through a field of pigs near Bransgore

 

Ah, obviously I can't keep the cows on the other side...it has to be a large field and a brisk speed walk to avoid them!

I had to make a detour this afternoon though, someone had left this (pictured) right by the path! . I waited a few minutes but it didn't move...ended up doing an extra mile or two to avoid it.  Seriously though, it's not just my safety I thought about, anyone could steal or injure a horse leaving it so close to the public. 

I do like seeing a neighbour take delivery of a brand new BMW m sport this afternoon.  Looks and sounds great, though I had to laugh when the delivery driver demonstrated the indicators!

I do like being in the fish aisle just as the Tesco merchandiser was marking down today's fish reductions.  I now have rather a lot of kippers, half a salmon, 2 trout, one tiger prawn and a tub of regular prawns for Brandy and Molly.

I was also conveniently in the dairy aisle when they then reduced all the small (300ml) creams too

On the way back, coming from the opposite direction, I saw a hilarious BMW with a rather poor attempt at home made angel eyes.  Consisting of a ring of sellotaped yellow Xmas lights around each headlamp. He then had a cable running up outside of his bonnet and in through his door window, presumably going to an aux socket.  The offside one's were coming off and flapping about in the wind

53 minutes ago, Joss max said:

I do like that I have spend a couple of hours cleaning my car inside and out. Did a much better job than the so called valet when I got the car new.

Down side is I am totally fubarred.

I need to do the interior of the Mk1, Brandy has left clouds of spare fur all over the back seat, dotted with dried out paw prints and there's quite a few tumble-bunnies wafting about in the slightest air current Not to mention the nose prints on the rear glazing

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Ah, obviously I can't keep the cows on the other side...it has to be a large field and a brisk speed walk to avoid them!

I had to make a detour this afternoon though, someone had left this (pictured) right by the path! . I waited a few minutes but it didn't move...ended up doing an extra mile or two to avoid it.  Seriously though, it's not just my safety I thought about, anyone could steal or injure a horse leaving it so close to the public. 

I do like seeing a neighbour take delivery of a brand new BMW m sport this afternoon.  Looks and sounds great, though I had to laugh when the delivery driver demonstrated the indicators!

That's probably a gypsy/travellers horse. 

We get that a lot down here, more so in the run up to the Dorset Steam Fair  They leave their horses to graze in a lay-by, on somebody else's field or on a grassy roundabout, tethered to whatever is nearby

7 hours ago, GMX said:

Brandy refused to cross a field of geese near Sherborne,

I would keep out of a field of geese.

There used to be geese in our village. At times they would wander about on the road, stopping the traffic, and hissing angrily at the vehicles. Cyclists would be best advised to turn around and find another route

The missus wanted to get to the mobile library once, but the geese were guarding it . She had to return home, and hope the bad tempered birds cleared off before the library did!

11 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I hate having to walk through a field of sheep, I know they don't have sharp teeth but they could easily knock me over and the man ones have horns as well.

I know someone who was butted by a ram. I don't think it hurt physically too much, but he never forgot it, and he never trusted any woolly bleater again!

 

 

8 hours ago, Tdci-Peter said:

I would keep out of a field of geese.

There used to be geese in our village. At times they would wander about on the road, stopping the traffic, and hissing angrily at the vehicles. Cyclists would be best advised to turn around and find another route

The missus wanted to get to the mobile library once, but the geese were guarding it . She had to return home, and hope the bad tempered birds cleared off before the library did!

 

I'm not sure we really get Geese round here, at least I can't remember having to avoid any!  

There are a lot of swans right by the road/pavement on one of my favourite walking spots though...they're terrifying lol.  People feed them as well so they all come up to anyone passing expecting food!   I'll either cross the road or hide on the roadside of someone else walking past lol.  

It just like June outside albeit with a stiff westerly wind 

I found £12.86 outside the takeaways this morning at the start of Brandy's walk, which is down on recent finds.  But then Tuesday nights aren't as popular with the takeaway crowd as weekends are. In Brandy's terms, that's two bags of ears or four bags stinky sticks, or a whole month of necks, for free

I do like the emoticon has returned after it vanished yesterday

 

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

There are a lot of swans right by the road/pavement on one of my favourite walking spots though...they're terrifying lol.  People feed them as well so they all come up to anyone passing expecting food

Just before Cowgrove, on the path that runs alongside the river Stour, there is often a male swan who aggressively begs for snacks, from both the walkers and and the anglers fishing from the bank and intimidating dogs with fluffy tails.  His accompanying harem of female swans don't get involved in the solicitation, they are usually in the a group  on the river itself, swimming up and down.

He however, will attempt to peck you (in thigh and upper leg), squawk and hiss,  if something is not forthcoming.  The local anglers take a box of party scotch eggs and savoury biscuits to appease him, just to be able to fish.

After he tried to peck Brandy's tail one time,  a local angler distracted him with a scotch egg.  The angler informed me they call him Colin the psycho swan, and it's always best to have a pocket of scotch eggs or Ritz crackers.  This may be counter productive as by meeting his solicitations, he has no fear of humans as a result

 

Oddly, this is also by a river Stour...maybe swans are attracted to river Stours...

Scotch eggs seem like a very strange food for them, I can't imagine they get many of them in the wild!  

I do like finding the two missing receipts and accompanying purchase orders That was causing me no end of problems reconciling the August account 

9 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Oddly, this is also by a river Stour...maybe swans are attracted to river Stours...

Scotch eggs seem like a very strange food for them, I can't imagine they get many of them in the wild!  

Stour like Trent seems to be default name for rivers.

It's probably the anglers who have accidentally trained the swan to love scotch eggs. They tend to bring convenient snacks with them, pork pie, sausage roll and scotch egg eating anglers are dotted all along the river.

Brandy once helped herself to an angler's open and unattended scotch egg box, on the stretch by Longham  

10 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

 

Scotch eggs seem like a very strange food for them, I can't imagine they get many of them in the wild!  

Isn't birds eating eggs a little bit cannibalistic? 

 

Scotch eggs seem like a very strange food for them, I can't imagine they get many of them in the wild!  

Isn't birds eating eggs a little bit cannibalistic? 

Not really. We eat other mammals...

I do like hitting my actual diet goals after all.  I thought I'd messed the protein up, when I read the bacon label, having eaten it, of course.  But now, looking at percentages for the day, I'm dead in the middle of the target range 

3 hours ago, Turvey said:

Isn't birds eating eggs a little bit cannibalistic? 

There's quite a few birds that eat others eggs, including their own species, magpies and birds of prey spring to mind.

3 hours ago, SeanW said:

Not really. We eat other mammals...

And some of our distant ancestors ate each other

 

 

19 minutes ago, GMX said:

 

There's quite a few birds that eat others eggs, including their own species, magpies and birds of prey spring to mind. 

 

 

Yep, did a bit of Googleing and found that out. Still seems a bit weird, basically birds eating the unborn young of, at times, their own species! 

 

Mind you, my wife has convinced me that eating a chicken and egg sandwich is weird, so maybe it's her fault!  

16 minutes ago, Turvey said:

Mind you, my wife has convinced me that eating a chicken and egg sandwich is weird, so maybe it's her fault!  

Orthodox Jews, Christians and Muslims don't eat mothers and children (animals) together, in their respective holy books, there's lists of what cannot be eaten with what. 

i have on occasion given Brandy a couple eggs with her chicken. She always picks up the chicken and puts it to one side, on the floor. Then laps up the eggs before putting the chicken back in her bowl, and eating that

Suggesting that for dogs, the answer to the age old question, of which came first, the chicken or the egg?  is the egg

I do like Brandy's exemplary behaviour with the equine community being referred to, by another dog walker to her exuberant labrador, as a few horses came down the road. Mr Labrador was bouncing about, barking at them and straining on his lead. Whereas Brandy just trotted along, until they were relatively close and then sat down quietly as they went by.  Only resuming her walk when the horses were over 50 metres or so away.

Mr Labrador's woman wanted to know how long it took to train Brandy to do that: only I didn't!

Brandy's always done this automatically, it wasn't something I taught her. Perhaps, as puppy she observed her mother doing it, and copied her. It's is doubtful in the house of junkies she was rescued from, they'd have taught her to be respectful to horses

 

I do like an afternoon whisky and some Phil Collins tunes on the stereo...

P.S.  I am on holiday by the way - ordinarily it would be too early - even for me!!

1 hour ago, jmurray01 said:

I do like an afternoon whisky and some Phil Collins tunes on the stereo...

 

Knockdhu Can't Hurry Love? Sorry, it's the best I could come up with! I'll get me coat 

I do like wandering through dew covered fields with Brandy along the south side of the Stour, discovering sloe laden bushes, whose whereabouts were previously unknown to me and of course, finding £18.67 in loose change at the start, on the pavement by the takeaways 

It's very summer like again, with a beaming sun, little in the way of cloud and a little breeze, it's 19°C on garage thermometer when we got back.  What happened to frosty October mornings of my childhood? The only frost round here now, is when the freezer door hasn't been shut properly.