Jasmine the gymnast

Granddaughter Jasmine is enjoying her gymnastic training.   She is never still and practices all day long.

Poppy on video

Poppy is a very playful cat and likes to play with pens and pencils.  They keep disappearing though so don't know where she hides them. Don't think she does either

Now if only I could get hold of this pen I could fill in the form

I thought the pen was in this bag but must have hidden it somewhere else. 

Perhaps this pencil will be better for filling in forms, or should I go hide it with the pen?

Poppy's first adventure

Poppy had her first outing today to the vet.  I had kept her carrier out and open since I first brought her home in the hope she would pop in and out and not be worried about going in it.  I haven't seen her go into it once.  She was not impressed when I put her in there this morning.

She mewed a little on the way in the car but nowhere near the howling I used to get from the previous two cats.   There were two dogs in the waiting room and she looked at them warily but didn't seem at all distressed.  Then a man came in with a husky pup which came straight up to her carrier and she actually growled at it. 

First she had to be weighed and tipped the scales at 2.3 Kg.  Not sure if this is good or not but when the vet had looked at her eyes and mouth  and listened to her chest she was declared to be a very healthy kitten.  I do not know when she was born but from her apparent age they gave her a birth date of 27th April so now we know when to have her birthday party. 

Next came the nasty part, vaccination and micro chipping.  She was so brave I think they should have given her a sticker like they do with children at the dentist!

She was hoping she would be allowed outdoors once she was vaccinated but the vet said to wait until a week after her next jab in 3 weeks time. 

On the way home the mewing became louder and I think she was quite distressed by the time we reached home.  She immediately went behind the chair in the lounge and curled up to sleep. She is still there 3 hours later.  I was told she might be a but grumpy for the rest of the day, after all it was a big ordeal for her.

Meet Poppy

Time to tell you about our new cat.   After almost five years of being catless, (hubby doesn't like the upset of losing them), we now have a lovely girl we have eventually decided to name Poppy.  She was Coco for a while but I couldn't really take to it.

I got her from a local animal sanctuary called All Creatures Great and Small which is only 2 or 3 miles from where we live.  They had many lovely cats and I was torn between two who were sharing an enclosure.  Would have been great to have them both but I was not pushing my luck.  As you will see from her photos, Poppy is tortoiseshell and white her friend was ginger a white and they looked good together and seemed happy with each others company. I felt quite sorry to leave ginger there alone though I suppose it wouldn't be long before she found another room mate or hopefully a home of her own.

Poppy is about 5 months old and had been neutered a week earlier. She didn't hesitate to come to me and enjoyed being stroked so I think we hit it off.  I brought her home last Monday and she had fun exploring the house.

 A stroll along the study window ledge being very careful not to knock over the family photos.

  A sniff around the kitchen

Now the garden looks interesting but she is not allowed out there yet.

Exploring the lounge and all the interesting things, including the fireplace. 

What 's up there?  Only the light!

Now did I spot birds flying overhead?

Yes I think I did, and maybe a squirrel too.  What fun when I can go outdoors.

After exploring it was time for food. That's good!

Next a wash and a stretch on the mat.

 Mmmm, good for scratching!

Now time to try out the chairs

Armchair is very nice

 So is the chair in the study

Maybe my igloo isn't too bad either if I can't get on anybody else's chair. 

Time to explore the desk.  These pens look like fun

But perhaps in the 21st century I should be learning about computers.

Yes the wires seem to be connected properly.

Wow! this is a mouse?  I was given to understand it would be furry and run from me.  

Well you live and learn!

Now I like this little person and I think he likes me too.  I will have to be nice to him so he will visit again.

My Wildlife Meadow

I have a small patch of grass which I have left to grow now over several summer and only cut it once a year at the end of summer.  Not sure how much wildlife it has attracted but it certainly has a large population of wildflowers.  (according to the gardener they are weeds!)

Day at the beach

Saturday 28th July we spent a day at Barry Island.  It was sunny but there was a very cold wind which was blowing sand around.  After eating lunch in the chippy we found a sheltered spot near the cliffs where it was very warm out of the wind.  This is Stuart wearing his new hat.

A walk to the sea but it was very cold so he decided to do some digging instead

In the mean time the seagulls were circling over head looking for food.  Note the lovely blue sky!

Don't know what it is he made but it does have a moat which was soon washed away by the incoming tide.

This creation is Stuart's version of the Easter Island Statues, The Barry Island Statues!

An unexpected dip in the sea when he slipped on a rock. 

Maybe lying in the sun will soon dry him out. 

Now for a game of cricket, only 2 players though and the beach was a bit too crowded. 

Next an attempt at kite flying but it was a bit too windy

A view of Whitmore Bay

Swan update

Visited the lake today to see the swans.  They grow so fast.  There were some people there feeding them bread and there was a frenzy of activity among the birds to try and grab the food.  The family of coots are still there, 2 adults and 2 cootlets, and up to maybe 30 ducks and ducklings as well as the swans and their 5 cygnets.  The cygnets are starting to look a bit scruffy now as they are losing their downy feathers.  One was very bold and came right out of the water for bread. He was very ungainly trying to walk but he did get there.