I keep trying to blog - so I've a number of draft blogs not yet posted - but truth is things is tough just now, and it's quite hard to blog tough, blogging funny or plain observational is easy enough, but when things is tough, and nothing much is funny, or what you are looking at is grim blogging threatens to breach the walls of the rural idyll we are psychologically encamped in. And we don't like to do that.
In summary - we are nervous. Nervous because we have to get hay once a week, and we keep getting snowed in. Gritters do appear from time to time but they have a phenomenal habit of being the harbingers of heavy snow - so you have about ten minutes to try to get out, once that's gone the snow is too think again. Even with our new snow tyres.
We are nervous because we need to get a male to service the goats, and we need to get him quickly. But that's double trouble, somehow we have to plan a time when we an get out, and whoever we get the male from has access too. We've a choice of males to get - one is in Grampian - weather is v bad there, one is in Caithness - the owner seems to be impossible to contact, one is on Orkney and ice bound. The idea of arranging for them to put a goat on the ferry and then us not being able to get to it is more than daunting.
We are nervous because the builders have disappeared. Not through neglect - but they can't get through from Caithness, our heating engineers cant get up from Tain and progress on the house has halted. So close and yet so far. We really would like to be warm for a few days this winter...please.
We are nervous because we are running out of wood. The open fire is more a psychological fillip than any source of warmth - but there's something comforting about the red and yellow glow of it, and the house full of smoke.
We are nervous because the scaffy van hasn't got to us for three weeks. We are nervous because the post hasn't got to us for two weeks. We are nervous because we seem to have a sick puppy. We are nervous because we are lacking any Christmas spirit.
And we are nervous because we have no gin.
8 comments:
So sorry its so grim up north just now and that can only offer words of comfort and no practical help - even getting out of Edinburgh is a bit challenging. But the BBC say it should be raining (not snowing) in Thurso by the end of the week and even be sunny in Aberdeen. Will keep fingers crossed and hope the hay - and your nerves - hold out.
Today's word is angsh which seems appropriate.
Fingers crossed for you from Gairloch also!
Just ran out of wine so am counting down also...
procky: which is what you'll need to be now.
Thinking of you big cuz. It's bad enough in "civilisation " but you have extra challenges to cope with. Here's hoping the weather picks up soon, the goats are left with smiles on their faces and hay in the gobs and you all have to leave the house because it's so smoky. Take care x
rammuti - ooh er missus ! Possibly what your goats are missing out on !
I hope that the thaw is helping.
It may be too late but have you considered these: Snow Chains?
If you ordered them now, they'd be with you by June...
I think I saw a thaw. A thaw would be braw. Could you draw the braw thaw I saw? Naw?
Meanwhile, one bloke in the paper sat up all night whenever snow was forecast and went and drove his car up and down his country cottage track every half hour to keep it passable.
All the best with the hay hunt.
Verification:
"rogra" = the collective noun for things you only need in the snow.
Thanks peoples!
Got the hay - but need more soon. Got the male - Rocket - fae Orkney. Randy Bugga to be sure!
Hope things are better with you now. We've had a thaw and the snow has all gone, still more forcast though.
Good grief, you mean you STILL have no gin?
Verification:
'ovenc' = the warmth generated purely by best wishes
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