The post Armistice get together outside the village hall ( it used to be inside but in this Covid era things have changed ) is a chance for the new mayor to set out his plans for the coming year. We all collect a plastic beaker of wine from The Old Farmers tea urn that has been set up on a trestle table by the front door. The Old Farmer used to dispense the wine. Now he sits by the side of the urn on a village hall chair and slowly drinks it. 'I don't usually imbibe but today is an exception' he tells me.
Top of the new mayors hit list is the sterilization of the feral C-A-T population. The Anger Management Mans wife thinks that the C-A-T numbers are growing and threatening the blue tits that come to her bird table. Money has been set aside in the budget for the local C-A-T sterilization people to come to the village and deal with the problem. Angus wants to ask how this will be done. The village felines seem to be wary souls that are unlikely to be enticed into a cage.... or a net.
The mayor goes on to announce that we have won one star ( again ) in the Floral Village competition. 'It would be good if a second ,or dare I say it, a third star came our way'. To this end he suggests a roster of volunteers to tend the church flower beds. To conclude he reminds us that the speed limit in the centre of the village is thirty kilometres an hour. 'How wonderful it would be if we could observe this' ( a subtle criticism of the permanently late school secretary in the silver Ford Fiesta that hurtles through at ninety while brushing her twin boys hair ).
This morning the fog has gone , replaced by a gentle mist. As we head down the hill to the lake and the stream I chat away to my shaggy companion about world events. Britain has sent troops to Polands frontier with Belarus. Sophie shows zero interest preferring to scamper off , ineptly, after a hare.
Down in the valley the hunters are out and about in force. They've just shot a huge wild boar. The thing is lying in the ploughed field next to the waterfall. It seems an ignoble end for such a majestic animal. It must weigh 300 lbs. Angus quite understands why the farmers might want the deer and boar numbers to be controlled. What he can't abide is the arrogance of the hunters. They block the road as if they own the place. Sophie and her master retreat. No point in crossing self important men with rifles.
On our way back up the hill we pass a fresh crop of wild flowers blooming in the November sunshine. This is one of the slow pace discoveries that dog owners, and only dog owners, are privy to.
7 comments:
Surely Sophie, with her Polish breed heritage, will be worried about event on the Belarus/Poland border? And perhaps not reassured by today's report in the Guardian that a team of TEN British soldiers have been sent to assist the Poles...
Unfortunately both Belarus and Russian presidents well understand the power of being self important and well armed.
We have very little problems with our local hunt, but I do find it strange that they go out hunting on armistice Day . At least they are only proposing to steralize the cats not euthanasia .
The "Loudoun County Cat Coalition" just last week trapped 70 cats/kittens from one site, I'm not sure how many were TNR's (trap, neuter, return) But those volunteers are pretty good at what they do, they know all the tricks, and so hopefully the ones that come to your village will be just as successful.
Hari OM
Well, I wonder if the ROF C-A-T will be among the TNRs for the cat-crew? Such an event might seem insignificant compared to a build up at a foreign border - yet we need these ordinary things for balance of mind and heart... YAM xx
My big (150 pound) dog Ted has been gone 7 months now and I so miss him and the slow pace discoveries that we came upon.
One has to congratulate your new mayor on his first priority - feral cats are a problem everywhere. I've read that from the age of six months a female can have several litters a year. I had the mama cat and her two tiny female kittens who have made themselves at home in Inca's garden, sterilised and health checked a few weeks ago. It was fairly costly, considering they are not family pets, but better than being over-run.
That second photo is so atmospheric, Angus, and what a delightful find the wild flowers are. Poor Sophie, what's a girl to do? It's hard to find a decent hairdresser these days!
The description of the silver car, is amusing, and frightening.
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