Month: August 2015

Wet and Dry Sunday

On By TontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork

Out early for my dog walk this morning, the sun had yet to properly rise, but the sky was already looking quite red and foreboding. Seagulls were flying inland, which is often a portent to inclement weather.

Before 9am the heavens opened dropping big, heavy raindrops. Good for the garden and allotment.

I returned to the next article I’ve been preparing for my Regatta blog, got it finished and submitted and then thought that I would make some of the courgette muffins that I’d just been writing about. Thirty minutes later muffins are emerging from the oven, so that will be what I’d be having for lunch.

  

By 2 pm the rain was gone and the sun was out, and it was a pleasant, relaxing afternoon.

Allotment Update & Swimming With Dogs

On By TontowilliamsIn Dog, Dogs, Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Simple Things, Wildlife/Nature

I’ve been a little slack posting here, so by way of a couple of videos, here’s an update on some of what I’ve been up to. I hope to have some news on the job front soon, and will cover that separately when I do.

We took the dogs to Emsworth for a swim yesterday. Only really the first time that Ruby has properly been swimming. The video is fairly low quality as I didn’t want to take my expensive camera out over the water with me, so I was using an older one, that I was less worried about dropping, but the quality isn’t as good.

Our garden seems to have become quite popular with a certain juvenile magpie, he’s taken a shine to one of the fatball feeders (rain or shine) and his acrobatics trying to get to the fastballs is quite entertaining. He’s fascinating to watch, particularly recently as he’s been trying to work out if he can dislodge the feeder from the tree branch to forgo his acrobatics (he hasn’t succeeded yet).

  

Surprise Buzzard & Sparrowhawk

On By TontowilliamsIn Being Positive, Birds, Dogs, Wildlife/Nature
Buzzards
Buzzards

My morning dog walks are tending to be a little longer at the moment as there is no train to catch to work (at least for now). The chance to take a little longer and walk a little further is good for my mental health if nothing else. When I get back I tend to sit down and look through the job alerts that have come through, earmarking any that I am going to submit an application for, and if there is nothing else to do (the last two days, I’ve been preparing a proposal for a client), get on with the applications.

This morning, just as we were heading for home, I heard a bird of prey calling. When I turned and looked up I saw first one and then a second buzzard circling. As I continued to watch a Sparrowhawk appeared.

IMG_20150804_075150511_HDR

I wonder whether she was hoping for some smaller birds to be spooked by the buzzards and then be able to swoop in for a meal.

Quite pleased with the camera phone photos above, cropped in google photos.

Being Positive

On By TontowilliamsIn Being Positive, redundancy
Always Looking Up
Always Looking Up

Yesterday marked an unusual day for me, for the first time since 1994, I found myself technically unemployed. I took voluntary redundancy from my last employer, after 17 years with them, and yesterday was the first working day that I have been out of full time employment.

Now I’m hunting for jobs, I applied for three yesterday as well as preparing a proposal for some self-employed work that I’ve been asked to do. The latter needs finishing today to submit to the client. I must admit, if I could make a living self-employed, then that feels a better option but it could be a feast and famine existence.

One things for sure I need to remain positive. Today is only day two, so it’s a bit early to see where this will go and how it will turn out. I believe the phrase is that “I have  a few irons in the fire”, but they could all come to nothing. If they do, then I’m sure that something else will come along, but in the meantime, I have a proposal to finish; dogs to walk, washing to hang out to dry; and all other jobs to do around the home (& allotment)! I’m sure that I’m not going to be idle.