A very busy week so far and more to come.

At the moment we're rushing to get as much done before Friday as possible. For on Friday I depart - before dawn even - to fly to Dublin for the Phoenix SF convention (aka P-Con 4) And lambing is due to start on Monday. And spring is determined to be extra early this year - which means the hundred or so saplings we have in our hedge plant nursery are all coming out of their dormancy early. Which means we have to plant the hedge in the next week or so - which means we have to prepare the ground, grub up the brambles, and erect the fence to keep the horses from eating the newly planted hedge.

And it won't stop raining.

So we've been busy - hacking and fencing in between the downpours and assembling promotional convention material (each page impregnated with 'buy me now' sigils) when the skys open.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we assemble the lambing pens and set up the CCTV lambcams. Then we have to catch up the first trio of expectant ewes.

Always a fun exercise in the mud:)

Tags: conventions, dublin, fencing, hedges, lambing, p-con, sf, trees

(3 comments | Leave a comment)

Climbing and Balance: A Kitten's Guide	Nov. 29th, 2006 @ 03:33 pm

Following on from last week's Kitten's Guide to meal time etiquette, this week Xena and Kai demonstrate the secret of successful climbing - balance.

First up we have Xena showing how the arboreal kitten can navigate complex branch structures without falling off. In fact she doesn't even have to look where she's going. She feels her way along the branch using paws, claws and a cleverly aligned tail for extra balance control.

Next up we have Kai demonstrating what can go wrong.

And remember, kittens, don't try this at home. Kai is a fully trained stunt kitten and is used to hanging precariously from great heights. It's what he does best. Students of balance will note how he's hanging on by a combination of the back paws clawing at one horizontal while his front paws grasp the one above. His posture is wrong, his torso twisted and his tail is having to curve forward to compensate.

If any kittens are wondering how Kai got into that mess in the first place, here is Kai demonstrating The Wobbly Kitten - a high banister manoeuvre without a net. Any second that back end could go and he'd be swinging from the banisters with his back paws around his ears.

But Kai recovers, regains his balance and then ... makes the mistake of looking down.

Another warning for aspiring arboreal kittens, keep your eyes on the branches around you because sometimes when you look down...

Your legs go weak. And it's all too much.

Tags: cats, climbing, humor, humour, kittens, pets, trees

(7 comments | Leave a comment)

Xena Quarrier Princess	Sep. 27th, 2006 @ 10:45 am

Kitten Picture Wednesday's roving explorer, Xena, makes her first visit to our medieval quarry. Granite from the quarry is said to be have been used in local cathedrals - and probably our farmhouse as well. Now it's a woody hill - somewhat lower than it would have been a thousand years ago and strewn with massive boulders and rocky outcrops.

Xena poses in the dappled shade and works out where to go next.