As a lover of the Natural World this was Constance's favourite hymn. And this morning she woke up early thinking about her mama. She would have been 98 a few days ago on January 29th.
She was tough, a hard task mistress and did not suffer fools any way.. and certainly not easily, that's for sure! But clever 'foolish' behaviour was accepted especially if performed by an animal and I wonder what she would have thought of me? She died two years before I was born.
She loved Dagga Parrot and it was with her that he first played Hide & Seek, they were very silly the pair of them. I occasionally play it with her now but old Beaky let's me down. She calls out "Where are you" and silly Beaky answers with his version of "Here I am".. daft big beak that he is.
Why am I thinking of Constance and her favourite hymn? Well, that pale grey monotone sky has been whooshed away by some strong winds and it is a brilliant, crisp blue out there. The temperature has dropped, it is extremely chilly-billy.
The forecast is for lots of snow and much lower temperatures, this means the ground will be rock hard and the pavements icy. Please do NOT wash your front steps.. even the smallest amount of water will freeze and make an ice patch on which you OR someone else may slip.
If you have outside animals check their water supply, it will undoubtedly be frozen. The following is what she used to do when she had Bluey in the winter of 1963.. an extremely cold winter.
She used two buckets, one much bigger than the other. Newspaper and old wadding were put between the two buckets as insullation, They were up off the ground on a plank of wood resting on four bricks. She checked him every night at 8.00pm and slipped a small hot water bottle into his bucket and put a tennis ball into the water. His water never froze.
For birds it is a tough time of year, no worms, no bugs. So please think about supplementing their food. Fat balls and seeds are what they need but placed out of reach of all feline folk. Most cats think birds are fair game. They're not, so please keep bird food and water away from your Moggies.
It is interesting how 'Farm' cats or at least, the ones she grew up with, never chased or hunted the birds and watched her enchanting Tumbling Doves just like the humans, in awe.
Bright and beautiful.. it IS beautiful Winter. It has its' place in the seasons because it is the time of rest for the soil and the plants but even now, although the soil is frozen rock hard, the power of plants to survive is truly amazing.
The smallest green shoots have cracked the frozen soil in flower pots outside our door and something is emerging, something deliciously pretty. For she only grows things that are either edible, pretty or beautifully fragrant.
Even Diamonds, real ones, are of the Natural World. For they are crystals of pure Carbon, like Coal or your Pencil lead! Formed millions of years ago by intense pressure. It is an amazing thing Nature, for it comes in many different forms. And we have the Natural History Museum within ten minutes walk from our home!
Have you ever been to this museum? Whose entry is FREE. Please go and offer thanks to all the people who found this subject fascinating enough to study it and who raised the funds to give us this breathtakingly glorious building FULL of all manner of the most wondrous things.. not just Dippy, the Dinosaur!
And now.. I sing to you..
He gave us eyes to see them
And lips so that we might tell..
So I've told you.. and if you don't know the words of this charming hymn, I suggest you search for the hymn and read them. Written in 1848 by Mrs. Cecil Alexander in her Hymns for Little Children.
You can be of ANY Religion to appreciate her words.
GeeGee Parrot.
February 2nd, 2015.
She was tough, a hard task mistress and did not suffer fools any way.. and certainly not easily, that's for sure! But clever 'foolish' behaviour was accepted especially if performed by an animal and I wonder what she would have thought of me? She died two years before I was born.
She loved Dagga Parrot and it was with her that he first played Hide & Seek, they were very silly the pair of them. I occasionally play it with her now but old Beaky let's me down. She calls out "Where are you" and silly Beaky answers with his version of "Here I am".. daft big beak that he is.
Why am I thinking of Constance and her favourite hymn? Well, that pale grey monotone sky has been whooshed away by some strong winds and it is a brilliant, crisp blue out there. The temperature has dropped, it is extremely chilly-billy.
The forecast is for lots of snow and much lower temperatures, this means the ground will be rock hard and the pavements icy. Please do NOT wash your front steps.. even the smallest amount of water will freeze and make an ice patch on which you OR someone else may slip.
If you have outside animals check their water supply, it will undoubtedly be frozen. The following is what she used to do when she had Bluey in the winter of 1963.. an extremely cold winter.
She used two buckets, one much bigger than the other. Newspaper and old wadding were put between the two buckets as insullation, They were up off the ground on a plank of wood resting on four bricks. She checked him every night at 8.00pm and slipped a small hot water bottle into his bucket and put a tennis ball into the water. His water never froze.
For birds it is a tough time of year, no worms, no bugs. So please think about supplementing their food. Fat balls and seeds are what they need but placed out of reach of all feline folk. Most cats think birds are fair game. They're not, so please keep bird food and water away from your Moggies.
It is interesting how 'Farm' cats or at least, the ones she grew up with, never chased or hunted the birds and watched her enchanting Tumbling Doves just like the humans, in awe.
Bright and beautiful.. it IS beautiful Winter. It has its' place in the seasons because it is the time of rest for the soil and the plants but even now, although the soil is frozen rock hard, the power of plants to survive is truly amazing.
The smallest green shoots have cracked the frozen soil in flower pots outside our door and something is emerging, something deliciously pretty. For she only grows things that are either edible, pretty or beautifully fragrant.
Even Diamonds, real ones, are of the Natural World. For they are crystals of pure Carbon, like Coal or your Pencil lead! Formed millions of years ago by intense pressure. It is an amazing thing Nature, for it comes in many different forms. And we have the Natural History Museum within ten minutes walk from our home!
Have you ever been to this museum? Whose entry is FREE. Please go and offer thanks to all the people who found this subject fascinating enough to study it and who raised the funds to give us this breathtakingly glorious building FULL of all manner of the most wondrous things.. not just Dippy, the Dinosaur!
And now.. I sing to you..
He gave us eyes to see them
And lips so that we might tell..
So I've told you.. and if you don't know the words of this charming hymn, I suggest you search for the hymn and read them. Written in 1848 by Mrs. Cecil Alexander in her Hymns for Little Children.
You can be of ANY Religion to appreciate her words.
GeeGee Parrot.
February 2nd, 2015.
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