Things that go bump-flash in the night

On July 30, 2018July 29, 2018 By bertie bootsIn weather4 Comments

Hello, Bertie here.

It seems likes Roscoe’s request for grass didn’t quite work, but we did get rain. Mummy says it was Friday night mostly. But we did get some yesterday too. It’s been cooler, but nice. Also cloudy.

Bertie looking cute

Neville in the sack

Bertie’s nose in the hay

Roscoe under the arch

Friday evening Mummy told us to be prepared for fireworks in the sky, and they started around sunset time. They were a bit quiet to start with, then they got louder and flashier. Then the rain started. It was very windy too. I wasn’t frightened, even when the lights went out, because I was hiding in my tunnel. Biggles was hiding in his hay. Neville was hiding in his tunnel and Roscoe was looking calm and sophisticated in his blue sack. I don’t know how he always manages to look calm and sophisticated when he’s lying down. It’s just that superior look he gives, down his nose. Mummy wasn’t in any tunnels or sacks as far as I could tell. She was in the living room where we get our cuddles. I think she was watching the picture box when the light was on, and walking around lighting candles when it went out. It came back on again, though, and she went back to her picture box. She took some pictures out of the front door, too.

She went out in the rain at one point and we could hear her moving water about. She poured some into the barrel by the door and I think the rest went into the barrel at the other end of the patio. She had buckets out to catch more rain.

On Saturday it was nice, and we went out for a short time in the garden, but it was very windy and we each went back to our tents for shelter. Roscoe and Neville even sat in their tent together. Mummy soon got the message and brought us back indoors. There’s no grass out there. Mummy says it will start growing again if we get a little more gentle rain and not too much hot weather.

Yesterday there was a little more rain and lots of wind, and we didn’t go out. Mummy says it’s going to be hot hot hot again in a couple of days, so I think we’re still without grass. But the herbs have picked up, and we had nice pickings of oregano for breakfast.

I hope you are having enough grass, enough rain and enough sun, but Auntie Dawn has too much and Auntie Noelle has too little, and it sounds like Joshua is somewhere in the middle. Good luck, everybody.

PS It was Hugo’s day yesterday. Seven years since he died. Mummy says he’s in her new story. It’s his picture at the top of the page today.

PPS Mummy says to tell you all our bite marks have cleared up now. I have no idea what she’s talking about.

Still no rain, please send grass

On July 23, 2018July 29, 2018 By geordieroscoeIn weather3 Comments

Hi, Roscoe here, with dry feet, dry nose and dry grass. Mam has been giving us a bit of readigrass, when we’re out in the garden or when we come back in. She said yesterday we’ve nearly finished the bag. That’s quicker than we get through it in winter.

The pictures today are 2 weeks old. There’s no green at all now.

Mam comes out with the water showerer each evening. First those plants in pots, then the ones in the bare ground. I think there might be carrots coming up in that. She said the lettuce seedlings disappeared, and she sowed more on Saturday but I couldn’t see them yesterday. Maybe they take a while to appear.

She also does the bean plant which is next to the lavender. We like lavender a lot. We like bean leaves too, but not the bean pods. Well, Biggles likes the ends of them but not the middle. We don’t like the ends either.

She spreads water in quite a lot of other places but I can’t see where. She says she’d like it to rain every night for six weeks, nice and steady, like. Then the grass would grow, and the flowers would recover.

Have you seen the new colour scheme? We’ve finished mourning for Percy. It’s a long time, but he’s worth it. Now the colours are back to something brighter. Well, it’s the colour of the grass just to show you how bad it is. The picture on the main page shows Oscar, Kevin and Percy this time two years ago (the tall flowers are out again). Look how much grass there is! They couldn’t keep up with it.

I’d really like some grass like that. Now would be soon enough.

till next time

Roscoe

Sometimes it’s hot and sometimes it’s not

On June 18, 2018July 29, 2018 By bertie bootsIn weather2 Comments

Hello everybody, it’s Bertie here.

Some days last week were nice. When Mummy got home she put us out in the garden in the runs and it was very nice. She put the covers across the cages depending on how hot it was and how late it was. Later the sun doesn’t seem quite so warm.

I had the middle run this week, between Roscoe & Neville near the fence, and Biggles nearest the path. It was nice to see everybody but I find the sky a bit scary, so I rested in the tunnel or under my tent when there wasn’t anything else to do.

The grass seems to be getting a bit dry. I suppose I shouldn’t complain, but it is. Mummy said the grass under the plum tree is very dry, even dryer than mine. We didn’t go out yesterday because it was a ‘bit cool’ as Mummy says, and she brought us in some grass. There wasn’t very much, and most of it was drying, but it was very tasty all the same.

Mummy says we need rain, but only at night. I’m not sure that’s the way it works, Mummy.

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It’s smelling like spring

On March 26, 2018July 29, 2018 By geordieroscoeIn weather1 Comment

Way-aye, Roscoe here.

It’s been another quiet week. I’ve been getting a little bit bored with it, to tell the truth. Mam’s been out quite a bit, or busy with people calling her on that funny box she uses to talk to them. I think it’s people she’s talking to, any rate.

We’ve not any more grass from the garden lately, something to do with the white snow that covered it. We did get a wee bit on Saturday, though. Mam had been out all day, and the day before, and before that too, so maybe she was making it up to us, like. She’d been in at night, though. Not like the other week. She gave Neville a haircut the other day though.

Any rate, she was in all day yesterday. She spent some time outside doing noisy things. We could hear he cos she left the door open. We could hear the birds and smell the air. It smelled good.

I hear Percy let on that Neville and I had a bit of an argument the other day. We didn’t really. I just told Nev what he ought to do like, and he disagreed. So we talked about it for a while. I’ve no idea how he got that little spot behind his ear. It’s nothing to do with me, honest.

Mam said that if the grass was dry enough we could go out on it when it got warm so she could sit out without a coat on. So she’s going out without a coat on, but she’s not sitting. Okay. I see. I think. Get sitting, will you?

We got wet!

On July 31, 2017July 29, 2018 By bertie bootsIn weather3 Comments

We were out in the garden on Saturday. Oh, I should tell you it’s Bertie here. Anyway, we were out in the garden on Saturday. We went out early, about 2 o’clock, because Mummy was here. She’d finished the gardening she wanted to do. Then she had a drink and was reading while we did the rest of the grass for her. She says Oscar and I aren’t much good at mowing her grass, but I think we’re brilliant. We do our patches all by ourselves. Percy, Midge and Biggles share the workload on theirs. What, Percy? Yes I know yours is three times as big. You still have help.

Anyway, I was saying about getting wet. Mummy went upstairs to do something. I think she forgot to come down again. We were there for quite a while, and it got even cloudier. It had been cloudy before, but this was worse. Then it started to plop little plops of water around the place. It was like being in a mist, only bigger. It settled on the grass and on the tents and the tunnels and things. Midge told me to go in the tent and he went into his. Oscar said he was fine up against the covers of the kale bed. Biggles ran from the tent to the tunnel to the new big tunnel. I think he went under the tent for a while. Percy went in the blue tunnel. Everything got pretty wet, but Midge decided it was still good to eat. He came out and started eating again. His coat was sort of wet on top, but he said he was nice and warm. He said he couldn’t feel the rain. I tried it, and I couldnt feel it either, except on my nose and ears. Percy told us not to be silly, didn’t you, Percy? (-Yes, I did.)

Anyway, suddenly Mummy rushed out to see us, apologising for leaving us out in the rain, and thank goodness it wasn’t heavy. She said she hadn’t done that since Fred, George, Victor and Hugo were young. That’s a very very long time ago. Percy said it was so long ago it’s the dawn of history. He started talking about the difference between our time and Mummy’s time. I think he’s going to tell you about that next week. (-I will if I remember)

So that’s our big adventure this week.

By the way, my nose is better now… look.

PS We were all perfectly warm enough, and we’re fine today, thank you.

PPS It was Hugo’s day yesterday. Hugo tends to get left out of Days, for some reason. Mummy said to remember him when I did the post. Here’s a photo.

Where does Mummy go?

On June 19, 2017July 29, 2018 By bertie bootsIn weather1 Comment

Hello. Bertie here.

I was told when I came upstairs that I’d see Mummy more often.

It isn’t true. She’s here sometimes in the morning. Then she goes somewhere and a long time later she comes back. She often asks if we missed her. I never reply, because I don’t know how. I mean, no I didn’t miss her. But she wasn’t here. It would be nice if she was here more. They told me I’d see more of her if I came upstairs. But I don’t.

It’s been very warm the last few days. We go out on the grass in the evening for an hour or two. It mostly starts out even warmer out there, but gets nice and comfortable. Then we come back in. Sometimes it feels warmer inside. Sometimes it feels cooler. Last night it was hot and sticky. We had to remind Mummy it was cucumber time. Then she went and got it and that cooled us down.

Even though it’s hot Percy still snoozes inside his snugglesac. I sleep on the hay in the loft. Midge sleeps on the hay or on top of the snuggletunnel. It’s okay when it’s hot, but Mummy complains.

Anyway, if you know where Mummy goes, please tell me.

love,

Bertie.