Mums handwriting.

Mums handwriting.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

My Mum had beautiful italic handwriting. This is a part of a poem she wrote after my Grandma died. Ros said that you can still go into medical records in Wigan Infirmary, and pull out a file with my Mums handwriting on the front. My Mum always wrote letters and kept notes....she wrote messages inside books..... she always made us write out thankyou cards to people, after we received presents on our birthdays. When I went away with school for a week to Westward Ho, aged 10.... I was the only person to receive a letter from home.
A couple of days after the accident, I received a letter in the post, air mail from Australia in my Mums handwriting. I still have the letter unopened in a safe place. I couldnt open it at the time... and I feel that after almost 19 years it will remain unopened. This is fine.... it is like keeping a little piece of her alive. Its a conversation we could still have had.....I can imagine what it may say. x

One man went to mow....

One man went to mow....
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

It is well over a year since we last cut the grass in the field.... so it was a huge relief, when we finally did it yesterday. We had been waiting for the meadows group to come and do it for us... but due to the wet weather recently, they have fallen behind on their visits to people. It felt great to do it ourselves... and the field now looks great. Lots of raking to do though! The weather was great....and we were out there all day. We saw lots of frogs, mice and huge grasshoppers. We are sharing the cost of the mower with our neighbour John....it works out quite well.

Level 42 - Leaving Me Now

Our slow worm.

Our slow worm.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

We think it is a female slow worm.... and she is currently living with a frog, underneath the piece of corrugated iron we put on the grass next to the veg patch. Shall we call them Hillary and Barack?
Here are some stats....
Slow worms look like snakes, but are actually legless lizards.
Slow worms have smooth and shiny snake like bodies with an indistinct head and can be distinguished from snakes by the presence of eyelids.
Slow worms prefer humid habitats, including grassy meadows, gardens, woodland margins and open fields.
They emerge from hiding places to hunt at dusk or after rainfall.
They are not often seen basking in the sun and prefer to hide under rocks and logs.
Slow worms are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 from being killed, injured or sold.... and are less common than they used to be.

The slow worm and the frog.

The slow worm and the frog.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Portugal

When we first came to view this house 3 and a half years ago.... Pete and Gill said they were hoping to sell and move over to live in Portugal. They had a photo of the old farmhouse they had bought, on the wall above their bed. This friday they finally leave... the container full of furniture and clothes and boxes of stuff is already on its way. The 3 cats are being slowly introduced to tablets, that will keep them calm on the journey over. We wish them all well in their new life in Portugal.

Roy

Roy
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Ros and Roy came to stay for 3 nights over the Bank Holiday weekend and it was lovely to see them. We walked up Sugar Loaf on Sunday and visited Llanthony Abbey. On Monday we went down to Tintern and then did a local walk. We ate lots of rich food....luckily we walked a lot aswell !!!! Ros made her world famous bacon, cheese and worcester sauce toasted sandwiches... and I cooked my tarragon chicken....we laughed a lot about how many dairy related products we had eaten over the weekend.... cheese, creme fraiche, marscapone cheese in the tiramisu, and more creme fraiche.
We crammed a lot into the weekend.... and finished with a lovely meal at The Ostrich. x

Cup of tea, owl and Ros.

Cup of tea, owl and Ros.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Taking a breather.

Taking a breather.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

When Luke is part of the Olympic Cycling team... we will remind him of the day we cycled from Monmouth to Symonds Yat. It was a big day for Luke...as he had one big crash on his bike, one smaller accident and he lost his first tooth. He and Iwan were brilliant on their bikes.... we probably cycled 10 miles altogether and they really enjoyed it. Luke perfected the back wheel skid.... until he tried it going down a hill at top speed and came a cropper. He had bruises and scratches on his back.It rained along the way... and the sun came out on the way back.
It was lovely to see Lisa, Iwan and Luke. There were nose bleeds and lots of noise.....we watched a fox jumping around in the field.... there were glo sticks and Nintendos and the Casper DVD.....we picked some plums and broke the top branch off the apple tree....whoops!

Cycle track along the river.

Cycle track along the river.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

"Mum, my tooth's come out"

"Mum, my tooth's come out"
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Red boat.

Red boat.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

It was a week of ups and downs for Tel and Pete at the Enterprise Nationals in Tenby. They finished 45th overall out of 53 boats. One day they capsized 6 times.... another day, racing was completely cancelled due to bad weather. It was a bit frustrating for them as they have been improving at Penarth in recent weeks. Tom and Clare finished 1st in one race which was a great achievement.
I went down on wed night ...we had fish and chips to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. Tenby looked beautiful...the beaches are lovely and it was quite busy despite the dodgy weather.

A sunny moment.

A sunny moment.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

In a line.

In a line.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Tenby by night.

Tenby by night.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Tundra Rap - Mighty Boosh

"stop tuggin my mink"

Lovely smile.

Lovely smile.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Nicole Cooke...she's Welsh you know.

Its a shame the weather is so bad at the moment... but its a great excuse to make a cup of tea and watch the fantastic Olympic Games coverage on the BBC. The BBC are really good at the big events.....Monkey and Pigsy look great on the opening titles. I love the expert commentators who really know their stuff on each event...Matt Baker is doing his brilliant John Noakes impersonation at the gymnastics. The swimming is fantastic... and if we could wake up to Nicole Cooke winning the Womens Road Race every morning, it would always be a good day. She s Welsh you know.

Skew wiff

Skew wiff
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

I had a restless night last night. I remember getting up and putting my dressing gown on at about 3am. When I woke up this morning, my 2 paintings on the bedroom wall were all skew wiff... I thought we d had an earthquake in the night.... but no....I had obviously moved them in my sleep!!!!!

Spot the baby deer.

Spot the baby deer.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Its quite difficult to snap a baby deer.....as they jump and run around so much. I ve been using the digital zoom and I like the image you get.... its not as clear... its fuzzy like a watercolour painting.

Silence in the courtyard, silence in the streets. The biggest mouth in the world is just about to speak.

Silence in the courtyard, silence in the streets. The biggest mouth in the world is just about to speak.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Lou and the kids.

Lou and the kids.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

Lou and the kids came to stay on saturday and it was lovely to see them all. The weather was great and we were able to be outside most of the time. Fly repellent spray was needed as the field hasnt been cut yet this year .... there are butterflies and grasshoppers there too! The kids loved it in the field... we made a camp fire....played on the swing and in the hammock. Anna pushed the wheelbarrow all the way to the top on her own.... and then she sat in it and Tel pushed her down the hill. Lara had a go too....hands in the air!! It was very funny. James captured it all on camera. Yesterday we went to Tintern Old Station for lunch....before they all headed home. x

Lara on the swing.

Lara on the swing.
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon

How much fun can you have with a rusty old wheelbarrow?

How much fun can you have with a rusty old wheelbarrow?
Originally uploaded by terry Dixon