Yesterday I was taken for a driving lesson in the free green 1953 Dodge pick up. So I can drive it to and fro with the asparagus that will soon be popping up if the weather stays this warm! Did I tell you that when I first went for my drivers license at age 15 in NZ, the traffic cop who took me said I was not a bad driver just not a very good one. But I received my little drivers license book all shiny and newly stamped. I guess going for the test in my very short convent girl school uniform paid off then! 
And looking for this shot..
I found this one. Mary’s Cat wandered over after the longest daytime nap in the history of Cat and arranged himself artistically beside the daffodil. He is calling it Spring Cat in Repose. 
I was wrong about the forsythia, the bees were two doors down in the Butterfly Garden. The Fosythia is quiet compared to the Pussy Willow. 
The Pussy Willow is noisy with the hum of Bee Bombers. 
The little tree is literally heaving with bees. I do not know how they are avoiding collisions without any rear view mirrors. 
And every day from now until Mama presents us with her lambs (and yes this is where we all touch wood or whisper a prayer or lift our head to the sun in unison) from now until that day …
If I have to stare desperately at this Big Fat Mama every day – then so do you. And I really do not command TonTon to sit in every single Mama shot, he just does. It is his job he thinks. And Mama just humours him. She is tottering about quite merrily, runs bouncily to me when she gets her wee portion of grain (a most unsettling sight) and is generally looking healthy, just huge.
Good morning. Last night after my bath I went out in my nightie and gumboots with the torch to check Mama as usual. Very strangely Ton was not on the mat at the kitchen door. Usually he hears the bath gurgling down the pipes and is waiting for me. I called him, he came, but from across the field which was weird.
OK, lets go see Mama, I said and he turned and ran straight for Pat’s Paddock. TonTon I called. He came back. See Mama, I said a little louder. Mama is not out there. I pointed in the right direction as I stepped into my gumboots, See Mama, I said again. He blinked loudly at me, and ran as fast as a whippet into Mama’s field, past Mama then over the fence and back out into Pats Paddock. I mumbled to myself about that dog needing more training and went to the sheep’s paddock. Mama was fine. Mia was staring after TonTon.
Then Ton barked from Pat’s Paddock. You will remember that this is the 2 acre paddock on the North Side of the barn, with all the good forage that we sowed last year. We have had it shut off all winter and now it is being left to grow until the clover and grass is at least 6 – 8 inches high. Then it will be carefully grazed in an orderly fashion. Ton barked again. He seldom barks.
With the beam of my torch I quickly checked that Queenie and The Baby Bobby were where they should be. Seperate. Yes. I could see Hairy MacLairy watching me from his side of the North fence. His white face caught in a jag of lightening from the West. Good. He and Daisy have that small winter field out the North door of the barn. So I walked around the barn and into this area. No Daisy. Hmm. Maybe she had gone inside the barn. There was a flash of lightening, I stopped and counted to the rumble of thunder, the storm was 4 miles away. The tiniest breeze lifted my hair. The scent changed.
From my right in the dark TonTon barrelled under the fence and straight to me then ran straight back out and into the dark and barked again. By then I knew that Daisy was not where she should be. By then I could see that a naughty cow had left behind evidence of part jumping, part clambering over the holding fence. I hoped she had not hurt herself.
By then I could see that there was a great big cow out in the middle of Pat’s Paddock in forbidden territory, munching on the green stuff like there was no tomorrow. Bad Cow I said, wondering if we would get any rain out of this storm. We could do with some rain.
I trudged out through the dark, into the middle of the field, in my nightie and gumboots lit by far away flashes of sharp white lightening and inspected her with the torch. It started to gently rain. She was fine, just bothered that maybe I was standing on a good patch of clover. And she was not going back through the gate to the barn for anything. So I left the gate open so she did not have to jump the fence again to get to her water, and went to bed.
What if she gets hit by lightening? John said. (The people around here are terrified of lightening). You go and bring her in then, I said as I wiped the rain into my face with my hands. She likes you.
Early, early this morning, at my 4.30 am Mama check, I called Daisy back through and shut the gate. Too much spring clover can be too much of a good thing on a winter forage belly. The storm never came but we did get a tiny bit of rain – about a quarter of a rain barrel. I must get a rain gauge but then it may never rain again. I can be a bit superstitious sometimes.
Good morning!
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
79 responses to “The Bomber Bees, and Daisy goes for a wander in forbidden territory.”
Good morning to you too. That is one fat mama! Now I need to make a confession, I better spit it out before the impending birth actually takes place. I have a naughty habit, one I picked up in childhood. You see we used to go to N Wales around Easter time, to visit my grandparents (good Welsh farming stock and that’s just the people – ha!). Anyway, Easter as we all know means lambs in fields. Yours truly was taught to shout out of the car window (tut tut) MINT SAUCE whenever we spotted a field of lambs. The traffic along the coast road was abominably appalling, guaranteed so, so I’m sure it was a way to distract us. But it has meant that all my adult life I still shout MINT SAUCE at the sight of lambs, it’s a bit Pavlov like, I can’t help it, I see a lamb and think MINT SAUCE. So I’m just letting you know in advance I will be shouting MINT SAUCE. Sorry……
That made me laugh so much, I´m going to join in… “MINT SAUCE”!
Great I’ve got company! I’ve had many a raised eyebrow turned at me over the years!
You guys! c
Claire you are brilliant, That made me laugh! I don’t mind what you shout as long as we get to see some lambs!! c
Bad Daisy! I love that truck and the bees 😉
Morning Mad! hope things are all spring like in London today.. c
Oh naughty Daisy and good TonTon. And as for Mama, good think sheep don´t suffer from swollen ankles! Love that shot with the bomber bees, it´s amazing 😉
I do worry about her ankles. Often a new born lamb can be 8 – 10 pounds, so potentially she is carrying a good 35 – 40 pounds around on those spindly little legs! yikes.. c
Spectacular photographs. I just showed my husband the photo of your old pick-up and he asked, “Do they drive it? It should be restored.” He has always wanted an old pick-up and an old car…
I kind of like your truck the way it looks now.
yup we drive it and no i do not want it restored to something shiny and precious (plus i have better things to spend my money on!).. like you i love it just the way it is.. it is more us somehow.. morning audrey
Just keep it running! And I too think it is lovely just as it is!
ton ton is so smart! and i really feel for that poor sheep. she looks like me when i was pregnant!
morning jaz, well you will empathise with her, i think she is tired of the whole pregnant thing now.. c
TonTon better not get underfoot with that sheep! I love your photos, always a new vantage of the farmy.
Morning greg, it amazes me how many angles there are! c
I’m even more endeared to TonTon. He makes me want another Border Collie. However, they are so intelligent, they need jobs. It would be cruel to have one with nothing to herd or manage.
What a fresh little bundle you would have been crawling into bed after a stint outside in the fresh air! That’s the second nicest smell after a baby!
Lovely photos as always, C! I hope Daisy is ok after her pig-out, I think too much greens can cause bloat for cows? I have a childhood memory of a cow dying after getting into our lucerne (alfalfa?) field!
yes too much alfalfa can be dangerous, however this was grass and clover, and very short to boot, so no real danger there.. but it is a good idea to ease them into green forage after a winter of hay .. we call it lucerne in NZ too, it is wonderful for fattening grass fed beef but only a few hours a day!! c
That first bee image is incredibly awesome and I love how a policeman took you on your driving test! I’m scared of lightening too and if only getting a rain gauge would mean that the rain would go away! 🙂
So love the photo of the bees and pussy willow. It reminds me of the tree growing at my mothers house…just lovely!
They are great old trees! c
Bomber bees and a cow who thinks the grass (or clover) is greener on the other side of the fence – life is never dull on the farm.
Maybe tomorrow will be dull! c
Bomber bees and a cow who thinks the grass (or clover) is greener on the other side of the fence – life is never dull on the farm!
What a good dog that TonTon is !! And what a life on the farmy! Including the vision of you in your nightie and boots! I guess your work and day never ends even after a shower!
Your photos are simply stunning. So crisp and sharp, I feel like I’m right there!
Hi Linda and thank you, there is always something happening! c
Spring has definitely sprung at your place…even the animals are feeling it and getting feisty…like that bad Daisy. I wonder if TonTon feels something symbiotic with mama because she’s white with a black face and feet and he’s black with somewhat white face and feet? Probably not that, since Mia is the same, but for some reason that just struck me looking at their kind of opposite size and coloring (not to mention animal breed) as I looked at the photo (!?)…such a great shot of the two of them. Love the bees and the artistic cat shot, too. TonTon is such a smart boy!
Morning Betsy. When i thought about it this morning i truly realised how clever Ton had been. And then i wonder why i am always surprised and why i do not listen more carefully to him. have a great evening! laughed about the opposites attracting! You have a great mind.. c
I am totally jealous of your springy looking yard. I’m sure you’ve heard enough of my whining about our weather so I won’t go “there”. Mama looks adorable, like a big cotton ball on sticks. 🙂
Cotton Ball on sticks, you are so right! c