It’s Tuesday and it’s grey and gloomy over the valley. Down on the pond, the goslings are rapidly growing and for proud and protective mom and pop they are fledging out into not so little “mini mes”. In a rigidly straight line, mom ( or pop) at the head and pop (or mom) to the rear sail across the tranquil water as a slight breeze is swaying the hanging branches of the cedar trees. Down at the barn we can see the Gentle Giant Meadow’s eating team, aka the ewes already lining up in front of the gate. Dawn means that it wont be long before Greg arrives with his back up team (and an ever over excited Bran the Border Collie) to open the pen and it’s the Katahdin Derby across the farm road and freedom for the day. Belly deep in the waving grass the sheep graze looking for all the world like pasture maggots then disappear as, satiated, they slump down to chew their cud and think about whatever fat happy contented sheep think about.

The barn is daily changing as Greg and our little family of WOOFERs give it a makeover and a long overdue facelift. We are starting to look like a real horse barn and the contented horse heads hanging over the doors complete the image. After early morning chores are completed and mucky wheelbarrows are filed away until the next time, the barn team transforms into the construction team and magic is happening

Poor Misty the Jersey calf had a bad evening. The highlight of that pretty little lady’s day is the arrival of a hefty half gallon bottle topped with a big red rubber teat. To get that bottle the calf would sell her soul and once the benefactor of the bottle appears around the corner of the barn a watchful Misty has one thing on her mind and nothing or no one is going to come between our voracious calf and the frothing milk. Nothing was different yesterday, the milk fairy ( WOOFER Carla) duly arrived, admittedly a little behind schedule but not late enough to be the cause of emaciation and Misty gripped the teat, determined not to be parted until every last drop was inhaled. Sadly…that is exactly what happened, Misty inhaled and the milk filled her lungs. Misty panicked…and coughed, we determined that our little Jersey calf had had her last bottle, sadly poor Misty begins her weaning process today.

Time to go, the cuckoo clock has spoken and everyone is on the move.

Take care, keep safe, M               

Well, the weekend is over, 10 year old grandson Jaden has gone back to be a city slicker. Daughter Amanda has left to try and clean up little miss Jordan after her days expedition to the ranch and too cute rascal Coulton has gone home with mom to practice all the inappropriate things that it is clearly ok to teach little grandsons that are too young to know better. The decibel level in the valley has gone down significantly…I thought that Molly Moo having a tirade was a cause for the neighbours to issue a noise abatement order,no contest, we beat that noise level hands down this weekend !!! We are sad to say goodbye to Jaden who really learnt how to get down to work and get dirty, REALLY dirty, learnt to take care of the livestock and learnt to ride. We are proud of his achievements over the past week and look forward to our little apprentice rancher’s return.

On the flip side, we are very happy to welcome Greg’s mom back to the ranch. Since our first tentative years here, Mom has been one of our most frequent and beloved visitors. Mom has been found grooming horses, collecting and cleaning out the chickens, sweeping up stalls and she is THE best ranch cook in the world….and she is only 91 and ½ !!!!  We are happy to have you back mom and look forward to the next 3 weeks.

Quatra and Carla both escaped for the weekend back to the city, Dan also took a couple of days off…mmmm . We know that they have no fear of the meanest 4 legged critters, not sure about the little 2 legged ones ???!

Bran the border collie also had a weekend of “issues”…Fort Lewis was having target practice, booms and bangs reduce him to a quivering wreck so he was already fragile when the grandchildren arrived… and things just went south from there ! Bran can’t cope with noise, he becomes frenzied when things move at more than walk speed, the new two legged arrivals did both and he couldn’t chase or herd. He resorted to hiding in a corner with his butt facing outward and his head buried under a shaking paw.

We are anxiously watching Acorn who may or may not be due to kid in the next week. The very sweet doe has started to behave a little strangely… we are keeping fingers toes and everything else crossed, update will follow if and when  a little acorn appears.

Well, got to go….the cuckoo clock has given me time out and the team are  are starting to gravitate towards the door.

Take care, keep safe, M

I’m sorry…almost daily diary has been sadly inefficient of late. I’d like to say it was because we have been taking it easy…I’m very happy to say that it isn’t because I have been unwell, actually, I’m feeling great and stronger every day. I think I even have some little bumps which are threatening to be returning muscles..not big little bumps but it feels good to be back to almost normal ( whatever normal may be !!) My tardiness has been because I have been having too much fun to be on the computer, this has been a really busy time with visiting family and WOOFER “change overs” which has kept me really busy.

On Monday 10 year old grandson Jaden arrived from Arizona for a holiday…(roughly translated as a week of hard labour) on the ranch. At the same time as total chaos reined in the barnyard with an army of chicken processors buzzing around, three wired up grandchildren keeping mom Amanda on her toes ( I’d have been on my hands and knees with a stiff G and T !!!) , all the livestock anxiously waiting for dinner service, new WOOFER Dan arrived….he sure hit the ground running !)  We are currently seriously concerned for Dan’s mental state, our new WOOFER volunteer left a perfectly serviceable, clean ship to come and WOOF on the ranch. Over the past few days Dan has been found shovel and brush in hand wandering from pen to pen with his wheelbarrow. Dan has been found, an assortment of facial expressions ranging from pensive,.. milking Alicia the goat, rounding up the cows, been batted around by Misty the Jersey calf and looking like a seasoned cowboy out on the trail with Roman the black Morgan gelding and a smile that lit up his face. We are enjoying Dan’s “visit” immensely but know that his week with us is drawing to a close. Thanks for choosing our ranch to languish on during your shore leave Dan.

Jaden our grandson has joined the farm team and after his initial initiation in the cow pen….”EEEEWWW, everything smells like cow poo” has enthusiastically taken part in morning chores and participated in afternoon activities but all the while his mind is out in the pasture with golden palomino Charm ( Mr beauty with attitude) and getting back in the saddle for an evening ride. Jaden excitedly mounts the golden gelding and safely attached to a lead line is becoming a rider. It has been our pleasure to watch his confidence grow and his smile widen as an amazingly angelic Charm takes care of his young charge. Hopefully this will be the first of many visits over the years as we watch him grow. Maybe by his next visit his legs will be long enough to reach the stirrups !  Jadens other passion appears to be the quad, it has amazed the team just how many diverse chores that young man is prepared to inflict on himself just to be able to hear the growl of that engine. Summertime has brought about yet another institution at the barn. Morning break, coffee and a fat pill ( Costco chocolate and bananna muffin) is routinely called at 10am when the big brass barn bell is run and lunch is habitualy 12 noon when the team pile into our beat up farm truck. Yesterday Jaden was heard to introduce yet another break when he was heard to plead…”what time again is Otterpop /Popsicle time ?”. Not much later, after finding both Quatra and Carla surveying their latest achievement in the stable yard and enjoying a few sun rays whilst enjoying their Otterpop, I found Greg and Dan deep in discussion…sucking on the icy treat. Although I didn’t find Jaden with Popsicle in hand (mouth)…the evidence all round his mouth was clear. I guess 3pm is now Popsicle break !!

Well, time for me to get this posted. I have had at least 2 threats should I not get back to keeping the diary up to date. Please bear with me…Take care, keep safe, M 

The sun is shining, MJ meteorologist extraordinaire on Fox 13 smilingly advises us that the sun is only a one day event and the rain is back tomorrow. Somehow meteorologists have the aptitude to make storms tempests and tornados sound like so much fun !! …It’s amazing how much can we achieve during the daylight hours when the wind isn’t howling and we aren’t knee deep in puddles…mmm what is top of Greg’s ever growing “priority list” ?

Just to add to her list of achievements, young Rebecca learnt to drive the tractor and, under Greg’s watchful eye set to work with a vengeance on the steaming manure pile. I think I detected a gleam in her eye as the tractor growled and the big bucket groaned into action. Rebecca’s time with us is drawing to a close, she is due to be moving on to pastures new this weekend and we are going to miss her easy smile and pleasant nature. Rebecca has been willing to give any new project a try and has made the most of every opportunity…since I am a professional pessimist, watching our young WOOFER heading off out the farm gate on Mr. Charm (with attitude). I needn’t have concerned myself…Charm looked after his young rider who returned with a huge smile on her face, a new found confidence and wanting to know if she can go any faster !  I’m sure Charm would oblige…but I think I would be happier if she had a hard hat and a parachute.

Confidence has grown all around the ranch, Alicia with her bulging udder and lopsided teats has become accustomed to her new milk maid. Rebecca’s tentative first attempts at milking resulted in a bucket of milk with a hoof firmly planted in it but subsequent trips into the milk parlour have been successful and a  bucket of creamy goat milk has made its way to the barn kitchen despite the best attempts of Acorn, and goat kids Cody and Song to investigate her bucket and delay her departure from the goat pen.

Alice and Chance the two lambs (that think they aren’t) have also become favourites of WOOFER Rebecca. The two chosen ones will miss their new and soon to be gone friend hanging out in the sheep pen with them.

A new horse stall is almost completed and Rebecca has in no small way been party to it’s construction. As a new horse boarder hangs its head over the door she helped build, we will remember her. New skills and new friends have been learnt and made over the past weeks and we are sorry that her time with us is over.

It hasn’t all been work, Rebecca along with Greg Quatra and Carla was responsible for fixing a set of bull horns firmly to the front of the four wheeler, I now drive a vehicle with  seriously redneck attitude. It could have been worse I guess….they were looking to get the Chevy !!! Yesterday she and Carla, once again under Greg’s watchful eye got some target practice. Bran hastily ( and possibly very wisely) found a safe place to hide and a target was set up. I believe Carla did get a bulls eye but as all other shots apparently found another target ( who knows where ?) and the sighting of the gun was blamed, I have to conclude that Annie Oakley has nothing to worry about.

Well, time I found something else to do, Safe travels Rebecca, good luck at your venue today Carla and for everyone else, take care, keep safe, M

Well, it was a very close call for our flock of white leghorn cannibal chickens. After my “mustard egg” failing miserably as any kind of preventative to our egg eating dilemma,  the feathered demons apparently held a white chicken egg eating convention where they adopted a new strategy,..attack..defend and eat as many as we didn’t manage to beat them to !!..(and they were doing a great job judging by the egg carcasses we were finding.)
 Our recoil reaction  was a unanimous election to resort to total annihilation of our entire flock of she demons. Three beautiful ( but evil) white birds were caught beak deep in egg yolk or avidly devouring an entire egg shell ( which had previously been gorged by another evil white bird) and unceremoniously removed from the henhouse pending transformation into chicken pot pie. A quick phone call and Larry ( the bird man) was going to be taking the remainder of the guilty ones to who knows what ( but I have a good idea, and it wasn’t going to be egg eating !!)

The next visit into the den of iniquity and all was peace and tranquillity, white birds were nesting, eggs lay in nest boxes undisturbed and uneaten alongside brown black and red birds. The three birds awaiting their fate had also laid….and hadn’t eaten their eggs….now what ? Clearly they had heard us conspiring and with no eggs eaten we felt justice wouldn’t be served by genocide in the barnyard. The three very vocal and extremely aggressive potential pot piers were returned to their community…. And our next visit…two more devoured and we are back to where we started. Who would be a chicken farmer !!!!

I sailed around the orchard with gay abandon, the riding lawn mower creating geometric patterns in the deep early summer grass. It was looking good, I hadn’t eaten even one of the black plastic sprinkler heads, I hadn’t chewed up a fence and the hose pipes stretching like serpents across the grass were intact and undamaged….but I still had one pass, still one hosepipe was lurking in my path and it was to be my undoing! The mower screeched to a standstill with a very loud “thwack”,  ( because it had stretched the hosepipe as far as it would go) we were on the end of a potential bungee and we were going nowhere fast. It was one of those DOH moments.  I was REALLY glad that we have a no blame policy here on the ranch as Greg had to extricate the amputated end of hose from under the mower... judging by the pained expression on his face it wasn't going to be fun. oops

Update……it appears I hit the jackpot…and the hosepipe,.. a little more than once and it also appears that the “no blame policy” is a little (lot) selective. OK…so I had a mowing malfunction….I didn’t hit a sprinkler head, things could have been worse (I think)…I blame the mower ! 

It was Macho (the man) and Rodney the ram’s day for a manicure/pedicure. I’m sure that both boys are wondering what exactly they base their trust on as the team really took advantage of them yesterday. Armed with two  buckets containing a miniscule amount of much coveted grain, Macho and Rodney were enticed, unsuspecting into the shelter. Two heads buried in buckets and oblivious to any clues of treacherous dealings going on the boys were enjoying their unscheduled and unexpected meal when Greg arrived with the manicure box. Not good news for a ram and goat who hadn’t scheduled a visit any time soon. Rebecca and Carla pushed and shoved, Greg pulled and before Rodney could shake an irritated ram’s tail he was prostrate on the tilt table and he was wearing four new feet. Macho put up a little more of a struggle but clearly he concluded that he may as well resign himself to the inevitable and launched himself into the frame almost taking the waiting team by surprise….not bad for a goat who has been squelched by Molly Moo the cow. I think it may be a while before our buck/ram duo trust again.

 Finally,  I would like to go on record and say that I am NO LONGER a lover of all things 4 legged . Doris the doe (deer) who had previously been very welcome to browse our bramble patch and munch on my weeds has taken advantage of my good nature and extended her smorgasbord to my roses, my bedding plants, my flowering cherry tree and the flowers on my geraniums and bedding plants. I think it is safe to say...I am no longer amused and my next visit to town will include a spay can of "DEER OFF" on my shopping list !!!

Well, time I got this entry posted. I'm late again !!
Take care, keep safe, M      

Sounding like a nest of very disturbed hornets the tiny birds buzz back and forth, the brilliant plumage of the hummingbirds flash in the glare of the afternoon sun. Like aggressive fighter pilots locked in an aerial dog fight they tirelessly ascend and descend, with their characteristic elongated beaks and tiny wings beating they threaten and defend the sugary nectar in the feeders. It is hummingbird season in the Pacific North West and right outside our window they perform from the early dawn light to the red glow of sunset, luminous reds, rich golds metallic blues and translucent greens flashing through the air in an apparently never ending battle for existence. The hummingbirds are only part of the wonder of nature here on the ranch sharing the air space flora and fauna with the resident and transient Canadian Goose flock, the occasional scrawny coyote passing through, ( just in case…) the odd black bear struggling for survival, Rocky the ruthless racoon and the delicately beautiful black tail doe who just happened to be taking a late breakfast in our lower pasture this morning. After a quick photo call, fearlessly showing us her best profile and then her butt ( just so we could make a clear species ID…definitely a black tail) she trotted off through the belly deep grass. Now we know the culprit responsible for our broken fences !!!

With the camera still in hand, momma and poppa goose set sail on the mirror glass pond with their rapidly growing family of 5 goslings…another photo opportunity and the goose family were happy to show off their thriving offspring. Just to complete the wildlife photo shoot, Mr and Mrs. Mallard were having a few moments to just take in the beauty of the morning…or more likely, Mr Mallard was jealously guarding his new hard won mate from any competition that may be lurking. No ducklings yet..I guess it wont be long before they will be competing for pond space with the goslings.

The flags are back up, sadly the ravages of the Winter had rendered them unfit to fly but Greg got out his sewing machine and they are flying the colours as good as new.( you raised a wonderful son mom !!) I know that I am now an American citizen…but my Dad was a Brit as are all my siblings and children, the Union Jack isn’t going to leave the ranch any time soon!

The girl team, Quatra Carla and Rebecca, supervised by Greg turned lumberjack yesterday. Quatra offered to lift the Cedar Log onto the truck single handed, judging by the size of it, she needed just a little more Popeye porridge !  All the wood, potential cedar siding and firewood is safe and stacked in the barnyard the girls are still smiling,  thanks girls!

Well, time to go,we are home alone today… Quatra is back to the city for a spell and Carla and Rebecca are going over the mountains to take part in a “Wolf Tracking” day. My suspicions are that they are on a clandestine area “clean up dog poop” exercise, they have been told to take pet poop bags. Don’t they get enough poop around here ?? smile. Hope they have a great day. Have fun girls

Wonder what trouble we can get into today ???

Take care, keep safe, M 

I guess I’m very easily entertained. The cannibal coven in our chicken coop ate yet another egg yesterday. Not a very wise move from our feathered friends, I’m not sure if their psyche has connected (1) chickens wearing egg yolk on their beaks are very suddenly removed and don’t reappear and (2) the team are more frequently patrolling the hen house waiting to snaffle the perpetrator or (perpetrators) and kidnap the eggs. A baited egg was carefully placed in a cosy nest box….it’s yolk and albumen had been completely cleaned out by one or more of the egg raiders, I had replaced the creamy yellow yolk with hot English mustard…also yellow, in the hope of “persuading” them that egg eating is NOT a healthy idea! A quick status check last evening indicated that several beaks had investigated the planted mustard egg but it was still intact…not totally but it hadn't totally evaporated into nothing...maybe I've won ???.

Quick update on the mustard egg….they ate it !!! Looks like we are back to plan A ….and I’m going to have to freshen up on “how to cook tough chicken” recipes. DOH !

Newest WOOFER volunteer Rebecca took Charm ( aka beauty with attitude) for a ride this evening. Actually in retrospect I think that it is possibly more accurate to describe her experience as Charm taking her for a ride but on the positive side, they did ( fortunately) return together and Rebecca hasn’t given up on horses ! Quatra saddled Starbuck the big black gelding to give him and potentially her a little much needed exercise. Starbuck clearly has been well trained..we just have to discover which buttons to press and which levers to pull.  Lumpy Lady our Shire mare partnered Carla in the rain, a firm bond between the two has been established and Lady's brattish  behavior with nervous novice Rebecca was forgotten. Everyone can have a bad day, right ?  

Song and Cody the goat kids are clearly not starving despite their almost constant moaning and wailing from the depths of the pasture. After returning to the barn and having inhaled their dinner and anything else that looked even vaguely palatable at super goat speed, the twins went to check out a feed bowl that could potentially contain another crumb of grain and one fat little body after the other fat little body got firmly stuck in the kid creep door. Heads made it, front feet made it but rotund tummies got jammed and despite lots of vocal support and fruitless forward motion from scrabbling back feet, all their struggling couldn’t extricate them from the door. It’s tough being a goat, particularly a very fat goat stuck incongruously in a door  !

The new horse stall is becoming more of a reality. Each day the girl team, Quatra Carla and Rebecca get down and very dirty with hammers chisels and saws creating walls and stall doors  under Greg’s watchful eye and careful tuition. It’s great to watch the newly learnt skills coming together and I’m happy to report that my previously very profitable swear jar hasn’t earned me a single red cent ( at least not when I’m in earshot !!). A pile of lumber is becoming a stall and an empty space is being filled, I love it when a plan comes together.


Macho the buck is slowly recovering from what we think was an unfortunate misadventure with the cows. Sadly Macho has a lot of love to give and his loving wasn't reciprocated by Daisy, Hol-ley and Molly who had apparently  tired of his amorous advances and we think possibly reminded him that he is in fact a goat.  Macho "the man" has been recuperating in the back pasture with Romeo Rodney the ram, his recovery has been slow but we are confident that Macho hasn't learnt his lesson and would almost certainly try his luck with the disinterested bovines again, given the opportunity !

Finally, (it's almost time to start the morning shift down at the barn) the ewew's and lambs had a manicure and pedicure yesterday. Carla is a seasoned sheep wrestler and confident with the nail scissors but for Rebecca our new WOOFER Volunteer it was an unnerving first time experience and she emerged from the sheep pen looking a little....um...sheepish ! ( oh, that was BAD !!) 

Time to post this, almost 7.30am..take care, keep safe, M

It’s officially war !!! We have allowed for the occasional accident, we have allowed for the odd soft shelled egg being “cleaned up” but I’m not prepared to turn a blind eye to our feathered ladies having an egg banquet at our expense. Hourly visits to the two hen houses have not been received well, the ladies appear to have elected to make our egg raids as uncomfortable and loud as a chicken ( or LOTS of chickens !!) can possibly make them. Walking up the pen fence, the chickens get ready for a counter assault, beady eyes fixed on the potential egg burglar the ladies guard the fence and assess the level of threat. The feathered advance party head into the hen house to set up the line of defence and as the door cautiously opens Adolf the Rhode Island Rooster ( or Adolf’s identical brother Adolf) is invariably waiting accusingly, silently watching….and waiting. One black chicken usually hops up, effortlessly onto the perch, loudly clucking and squawking, warning that the egg napper is in the building she is invariably followed by the advance party who relentlessly patrol the nest box perch waiting for an unguarded moment or unprotected hand. . The rest of the flock rally and answer the call, chickens pop through the hen house door three abreast, eyes fixed and focused on making pillage and plunder from the nest boxes as challenging as possible. We press on, trying to ignore a scenario that is starting to look like a scene from Alfred Hitchcocks “The Birds” and cautiously slide our hands under the by now growling hens to retrieve what eggs we can. Some chickens capitulate to the inevitable and lift their feathered butts grudgingly, some watch and wait, clamped tightly on the nest….beaks ready to make the perpetrator pay dearly for the intrusion. Occasionally (but sadly not too often) a chicken is caught red handed, beak buried deep in the creamy yellow yolk of a stolen egg. There is no second chance, egg eaters are very unceremoniously removed from the flock and reborn as soup ! The ladies have  taken to laying their precious eggs and some have taken to not laying their eggs but helping themselves to someone elses ! Clearly helping themselves to our precious commercial commodity is inexcusable and “Google”, “Ask Jeeves” and “Bing” have been scoured for some genius or chicken guru to resolve our growing chicken cannibalism problem.  This morning I have a plan, I feel triumphant and excited to test my new theory….I’m going to bait the eggs with mustard stirred into the yolk to render it unpalatable. Hopefully there wont be a follow up request for a hot dog and the ladies will choose to lay eggs rather than feast on them !

So, the chickens are eating their eggs and the crows are eating my strawberries….it’s NOT going to happen !  Yesterday was spent stretching green bird netting over my strawberry beds watched by a troop of crows who have happily been feasting on my juicy red berries. I have heard that crows recognize and remember individuals that inconvenience them and judging by their presence on the fence line….I have caused them great inconvenience and I am pretty sure I am a marked woman.

Quatra is back, Carla is taking a couple of days back in the city and Rebecca our new WOOFER has become a welcome part of the team currently constructing our new horse stall. Rebecca has joined Quatra and Carla learning about and using a variety of boys toys and sawing hammering drilling and stapling are all part of her newly acquired resume. Thanks girls, it’s looking great!

Well, time to go, somehow there never seems to be enough hours in the day. Take care, keep safe, M

June 1st….where is the year going ? It wont be long before we are complaining about the incessant and very miserable rain..come to think of it, it wont be much different than it is right now. Below normal temperatures, rain for the foreseeable future and little or no sunshine. DOH ! I remember when we called it blazing June and, back in good old England, possibly the ONLY month we could expect any sun at all.

Good old Lady, loyal, docile, compliant old Lady lump had a “fix my truck” event in her equine brain yesterday and the Semi Truck of the horse world turned into a Lamborghini. Our lovely new WOOFER, Rebecca was on board and sadly and unpredictably the old girl apparently had a tizzy, Rebecca didn’t have any steering, brakes.. parachute or ejector seat. Lady our Shire mare could always be relied on to give confidence to the most apprehensive novice rider…she gave poor Rebecca an INDI 400 ride and we have no explanation for it. On the positive side ( if there is one !) Rebecca did very well, not too graceful and looking a little bumpy but she and Lady were still together as the old girl screeched to a sliding stop in the barn. Fortunately, the tractor stopped her progress and even Lumpy lady at 2,200 Lbs wont argue with a tractor. Once Rebecca had dismounted onto undoubtedly quivering legs I had a couple of belated words of advice.(1) Lady talks English,….STAND..not woah works and (2) don’t worry too much about falling off, it’s actually the hitting the ground that hurts and they (whoever they are) say that you aren’t a rider till you have hit the ground ! ( not sure how much help that advice was. smile). Rebecca apparently likes a challenge and she is prepared to take another flying  ( I mean riding) lesson.

Smorres ( why are they called that ?) have been a cultural experience for me. Sticky hot marshmallow, melted Hersheys ( never beat Cadburys !!!) and Graham crackers all cremated together appear to be a holiday institution here and we are not going to fly in the face of tradition….regardless of how un-English it all seems to be. Memorial day, neighbour Jean visited with a bottle of wine in order to toast those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Bottles of wine are a rare treat around here…lately Greg’s home made apple wine (aka “rocket fuel”) has been the beverage in high demand. Sadly stocks have been depleted and at this moment in time we are enthusiastically welcoming a bucket of rhubarb/apple which is currently bubbling and brewing.

Not content with toasting “smorres” over the grill burner ( clearly not quite the aesthetic experience) the team found the real deal the following night. Since the last mega storm our landscape has been blotted by the skeletal root system of a substantial old tree that uprooted. I was fully expecting not one but several fire trucks to respond to the smoke caused by the burning root system, clearly no one considered our potential inferno a serious issue. As the rain fell that night a team vote determined that the smouldering remains of the tree and extensive root system provided the perfect venue for another “smorres” event. So, there we were, in the rain, eating marshmallows which had been cremated on a dirty old twig, in the burning remains of a fallen tree, slapped on a piece of chocolate which in turn was slapped on a Graham Cracker and everyone was happy…as a new American citizen I really have some issues with “tradition”, I guess I’ll adapt !!!!

Well, the sun is back out, a new batch of Brownies has come out of the oven, the team will be happy.. and it’s time I got this entry posted.

Take good care of yourselves, keep safe, M