Ladybirds& Filming

Now that the summer season is in full swing bringing with it busy roads and grid locked coastal towns, it is sometimes easy to forget that the farming calender continues to creep along in between rain showers.  Yesterday saw the last field of winter wheat being combined and field headlands baled before the evening's drizzle called a halt to the contractor's square bale machine.  

It always amazes me just how quickly the flocks of geese home in on the newly combined fields, a few small family groups soon become large, sociable  flocks honking loudly to one another as they come into land, an amazing sight as the evenings start to draw in, these large birds just skimming over the barn roofs, altering their pitch and air speed as they glide down onto the stubble.

Harvest also brings with it insects.  Some are OK others are not so.  Thunder bugs, great clouds of them swirl about your head, crawling everywhere on your person when you venture outside, wasps - certainly this is their month - don't they just seen to be all over this summer, haven't found any nests apart from the one that was smashed when the muck spreaders were here, but they just seem to love mr moo's, must be the ice cream?  Have you noticed the ladybirds yet? These little red & black bugs seem to be enjoying the coast, just keep munching away on green fly and other pests please, l noticed this morning that they were all over one of the rubbish bins, a black bin covered in moving red dots!

No, don't believe it, have a few moments of doing nothing time & the dogs start woofing, someone at the door, who needs a door bell when Gordon & Lucypiglet let rip with volleys of deep barks every time a stranger approaches their door.   I was going to write how busy Haz and Jen have been, well you know that, the car park that's been full most days as well, then there was an article in The Guardian newspaper plus the added excitement of the approaching Bank Holiday closely followed by the BBC filming scenes for a new adaptation of Winifred Holby's South Riding.   So not a lot happening really.

 

The above photo is of Haz and Jen plus calf.  They are posing, holding tubs of ice cream for a publicity shot, if you live in Yorkshire you may well see this pinned at point of sale in the ice cream display freezers belonging to Tesco.

Today

 

Today has been mad, no l correct that, ridiculous. OK, so it is august, yes the schools are on holiday. yes the roads are rammed pack full of holiday traffic all looking to go somewhere for the day, no, no l am not moaning about the stay-cationers, l am not actually moaning at all, merely stating that today has just been one of those days when things go wrong, pear-shaped, shit hitting the fan type..

It all began to hiccup last friday in fact, one of freezer vans was following a tractor and trailer on the road than runs across the Beverley Westwood, an open common found on the York side of the town and home to the racecourse, golf club and several small herds of beef cattle.  A popular place to stroll, indulge in strenuous exercise or walk the dog, not really the place to partake in agressive football target practice using bullocks as The Target or so you would think?  Well think again, herd of about 15 beasts average weight about 900kg, bored lads with football looking for something to do.  Imagine then, if you will, the cars slowing down, speed limit 40mph, as the small herd slowly walk across the road, a group of French visitors admiring the quaint English countryside when, WHAM WHAM, footballs whiz through the air, THWACK THWACK footballs hits the head of one of the animals as it slowly meanders along.  In a matter of seconds, the creature had spun around on sixpence, leapt about, well 3 or 4 feet into the air, coming to land, crump onto the bonnet of the Mr Moo van.  Moo crashes into Moo.  Moo van = right off Moo Animal galloped off, boys raced away hotly pursued by one very angry farmer.

So there we have it, one van down and that was last week.  This morning, no today at lunch time the replacement, C/O NFU Mutual Insurance, freezer van arrived.  It was late.  We needed it yesterday.  All today's orders were ready to go, ASDA stores in Hull together with Hull Truck Theatre then the original van to ASDA York, stress levels rising, do you get the picture? We asked that the freezer be turned on so that we could do a quick turnaround, no luck temperature was at +2, today was feeling more akin to the film Ground Hog Day?  Eventually, at last, finally, thankfully the van's temperature had dropped to be usuable, the ice cream loaded on board and within the last few minutes was able to head of with its cargo!

Well, l suppose no real damage has been done, except to our van, life continues, the ice cream has gone out on delivery and l have added three photos from yesterday, one of the Beach Huts from Shanty Town on the cliff top here at Withow, round bales in Colley's Field and one of our Red Polls.