Notes from the country with Vicky Turrell

Mother Duck

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- July 18, 2010

Thought you might like to see a picture of a Mallard and her ducklings!

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The dangers of living in the country

- October 01, 2010

I know that you might think that living in the country we do not get to see people very much. And it is true that I cannot walk out of my door and have a natter with a next door neighbour and I can’t just pop in to a cafe and catch up with friends who happen to be there. But you would be surprised how often I do meet up with friends – it’s just that you have to make more of an effort and it all has to be arranged and planned and when we do meet – we never stop taking – you see there is so much to say after only having our pets for company. Well, anyway, I am trying to tell you about what happened last night. Now the nights are drawing in we all agreed to meet up for an evening meal in our nearest town to cheer ourselves up. I offered to pick up a friend in a nearby village and drive to the nearest town miles away. What a good time we had catching up on news and ... well, just talking to a person and not a cat or bees or the like. But at the end of the evening I was dismayed to find tha

Night walking

- February 21, 2021

It is the sameness of it all this winter. Everyday melds quietly into the next. I have been wondering how to make life different in lockdown, to gain a new perspective on things. Then I heard about night walking and thought I would give it a try. People in cities are doing it already. As long as you ‘social distance’ you are fine, and they say that you see things in a new light. Social distancing is no problem for me as I am shielding, and I planned to walk on my own. But at the first attempt I did not get past my front door. There was a frost, and everywhere was too slippery. This week has been milder, so I tried again. I soon found out that I would have been better in town but, of course, I cannot go there. I must stay in our own garden and fields. Here, instead of people, there are rabbit burrows, mole hills, and vole holes to avoid. I stayed on the path and walked round the house. I heard the last call of a blackbird reluctantly leaving its prized bird-table food. I noticed

Kissing goodbye

- November 29, 2020

We have kissed goodbye to a lot of things that we like doing in 2020 but one of them seems especially poignant at this time of year. The big mistletoe auction in Worcestershire has been cancelled because of COVID19 and lack of demand. Mistletoe is traditional and is supposed to bring love and luck. Surely, we need these two things more than ever now? A stolen kiss under the mistletoe added to the romance and special feeling of the season. You could kiss as long as there were berries, one big white berry for each kiss. I am not sure if is there is a rule against it, but proper kisses may not be advised in these times especially for us older ones. I don’t suppose you can stop the younger ones, though, and in any case, they hardly need the excuse of mistletoe. I am lucky because mistletoe is growing everywhere in our orchard. Not so long ago we couldn’t get it to grow for love nor anything else. Every year we spread the seed from our shop-bought mistletoe with no luck. Then one yea