WELL DONE MOTH

It was very late last night when the news came that moth's caesarean was over and that she had come through it well,the rest of the news however was terribly sad. One kitten,the large one that I had attempted to deliver was still born and the remaining two a male and a female were so small and weak that it was thought they would not last the night.

How we all rejoiced that out little cat was safe, but in my heart I grieved for those kittens,for Moth's sake,how dreadful to go through all that for nothing,having had difficulties with childbirth myself I felt for her disappointment.

We went late to bed in spite of good intentions,needless to say no one slept and although we had promised ourselves not to even think about the kittens it was impossible not to...I was glad when morning came.

Half way through breakfast a call came through from the vet,the kittens had made it through the night and they were trying to ensure they were feeding properly,it was still touch and go.

Although we did not know if Moth would be coming home I set about making the kitchen tidy,changing litter trays,washing bowls and dishes and most important preparing Moths new soft bed and ensuring easy access for her to all areas.

Another call ,the male kitten had been too weak to survive,the female,although having difficulty feeding had a good chance, Moth was coming home with her kitten. I have never seen my son dress so quickly, he was gone in a flash,Pa and I completed the preparations with renewed vigour. I am afraid to so that I cried as I finished making ready,they were tears of relief, for moth had her reward.

Moth arrived home in great state and was carried to the kitchen,she was pathetically glad to be home and during the journey the bond between her and the new kitten seemed to have grown. Every inch the proud mother she displayed her baby and then began to to wash the little mite. Often kittens born by caesarian are rejected by the mother,this time all seemed well.

The kitten(no name yet) is the image of her beautiful mother and we mean to keep her if all goes well.

I shall be busy feeding the little mite every two hours around the clock until it is strong enough to feed from Moth,moth is more than willing but the tiny kitten is still weak and we need to be sure she is getting enough food.

Daily weighing is also a must. We are not out of the woods yet,but it is impossible not to hope,our lovely Moth is home again,that's the main thing everything else is a bonus.

I shall not get much sleep tonight but oh, the difference from last nights desperate vigil,happy does not do justice to the way we,and half the village feel about this tiny miracle.

Good night to all ,wish me luck.

POOR LITTLE CAT

After a night of watching and waiting Moth had still not produced her kittens. She had by then been in first stage labour for about 22 hours,which is not at all unusual. I have had considerable experience delivering all sorts of animal,including cats,but there was something about this birth that had me worried.

At 24 hours she was still in first stage labour and displaying all the usual signs ,we kept her quiet and I kept her company,two hours later I was sure that something was wrong.

I shall not go into the gory details but three in the afternoon it was obvious that she needed help the first kitten had been visible for over an hour ,but it was impossible to tell which end was coming first(kittens can be born head or feet first) I was very loath to intervene as pulling the kittens head can do damage.

Moth was still restless and by now was exhausted, I could detect movement in the kitten but Moth seemed unable to push hard enough to expel the very large kitten. It was time to take her to the Vet.

Now it is a well know fact in animals and humans alike that if there is going to be a medical emergency it is almost always on a weekend or after surgery hours.....or both. This time we were luck and our vet was still open ,he agreed to see our poor little girl,if we could come at once.

I now had the task of getting an already distressed cat,a cat who has never allowed us to pick her up in to a small cat carrier, I was amazed when the little darling walked in to the carrier and settled down on the news paper as if it was something she did every day.

A cab was called, a local cab company so that,we hoped he would have no trouble finding us,.The driver was new, the drivers command of English was practically none existent. In short he got hopelessly lost! His Sat Nav took him to the wrong place as he had taken down the wrong post code letters and all attempts to talk him down, so to speak failed as he did not understand a word we said.

By now Moth had decided that she did not care for the carrier,I covered it with a towel to make it dark and sprayed some cat calming pheromones on to the towel, then I prayed.

At last the controller managed to explain things and he arrived in a huff and got a large piece of my sons mind,which I must say he seemed to understand perfectly.

Our dear little cat behaved impeccably while the Vet examined her,he seemed to think that all she needed was an injection to strengthen the contractions and this was done at once. Pleased that at least both she and the kittens were well we returned home with the Vets latest words ringing in our ears. “If she fails to deliver within the next few hours she will need a caesarian at an all night clinic in Northolt at a cost of £2,000!

Northolt is many miles away ,a taxi there would cost almost as much as the operation, we made a pot of tea,and we waited.

If anything the contractions were fewer and milder than before the injection and I quickly became very uneasy, an attempt to help the cat by pulling the kitten out on a contraction only made it even cleared that something was badly wrong,by now one leg and a tail were out,and they were cold.

We decided that she must return to the Vet and as we prepared a friend called to see how things were going, when I told her she immediately gave me the address of her vet who would she said be less expensive and was situated only two miles away. I called them at once, the young lady vet asked me if |I could dislodge the kitten,I told her what had happened and she advised us to take her in at once,and that is what we did.

By we I mean my son,a tower of strength throughout this horrible time carried of our little cat in a taxi at once.

Now comes the difficult part, it seems that the first Vet we took her to may have been more interested in the out of hours fee than with the welfare of our cat and her kittens. Instead of dealing with her problems he sent her home with an injection,he must have know that it could not work. All he thought about was a £2,000 fee at his night clinic so far away.

My son called to tell me that Moth would need an emergency caesarean, and that there was little chance that the kittens would survive.

My poor little cat, after all her brave struggles she will have no kittens to fuss over,it is breaking my heart to think of it. We are waiting now for my sons return,the hospital will let us know when there is any news and Moth will stay in hospital for a while,it dreadful to think of her waking up in a strange place in pain and with strangers.

So for now there is nothing to be done but wait and hope.

A LONG DAY FOR MOTH

Last night at around 3 -O -clock were disturbed by loud hammering and banging on the front door interspersed with shouts of “Open up it's the Police.”

Dragged from sleep by this raucous chorus my fuddled brain sought a reason for this ill timed visit from the law and came up with ...nothing.

The loud hammering continued along with the shouting as I made my way down stairs,being disabled this took some time and I yelled my irritation to those outside the door instructing them to “Have a little patience for Gods sake.”

On reaching the door I informed the noise makers that unless they could give me some proof that they were indeed bona fide coppers the door would remain firmly closed. By now Pa was awake and having a good view of the path from his bed he opened the curtains a crack, my instincts were right,outside the door stood four teenagers two of them girls and none of them more than fourteen!

I instructed them to ,how shall put it, “remove themselves from my premises.” Realising that they were sprung they took themselves off P.D.Q!

I called the real police who took my details and promised to send some one to see us,needless to say no one came My son had ,thankfully slept through the disturbance,Pa and I, not so lucky had a hot chocolate drink before returning to our neglected beds.

I awoke this morning to discover the cat Moth had gone in to labour. Anguished little cries and gasps coupled with heaving side told the tale. She took herself off to her maternity basket and the long day began.

Breakfast was eaten in haste ,after which my son went off to write, Pa went back to bed, and I spent the rest of the day preparing dinner and dealing with the cat. It took all afternoon to peel a few veggies and make a beef stew as Moth needed much reassurance,well it is he first time .Shortly before dinner she began to prowl around stopping dead in her tracks from time to time as her contractions came. She sat on her usual chair by the dining table as we got ready to serve and throughout our meal poor puss continued to whimper quietly,poor little soul.

By the time our meal was over and the kitchen tidied puss was back in her maternity basket which has a canopy for privacy and peace.

At the time of publishing there has been no further progress,cats can take 24 hours and more to deliver and strangely a cat can stop giving birth half way through a litter and retain her other kittens for up to three days if she feels it necessary.

Pa,who sleeps down stairs has the watching brief an he moment anything unusual occurs he is to call me to deal with the matter.

Twiggy poses a problem as she is sleeping upstairs all day and down stairs all night,quite what will happen we do not know but as there is no way to keep them apart things must take their course and we shall hope for peace.

It's going to be a long night, for all of us.

HOME MADE CRISPS AND MORE SNOW!

       

                                 

          HUNKERING DOWN

The view through the windows was singularly uninspiring this morning,and in spite of the fact that I made everyone coffee at seven thirty it was after ten before we were all assembled for breakfast.

Now I must admit that I had made the coffee rather earlier than usual......and not for the first time,you see I have two rather attractive old clocks in my bedroom,both of which a extremely erratic at times and difficult to read all the time. In other words dear friends I made the morning coffee exactly one hour too early.

Neither was this accidental transgression allowed to go unmarked,it was in fact remarked upon ad nausium all through breakfast. Dodgy old clocks and extreme short sight we not allowed to excuse my shocking crime. Suitably chastened I washed the dishes...alone.

As we all set about our daily tasks it began to snow,tiny white pips at first ,but soon great goose feather flakes were swirling all around .The east wind howled once again throughout the house,I made more coffee and added another sweater.

The snow filled sky gave an eerie light and perhaps it was this which made us all congregate in the warm bright kitchen to drink our coffee . Then and there we decided to blazes with chores, I set to work to make a huge bowl of home made crisps while the boys set out a favourite game for us to play.

HOME MADE VEGETABLE CRISPS

1 potato

1 large carrot

1 parsnip

1 small turnip.

Corn oil

salt

Peel the vegetables and using a mandolin or a Y peeler slice very thinly. Keep the different vegetable slices separate as the cook at slightly different times.

Pour about an inch of oil into a wok and get it very hot.

Starting with the potato slices scatter a few on to the hot oil ,turn them in the oil using a slotted spoon until they are as brown and crisp as you like them (we like ours quite dark,especially the parsnips) then drain off the excess fat and place them onto a tray covered with kitchen paper to cool.

Repeat the process until all the potatoes are used up ,next the parsnip followed by the carrot and lastly the turnip.

Line a bowl with kitchen paper and as the crisps cool transfer each batch on to the clean paper. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve.

If you use potatoes only sprinkle on a little onion powder and a little finely grated parmigiana, or black pepper and salt ,even dried herbs are rather nice ,see what you think.

A BIT OF SPARE BREAD DOUGH?

Making bread at home is very easy in these days of fast action yeast,flour of a reliable quality and central heating,Next time you bake bread make and extra couple of pounds of dough and try one of these.

Cheese Loaf

1-2 oz white bread dough, kneaded

3-6 oz good Cheddar cheese grated.

Shape the dough in to a ball then flatten out with the hands . Put the cheese on to the dough and roll up carefully. Next knead the dough for about 5 minuted more to distribute the cheese evenly.

Make in to a bloomer shape then make four deep cuts diagonally across the loaf. Cover with cling film and leave to rise.

Brush to top with egg white

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220oc for 15 minutes the lower the heat to200oC and cook for a further fifteen minutes

Cool on a wire rack covered by a dry tea towel.

This bread makes great toast.

Fruited Tea Loaf

1lb white or wholemeal bread dough

6 oz raisins,sultanas or a mix of both

2oz mixed peel if liked,if not add 2 oz cherries chopped.

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon sugar

half a teaspoon of mixed spice.

Take the ball of dough and flatten out as for cheese loaf

Mix the fruits together then sprinkle over the flattened dough then knead again until the fruit is evenly distributed through the loaf.

Form in to a round or and oval shape , cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise.

Bake as for cheese bread . While the bread is cooking,heat the milk and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the bread from the oven and paint the crust with the milk and sugar mixture, wait three minutes then repeat. This will give a shiny sweet crust.

Serve in slices well buttered.

Once you get the hang of this try walnut bread which is great with cheese .Perfect for a plough man's.

Dried apricot and almond is a lovely breakfast bread.

Add chopped chestnuts and glaze with honey.

Try chopped sun dried tomato and chopped crispy bacon pieces,equally good with winter soups and summer salads.

Almost anything will work so have a try,invent your very own signature loaf.

TELSTAR

If there is one single thing form my childhood memories which still sends a chill down my spine it is Telstar,both the satellite and the hit record it inspired. It was the year of the Tokyo Olympics and thanks Telstar's technology we could for the first time watch the games in real time from the other side of the world.

I was seven years old and the world seemed to me to be a wonderful place when such magic could really happen. We were told that there was a time lapse of,I think it was eight minutes between the  actual event and its travelling time to our televisions, I was spell bound,and I have never forgotten the wonder that this event created.

The record which came out just made it even more exciting,the sound was as strange and wonderful as Telstar it's self and I played it until the record was worn out and my parents had taken to wearing earplugs.

Nothing since,not even the lunar landings caught my imagination quite so dramatically or stayed with me for so long

Today, while messing about on U Tube I stumbled across the original recording of Telstar by the Tornado,s and once again I felt the sudden up -rush of spirits which this piece of music always gives me.

It was of it's time of course but still it speaks of hope and a positive future

.

As a race we humans are capable of amazing things we can reason,we have logic and our minds can encompass vast projects such as space flight and yet as humans we are flawed.

Also as a race we have an inbuilt self destruct mechanism ,triggered by greed first and a lust for power second. Any good historian should be able to explain how these traits have wrought the downfall of almost every empire, every society the world has known.

If then it is so obvious,why are we once again hurling ourselves in to self induced oblivion. The cause is the one trait which we do not share with other species and that is arrogance. We cannot envisage a world in which we do not dominate and this blinds us to the reality of how quickly our destruction could come about, and by our own hand.

Becoming self aware has left us oblivious to all else,we can no longer see ourselves as merely a part of this planet, we see ourselves as rulers,we believe that everything on Earth is there for us to take and that is wrong.

What happened after Telstar? Technology has moved forwards in leaps and bounds,but we did not. Human nature took over and smothered the bright flame of hope in a ridiculous arms race which achieved nothing.

We can be better than this,we must be better than this if we are to survive,and if we cannot; then perhaps we deserve not to exist at all.  

APRIL,COME SHE WILL.

I turned the page on the calender this morning and observed that the picture for the month showed a stream splashing over a small waterfall,in the background an ancient footbridge and all around the brilliant intensity of new leaves glistening in the sunshine.

Then I looked out of the window.

The bare black branches of the lime trees in the lane were being tossed by a vicious East wind in which flecks of snow were also being blow. The grass in the field was seared by frost and as yellow as old parchment. Clouds heavy with more trouble scudded across the sky and the very occasional flash of watery sun did nothing to dispel the feeling of gloom.

This will ,it seems be yet another short growing season for farmers and growers,and of course for amateurs,such as myself. Our local garden centre is already selling off it,s Spring plants at half price and still no one it tempted to buy ,they have learned from bitter experience over the last few years that it is useless to attempt to grow even the most hardy perennials in this climate;unless of course one is willing to go to the expense of heating a green house.

New pre-ordered stock arrives daily in huge pantechnicon,s from Holland and so the unsold stock must be sold at a greatly reduced price or else thrown into a skip. All too often this year the later has been the case and there is now an air of quiet desperation amongst the staff, and for that matter the customers too.

Last spring was so cold that by the time plants could safely be put out the season was too short for many of them to produce a crop. On the outskirts of London last June there were several sharp frosts by the river which blackened the centres of the strawberry flowers ,thus spoiling the crop.

This year it is even worse, at least last year there was a warm spell in April which allowed the damson blossom to set fruit, This year the blossom is almost out and even if we were not getting a frost every night the weather is far to cold for bee,s hence no pollination,hence no damsons.

We must hope for a change in the weather in time for the apple and pear trees, last year of course it rained through the entire flowering period so once again,no bees.

Speaking as someone who grew up in a farming community and as a gardener of long standing

I must say that we cannot sustain our current agriculture for many more years if these conditions continue. Crops rotting in the ground for whatever reason will feed no one,that is a fact!

We are being fooled in to thinking all is well be the mounds of imported foodstuffs in our supermarkets and shops. I will be surprised if there is a single spear of English Asparagus any where in the country,or early cauliflowers either, last years root crops rotted in the ground because of the torrential rain, this year looks set to be a re-run...... more of the same.

I have no answer to these problem and I am not at all sure that those with the power to effect a change are even asking the questions.

I have come a long way from the pretty calender photograph to be sure and after all the gloom and doom it would be spurious to wish you a Happy Easter.

Let me wish instead for you , and for us all a spell of warmer weather, a fine summer and a good harvest. I shall be praying to the old Gods in the hope that it might be so.