PEAR TREE LOG

pear tree log: I started this blog to keep my younger son, Jonny, in touch with life in Lincolnshire, while he spent a year working in China. That year turned into five! Now he is home and training to become a physics teacher. This is simply a patchwork quilt of some of the things I enjoy - life in rural Lincolnshire, our animals, friends, architecture, books, the gardens, and things of passing interest.



Tuesday, 15 November 2011

MEET OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOURS

I thought I would let you meet our nearest neighbours.  They live right across the road.







This pond was only created a couple of years ago, but already it is beginning to look pretty settled.

Normally the pond is busy with ducks, geese, herons, even swans drop by occasionally.  


The little river is called 'Great Eau' and it runs through the trout farm nearby and then on to the beautiful Claythorpe Watermill, before meandering away.
It has lots of fish in it - although none were visible today.


Obviously I had remembered to take my camera today - when I arrived there was just one pair of ducks.  By the time I had sorted out the camera they had flown off!  Camera shy, I suppose.


Toby and I met one of our other close neighbours - John, from next-door-but-one.  He is probably in his 90's, very recently widowered, and a nice man to chat with.


He was in the field when we got there, taking photographs and admiring the colour of the tree foliage.  The number of sheep in the field was 41.  I know this because John told me.


He has worked on farms since the late 1930's, working with animals.  He spent many years as a farm manager, with a dairy herd of 150, as well as a flock of  sheep.  He says it is second nature to count any stock when he sees them in a field!


He's  lovely, so was his late wife Hazel.  She used to teach all the local children to ride and was a stalwart of the village hall events.
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6 comments:

  1. John Going Gently15 November 2011 at 19:41

    now i would kill for that pond!

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  2. The Owl Wood15 November 2011 at 19:50

    Could you get me the phone number of that doe-eyed little minx in the top photograph please?

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  3. Elaine15 November 2011 at 21:30

    Hi John, It is a beauty - but we didn't think so while it was being excavated. The prevailing wind blows in our direction and we had dust blowing straight in on us for about three months, huge clouds of it, day in and day out - the house, the gardens, the vegetables, the trees - everything was coated in red dust. The chap who owns it likes fishing, it was a very nice gift to himself!

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  4. Elaine15 November 2011 at 21:34

    Hi Owl Wood, I believe her number is Whitehall 1212. Isn't she a beauty? I love those black faces - sorry, I've lost my Observer's Book of Sheep, otherwise I would attempt to identify the breed.

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  5. Quay Po Cooks16 November 2011 at 01:14

    Elaine, that is a man made pond? It is so lovely and serene looking. I live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the capital of my country and it is a big city so to see nature like this, we have to drive miles away. Thanks for sharing those beautiful photos of nature so that I can enjoy them sitting at my desk:D

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  6. Elaine16 November 2011 at 07:51

    Hi Quay Po, Yes, it really is man made. It is lovely now, but give it a couple more years and it will be spectacular! I'm really pleased that it gave you a 'breath of country air' in the city.

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