A Year In Redwood

Today has been a day of fun, mystery and intrigue!

I started the day with the plan to spend the morning at the computer sending mails and texts promoting our next batch of free-range pork.  The morning started well with emails and texts coming back and forth; making many telephone calls and taking bookings.  We have been really pleased that we are now at the stage that we are getting repeat orders, and also to welcome some new customers.

I should explain that my day is timed by radio programmes!  I know if I was working away from home I wouldn’t be able to listen to the radio, but hey, that’s one of life’s pleasures when you are at home!  I am an avid radio person… I’ve been listening to the Archers for a million years (the longest running soap on radio).  Now before anyone comments NO I haven’t been listening from the very beginning…. I’m not quite that old!

So at 12 o’clock today I did as I always do and switched over to Lyric FM to listen to Marty Whelan’s programmes. Those who listen to Marty’s programme will know that he runs competitions… one being the Common Denominator… and today I figured out what the answer was.  Sent off an email to the programme, and continued working away.  Next thing, I hear my name on the radio, and Marty plays a request for me, at the same time teasing me, as I had mentioned in my mail that “I was supposed to be working”.  Marty played Andy Williams (I am not an Andy fan), but I do know that he and I share a birthday – just one of those silly bits of information one retains!

I couldn’t resist emailing thank you…. Marty came back at me… teasing again about how could I be working.  Then he plays the theme from Pride & Prejudice… my favourite DVD (Anne-Marie and I had had a lovely girly evening watching the whole lot recently).  Then he plays Van Morrison… again I have many cd’s.  At this stage, I am beginning to think Marty is downstairs going through my music collection!  I email back at him that this is getting spooky!  He definitely doesn’t believe I am working now! But I assured him I was!  The final ‘small world’ bit… his other competition today was won by an old friend of mine from Malahide…. now how intriguing is that!!!

After all that excitement I just had to escape to the garden.  Did some more cleaning up, there is an awful lot to be done.

One of many barrowfuls!

While I was in the garden, I also took the opportunity to plant some garlic.  It was while I was doing this that I solved a mystery!  Our dog, Buddy, has been, well there is no other way to say it, STINKING, these past few days.  We just couldn’t work out why. Well today I figured it out!  I found half a rather large round of Mossfield Cheese that he had obviously buried some time ago and dug up recently!  Boy the stink!

I should explain that we have in the past fed the pigs ‘reject’ cheeses from Mossfield. So obviously Buddy had hidden one of these for another day!  The pigs didn’t mind that it was particularly smelly cheese, but I’ve had to put planks over the garlic to stop Buddy going digging them up!

Me! Bury Cheese... Never!

Doesn’t he do the innocent look really well?