Monday

The Great Bern-off continues today. B dropped in this evening to say that he had some not good news - one of the trees M wanted saved may be lost. It appears to be hollow inside - termites suggests D from up the lane - one of the experts (the other one is L's brother, who is a bush man from way back) B has brought in to consult to make sure he is doing the best he can for the tree. The hollow from the termites, rot and burn are big enough for B to stand in - if he was foolhardy and not at all concerned about his safety. There is still a chance the tree will survive - by burning out the rot it will leave good wood - and if there is enough of it - the tree will stand; and if not, the widow-maker will fall probably within the next 24 hours, and, although sad, it is better that it falls when people are expecting it, and not on anyone or livestock. There is another chance for it - the other tree growing with it may be enough to give it some added support. B will keep us posted.

Still no rain but there was no opportunity to have a look at ROM as M was out this afternoon. Despite making a couple of stops on the way home, I did manage to return to Latimers in daylight - and take the bin up to the road before night fell. Emma was outside when I went and seemed a little surprised when she saw the 4-wheel drive - she is more used to seeing me step into and out of Lars. It was a bit like the first time she saw the horse across the way. It's a big thing for a small cat from the inner city.

Sweetie was a bit agitated this afternoon but there didn't appear to be any reason for it except that the dogs were a bit more yappy than usual. We're all a bit concerned by Spot's lack of road sense and that he has turned into a bit of a car chaser. How do you train a dog not to chase cars?

I know the crows are big at Latimers, but even I was surprised by the one I saw this afternoon which was, no joke, as big as a hen. Sanity prevailed when I realised it was doing very poultry movements - and it was in fact a big black hen!