It was a busy one, so much so that the blog got neglected and much was missed. So I will tax my brain in order to select some of the highlights, for me anyway...
Triumphant moments for the kids includes Cam's nerve-wracking second gig at a local variety show (see"Cam rocks!" earlier blog entry), followed by several other events through the year. I am thrilled that he has a passion that he has such a talent for. He already has a fan club in the village!
Breagh made us all very proud by being awarded "student of the year" in her grade at school, a testament to her hard work. It's a joy to see her enjoy her school life and friends so much. Long may it last. Both kids did really well in their 4H projects, learning so many new skills and producing some fine pieces of work. Breagh did really well at Exhibition on Brook too, and came home laden with rosettes.
They have both learned to skate, ski, kayak and swim confidently, and ran a 5km race to raise money for the school sports dept early in the year.
On the animal front, there were several ups and one down (well twenty actually....).
Firstly, Whin having pups was most definitely an unforgettable experience for me,
both as birthing partner for her and as chief mopper-upper of puppy shite in weeks to come. Parting with eight of the nine was one of the hardest things this year, but we did keep one yellow bitch, Rosa, who has become the latest addition to the inner family circle, and is very cheeky but adorable and like her mother, pretty smart.
Our pigs, who remained nameless and are now in the freezer (and in me (baked ham for supper - delicious!)) were so much fun to have around. They were utterly content from beginning to end, and a characterful addition to the menagerie. Again, parting with them was hard, but part of the grand scheme, and watching their happy free-range lives made me feel good about eating pork again. They even used to play football which was fun to watch.
We also raised our own meat birds this year, and 3 dozen new layers. However, in late November,we had a less welcome guest - a mink. He/she came almost nightly, beheading a chicken or two per night, for nearly a month. Richard and I were frustrated an depressed by this beast who sidestepped a plethora of traps and seemed to be thumbing his/her nose at us. Just before Christmas we trapped and destroyed it, and it brought such a sense of relief - i hadn't realised just how much
it had been getting me down.
Mocha and Brook are still with us, and one very personal high for me this year was riding at Exhibition, a pleasure I was not lucky enough to have last year. Because it felt so good to be there at all, I really made the most of it, and the fact that over here, gymkhana type races are open to adults too, meant that I had more fun on horseback than I had had since i was a teenager! Both horses did me proud. Specail mention to Claire, who was here for Ex week and who was an invaluable help. I hope she enjoyed it too - I think she did!
Which brings me on to visitors. Judy, Sean and Innes came in July - very special as it was the first timewe had had the pleasure of meeting our new nephew in person. The combination of new puppies, 36 chicks and a two year old seemed daunting, but it was a joy. Innes is a gem, we loved having him around and I soo missed having that little helper at feeding/egg-collecting time.
Claire came in September and got the best of the weather, and Neal, Madeleine, Jess & Rob came again in October, for another fun two weeks. Always so good to see everyone, and sad to see them go, but thanks to Skype, so much easier to keep in touch.
The Farmers' Market kept us busy all summer long, and we managed to sell our veg at all but one of the markets. Hopefully it will continue into 2010 - the seed catelogues are being perused as I write.
Other community ventures must include the skating rink, inspired by Georgie Uhlman. It kept us busy (and fit!) for much of the winter, and was a great resource for all those who made use of it.
OK, enough of 2009 - on with the next!
