I Dunna Miss the Owd House 242.

I Dunna Miss the Owd House.

This I have written some 3 months (of winter) after we moved into our retirement house in the village just a hundred yards west of the farm itself. We can look out of our new double glazed windows at the back over the fields that we have toiled in over the last thirty years, and watch the progress of the seasons and the wildlife round the wood, and all the birds that come down to the feeders in our new garden.

 I fear that some jackdaws have followed us, but they have nowhere to nest, no open chimneys, the Goldfinches have finally found where we are and feeding here in numbers, particularly when the school closed at Christmas. When the school feeders go empty the Goldfinches flood over to our feeders, and at half term, mid-February, had as many as twenty four in the garden in one go.

A beautiful sight, the bird table and feeder is only twenty foot from the big sitting room window. There are two pairs of Robins, Wagtails, Sparrows, Great tits, Blue tits, Coal tits, Greater spotted wood pecker, Finches, Ring necked doves, a pair of Wood pigeons and a cock pheasant walked in a few days ago.

If you want to class this as “stock feeding”, then that’s what ov dun all me life, and there’s nowt more satisfying than standing back to watch them come in to get there fill. I shifted the nest boxes from the farm house walls and positioned then up here, there seems a lot of interest in them already.

So, Retirement aint too bad after all.     

There are ten chimneys, seven of which are crammed full of jackdaw’s nests. There is a ventilation brick hole in the back of the now coal/log shed, (it used to be a ‘down the garden’ loo,)

A pair of jackdaws (novices obviously) decided to build a nest through that hole, the pile of twigs soon built up, when the pile was removed later in the season there was four barrow loads of sticks, there would have been more than that but for the fact I was lighting the Rayburn fire every morning from those pile of stick for three months. They were very persistent, and failed to nest.

  

I Dunna Miss the Owd House

(I was asked)

        Did you ever miss the farm, now that you’ve retired?

No I aint is that reply, cus me brain it’s been rewired,

Still up early in a mornings, n’ I conna lay in bed,

So I write about it when it quiet, just pickin up the thread.

Miss the movements and the sounds, of livestock bout the place,

The Jackdaws on the chimneys, noisy sparrows round they chase,

Feed troughs keep them happy, as they eat to get their fill,

Then fly off up to the workshop roof, out in the winters chill.

 I dunna miss the work, and I dunna miss the cowd,  (cold)

N’ I dunna miss the evy liftin, sacks of feed, too heavy not aloud,

Me bones are brittle, muscles weak, they’re all wearing out,

So tek a bit o notice now, and ya know ya not sa stout.

Miss the calvein and the lamdin, the regeneration bout the farm,

See them take their first breath, n’ keep them well away from harm,

Watch them grow with great pride, as they run about the grass,

With mothers chasing after them, getting all harassed.

I dunna miss the owd house, with its drafts and rattlin doors,

The Rayburn in the kitchen, and the winding corridors,

Frost inside the window panes, as out a bed ya get,

N’ down ta put the kettle on, forecast’s cowdest yet.

Love it in the new house, with its double glazing feel,

The insulation, n’ central heating,  conna believe it’s real,

Comfort for our owd age, that got to be our pledge,

N’ a little bit of garden, with its well-trimmed privet hedge.

Owd Fred