This is a blog I discovered from last year and made me smile as I went to harvest more crops earlier today. Despite everything, I hope our little visitor returns this winter!

I was surprised to see that almost all the vegetables we grew last year had been eaten up by myself, my kind and unassuming husband and some nameless little creature. This wasn’t particularly strange, but it was rather odd that the dark store shed was littered with bits of straw from the boxes.

     It isn’t easy growing lots of vegetables, enough to store through the winter, but it is so rewarding. We often leave the carrots and swedes in the ground, protected by a layer of straw. And I love the smell of the sleeping apples and drooling onions in the shed. There is such an earthiness about the whole thing. However, I do moan about it at times.

     I recently asked my kind and unassuming husband what he would like for lunch and he frowned before disappearing down the garden path. How odd, I thought, but he soon returned, with a handful of  vegetables, looking and smelling as fresh as when we picked them months ago. He said he would like nothing better than homemade soup and some seeded bread, also homemade. So I  set about cooking. There weren’t enough onions, so I strolled over to the store shed, which was just as well!

      How on earth he managed to stay all this time without being traced, I will never know. But a rather full hedgehog slept peacefully on a small pile of hay in a corner. I will keep a careful eye on him!

       Thank heavens our garden for waifs and strays has many safe houses for the amount of visitors  that arrive, often un-noticed. But I do wish they would tidy up after themselves!

        The soup and the bread were delicious! Just as well I made enough for an army, as we had more visitors (the two legged kind) and a wonderful afternoon followed.

DIGGING by Edward Thomas,

To-day I think
Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield,
And bracken, and wild carrot's seed,
And the square mustard field;

Odours that rise
When the spade wounds the root of tree,
Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed,
Rhubarb or celery;

The smoke's smell, too,
Flowing from where a bonfire burns
The dead, the waste, the dangerous,
And all to sweetness turns.

It is enough
To smell, to crumble the dark earth,
While the robin sings over again
Sad songs of Autumn mirth."

The little hamster ran like crazy around a wheel inside its cage. 

     ‘Don’t your tiny feet get tired?’ frowned Aled. ‘Don’t you feel sick?’

     The hamster slowed down and looked at Aled. Aled stared into its eyes for an answer, but he didn’t get one.

     ‘It must be like living in school every single day,’ Aled looked disgusted. ‘If that’s how it feels, then I have no choice but to set you free.’

      The hamster went even faster than before.

      ‘Wouldn’t you like to be free to run around the world?’ He shouted into the cage. But the hamster ignored him.

       ‘Oh, I would love to run around the world,’ said Aled leaning against his bed. And he wondered if this was possible. Everybody would notice me then, he thought, even my teacher.

       ‘I will start practising,’ he said to the hamster. ‘And when I am ten, I will be fit enough to run around the world.

      So Aled Evans ran around the garden five times, then ten times, then fifteen times. By the end of the week he could run around the garden fifty times without stopping and without getting out of breath. It was a good-sized garden too.

      The following week, Aled began to run around the village of Gusty Gully. This was more of a challenge. ‘I can do this,’ he thought. I can do anything if I try hard enough.’

      Aled Evans smiled to himself as he ran through the village. He saw people watching him. He could see them peeping around the curtains of their homes. I like this, he thought. No one has ever noticed me before.

      ‘Where are you going in such a hurry?’ shouted Phil the Fish as he whizzed past him. Ugh! The smell of fish makes me feel sick, he thought. So, he ran even faster and shouted, ‘around the world!’ on the top of his voice.

     ‘Can I join in?’ said Tom the Egg as he ran past the home for waifs and strays.

      Aled put up his hand and nodded.

     ‘Can we come too?’ said Archie and Ollie as they walked home from school.

     Tom put up his hand again and nodded.

     ‘Where are you going?’ shouted Megan and Hayley as they came out of the sweet shop.

    ‘Around the world,’ Tom the egg shouted back.

    ‘We’re coming too!’ said the girls and they stuffed their sweets in their pockets and began to run.

     Aled looked back and saw the trail of children following him. They will notice me now, he thought and grinned from ear to ear.

     Mrs Bumblebee was standing outside the school watching them come up the road. When she saw who it was, she put her hand up for them to stop, just like a lollipop lady. But they didn’t stop. They ran past her and kept on going. Mrs Bumblebee was so shocked, she ran after them.

     ‘Where are you going?’ she shouted breathlessly.

     ‘Around the world,’ they all shouted back. And by now, almost all the children in the village were running.

     It was Barry Book and Pencil that stopped them. You see, he was the village policeman. He jumped off his bicycle and put his hand up. The trail of running children skidded to a halt, almost crashing into one and other. Barry Book and Pencil lined them all up against the hedge at the home for waifs and strays. The kind and unassuming man watched in amazement.

     ‘What are you doing?’ said the policemen, reaching inside his coat for a book and pencil.

     ‘Running around the world,’ replied Aled proudly.

     ‘What do you want to do that for?’ Barry Book and Pencil was taking notes. ‘There will be no one left in the village if you all leave.’

    ‘There would be no school,’ said Mrs Bumblebee.

    ‘And no need for a village shop,’ said Ian the news.

    ‘And no-one to help look after all the waifs and strays,’ said the lady whose garden was full of animals that needed a lot of love and attention. This made Tom the Egg feel guilty.

    ‘And who would buy my fish?’ said Phil the Fish ‘if there were no children to feed.’

    They could live in the sea, Aled thought happily, as he looked at everyone, looking at him.

    This is amazing, I could keep on running and they would all follow me! He thought.

    But he didn’t carry on running. Instead, Aled stood in front of his friends and knew that Barry book and Pencil was right, Gusty Gully would become a Ghost town and grow weeds. The crows and the seagulls would squat in empty places and there would be no one to help at the home for waifs and strays. No, he couldn’t do that, not yet anyway.

    ‘This is our home,’ he said nodding his head. ‘This is our world, until we grow up and can go our own way. And we do need a lot more practice.’

     They all agreed, and Barry Book and Pencil put his notes away and sighed with relief.

     That night as Aled watched the hamster run around her ball, he smiled at her.

     ‘And this is your world too,’ he said happily. ‘You are well fed, warm and safe.’

‘Goodnight, all you runners in Gusty Gully. Goodnight world. One day I will run around you...and all the way back!’

I’m not quite sure what it is about tea (a cup of sweet tea especially)that can cause the human race to drop everything and pour their hearts out over its vapours. My kind and unassuming husband is the exception as he has never drank a cup of tea in his entire life...very strange!

     At our home for waifs and strays, the kettle rarely gets cold. There is always someone popping in for something or another, or just for a chat. I always switch the kettle on even before they are seated. And if I am busy, then the visitor will usually carry out the task automatically. It seems that this is a very Welsh thing to do.

     It is almost as if everything dissolves in the steam that evaporates into your face. No worries, no stress, all washed away in a moments connection with the tea. If only it were that simple!

     But for awhile, tea does seem to comfort people.  It feels easier to talk perhaps, with ones hands wrapped around a hot cup or mug. Tea shops are becoming quite popular. I often meet up with friends and family in a tea shop by the sea. Just the thought of it makes me feel warm inside. No matter how far I roam, I will always look forward to a cup of tea at the other end.

     There are so many types of teas today, far too many to mention here but I’m sure many of you would have tried at least one or two or even more. Just writing about it makes me want to put the kettle on. Just wait a moment please!

     Watching the steam come from the kettle, even before I fill the teapot (we still use a teapot at our home for waifs and strays)makes me feel trapped in its spell....not a bad feeling, even if only for a moment!

     Below is a poem I discovered and written by a woman called Naomi Shihab Nye...enjoy!

The Tray by Naomi Shihab Nye
Even on a sorrowing day
the little white cups without handles
would appear
filled with steaming hot tea
in a circle on the tray,
and whatever we were able
to say or not say,
the tray would be passed,
we would sip
in silence,
it was another way
lips could be speaking together,

opening on the hot rim,

swallowing in unison

Autumn has reached our village with colour and lethargy. People seem to have hibernated rather earlier than normal and even the animals are rather quiet. However, activity at our home for waifs and strays remains the same, busy!

The young orphaned chicks are growing at a rapid rate and Lolo struggles to keep up with them. They still live in the house and I’m afraid they might be at risk of becoming house hens if we don’t act quickly.

Out in the garden our allotment has flourished. We’ve been harvesting fruit and vegetables for many weeks now and giving surplus veggie boxes to family and friends. But we still have a lot to learn as so much of what we grew was lost, due to white/black fly and cabbage whites. I have never ever seen so many caterpillars!  I have to add, that I never killed a fly or caterpillar as I took them up onto the moor and set them free. It was a bit tricky making a trap for the flies but it worked and in the end, just the cucumbers were slaughtered by the tiny creatures!

Down by the pond, things are flourishing without our help and it’s beginning to look just as we hoped, wild and interesting. Lily pads have proved a haven for much of the wildlife above and below their shiny green leaves. A friend asked if he could go pond dipping yesterday as he needed a snail for his fish tank.  After a few minutes, he not only found what he was looking for, but lots of young newts too. So we sat on the bench with a cup of sweet tea and celebrated our pond success!

Back at the chicken run, another two hens have gone broody. A tad late to place the orphaned chicks underneath them! And if they think we’re going to have more chicks, they can think again!

So all in all, life at our home for waifs and strays is ticking along nicely. There’s a lot more going on of course, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Until next time, take care and remember it’s later than you think!

Lolo was an unwanted dog with a bad attitude. She hated the postman and during a revenge attack she managed to knockout all of her front teeth. Her last owners used a muzzle on her the minute they left the house. Then came along a baby and Lolo went on the waiting list for a place at the local dogs home. During this time, she stayed at our home for waifs and strays. We had never had a dog nor wanted one, but something told me that she needed us, nevertheless.

Due to the many rescued battery hens and cats already living at our home, it was with great caution we took this wee girl in. However, she was almost eleven at this time and it took many weeks for our home to grow on her as the cats soon put her in her place. It couldn’t have been easy for Lolo but the magic of our home soon began to work.

From day one, we never used a muzzle and I tried to follow the dog whisperer’s guide. I would be lying if I said it was plain sailing. It wasn’t! Quite often I rang the dogs trust in tears and they were brilliant. I was torn with the thought of sending her away, just as she was beginning to settle in.

The months passed and there was still no news of a place for Lolo at the dog’s home. If I am honest with you, I never called to check! Then one day, a lady in the village offered her a home. I remember her looking up at me with eyes that knew what was going on. I smiled and thanked the lady but told her I had decided to keep her, as she was now a fully fledged member of our home for waifs and strays! She was our girl!

Well time has passed and Lolo has certainly changed. Oh, she still growls at the postman but thankfully, ‘her lack of teeth’ are her saving grace.

On our return from Scotland quite recently, we noticed with sadness that we had two orphaned chicks just a day old. As my kind and unassuming husband and I hurriedly discussed whether we should raise them ourselves or take them to a farm that deal with day old chicks, our dear old Lolo had stepped in as a surrogate mother. It was incredible. In fact, so many of our family and friends came to witness the once uncontrollable dog take control of two tiny orphaned chicks.

Three days later and Lolo still nurses her chicks throughout the day. They climb all over her then snuggle underneath her for naps. I shall continue to report back with updates and pictures.

What a beautiful and surprising world we live in!