NOVEMBER 2007
Jane Dog, 1992 - 2007
We were sorry to lose our lovely cross-collie, Jane, at the end of October. Jane came "free with 2 goats" in our early smallholding days in Galloway, and was all her life an active, outdoor, working dog, very intelligent, hated water, dog food and people who expected you to fetch sticks. Loved rounding things up, goose pooh and stealing from the cat. Apart from a serious spinal trauma aged 11, from which she made a great recovery, she was never ill, but the back legs had been getting less inclined to take her weight for a while. Nonetheless, she followed me everywhere, and was always present in the nursery in a supervisory capacity. Lately she had become forgetful, less inclined for long walks, and took little interest in putting the poultry to bed at night. But in September she seemed to bounce back - literally - dragging us off on all her favourite walks, running around, and thoroughly enjoying life. One Thursday night she appeared in the garden and, adopting the collie crouch for the first time in years, conscientiously ushered the geese into their shed as she always had as a youngster, then bounced round wagging her tail and did the same to the hens, grinning for praise. Next morning, she couldn't get up at all - and that was it, a rapid decline through the day and the vet - and we - could see she wasn't going to get better. Of course we are missing her like crazy, but so glad she had a long, happy life and a wonderful final few weeks which left us with some happy memories.
The Nursery goes to Bed for Winter
It's now time to say sorry, can't realistically send out your orders until the new year and the start of spring (unless they are orders for cards, products and indoor plants of course). We have some lovely candles in pure beeswax, Christmas cards depicting local winter scenes, soaps, oils, creams and pressed herb bookmarks if you are looking for Christmas ideas. For something a bit different to fill a stocking, our illustrated booklet "Plants with Purposes for Yuletide" makes entertaining Christmas reading.
I am working on next years plant list, which will be with regular customers in January - just email me on mail@plantswithpurpose.co.uk if you would like a copy posted out to you. I'm also organising the details of next years workshop programme - thanks to all my customers who helped with the market research on this. Go to Courses and Workshops for the latest information.
In the garden, only the carrots and spinach remain in the vegetable garden, and I am not doing any gardening much just now out of idleness, the need to leave seedheads for the birds, and by way of a change! Instead we are going for lots of winter walks, searching for white tailed sea eagles which have been re-introduced locally and are exercising my mind far too much, for fungi, and for firewood. All in all the older I get the more I like winter, even to the dark starry nights and black rainy mornings, so I will wish you all the best of the season, however you celebrate it or even if you don't, and will return in the new year.
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