Shepherds Arise

Over the byre this morning to continue taking the plaster off the walls. All was going well for a couple of hours but I had a couple of wobblies whilst standing on the platform ladder. Probably something to do with the new medication that's been prescribed to me. Hmm. Well, at least the voices aren't telling me to clean my knives anymore*..... Taking the somewhat sensible view of avoiding falling head first to the floor I decided to call it a day.

As I was strolling back to the house I noticed something dark and a little large sitting in the croft. Before I had a chance to get back and get the binoculars it suddenly spread its large wings, elegantly took off to land on the wall …... and it misjudged it. So there was a Common Buzzard scrabbling on the stonework to get to the top. That was most certainly not elegant. It managed it, and rested there for a few moments before launching away to the distance. 3M told me it had been sitting in the croft for some time earlier and had flown over the wall into the next croft. I can only surmise it was hanging around for the rabbits. And I notice that someone else didn't take a picture.

When I were lad my grandmother made the most delicious shepherds pie. When I grew up, moved out and had shepherds pie elsewhere is was never like she made it. As she had passed by then I didn't have the opportunity to ask how it was done so the years have rolled away and I have never had the equivalent of her cooking. Until today. I had a light bulb moment after dinner yesterday. I finally twigged what she did. I mean, it's only taken me mumble, mumble years to work it out. It's simple. All the ingredients were minced from leftovers and baked. And that's what I did. Leftover Dinky, cabbage, carrots and roast potatoes put through the mincer and placed in a baking dish. I would have added leftover gravy but someone, no names mentioned but she knows who she is, decided to throw that away. So I made a little lamb stock and poured it over. And the blip is the result. It were right nice, it were. Maybe a few more potatoes and gravy instead of stock but it went down a treat.

* The tablets have nothing with my mental state, my head's fine. Voices? Tchah. Just using the phrase for comedic diversion (is that OK? Do you think they'll believe me? Yes, I know, fire bad. Shh.).