Yes; I'm Still Alive .....

After a fashion, anyway. Just waiting to come out of hibernation, really. Looking for the compulsion to get out of bed before it gets dark. Of course, to do that I'd really need to get into bed long before it gets fucking light!

Not doing too well at that, right now. Back to 'working the night shift' again. Haunting the internet and supping weak beer till god knows what hour ~ 05:00 about now. And here I am, look; Determined to yet amuse myself. If not you lot.

Never mind. I'm feeling perfectly fit and healthy. The cold couldn't do away with me this year. Now it's just back to the rains again. Don't mind that. I've even carried over a trick or two picked up during the 'best' fucking freeze I've known since coming here. Christ, wasn't that a harsh one?!

Rats need sorting out round here now. Typical, isn't it? When I used to work on Building Maintenance I soon learned why ye average Builders house was the most wrecked in the street; Because the poor bastard spent his entire fucking life looking after some bastard else's property. Last thing he wanted to think about, when he got home, was starting all over again in his own time.

That and the fact that mine tend to stay their distance now. Funny how they seem to have passed the word around; " We're generally alright, out here. Risky if we get too close to his cottage. Go in there? That bastard nails ye quicker than ye can say 'Shit!' "

Don't know what's happened now. Cold killed the wiser ones off? I know I didn't. Couldn't be arsed. Too busy trying to survive myself and look after the birds. But, I've just been through my kitchen, for the umpteenth time tonight. Found myself picking up some scrap of scrunched up paper that, I'd swear, wasn't there an hour ago.

Could've been the Orange Dog. But, then; Orange Dog seemed eager to get out there too. Would ye believe, the Orange Dog ~ my frighteningly gray faced little love of my life. Centre of my universe. A first cross 'Bull X' ~ is actually the finest damn 'Working Dog' I have around here?

If there's a single mouse found its way into my cathedral like kitchen? Orange Dog will try to eat her way through the door on scent of it. Let her out there and she'll find that fucker. Then she'll bite it. And calm down again. Job done. Quite mad. Bless her.

Anyway, I digress. Or, before I do; Yeppers. The rats. Have to hit those bastards now. Now that I can at least move about out there, without certain fear of slipping over and breaking myself.

See? I'm looking forward to getting back into activity. Things to do. Things easier done in daylight. Reason to get off my back of a day.

Be good to get a couple of slabs of concrete down this year. Small back room needs a solid floor. Fucking earth just now! And, oh, how I'd like to sort out the horses pen and the shitty patch of mud outside it. I have my own cement mixer.

I'm gearing up, see? Let's see what I'm saying about all this as the year moves on and ~ one can but hope ~ warms up and dries out a bit.