Tuesday, 8 May 2018

Lavatera



Before and after.


A neighbour from hell, I wonder?


I know the erection of my garden fence left a lot to be desired but there was a reason behind it.
About 3 year ago I had new neighbours move in who appear to have no respect for animals or the environment they live in. They also have about 60 Canaries stuck in cages in a shed. A pair of budgies who live indoors but are put out in the sun during the day, 6 hens that live their whole life in a shed no bigger than a coal bunker, and 5 dogs who are never taken out for walks plus homing pigeons who are let out to fly above the tree tops. Their garden is regimented and is over-run with pot plants and garden ornaments, an acquired taste that wouldn’t suit everybody, whereas I like my garden to be a welcoming place for all the wildlife. There is always something happening in my garden.
I love Lavatera, a quite striking shrub which has made my garden look very colourful, and that is the problem. The woman next door doesn’t like it, she refers to it as a bloody nuisance. Soon after, my Lavatera’s startd dying, until I had none. I bought new ones, and soon they died too.  A friend of mine I didn’t see regularly, told me some time later, he had been passing when he see her apparently spraying my plants, with what he didn’t know. There was no way I could confront her, as I didn’t have any real evidence except dead shrubs.
So this spring I decided to put another fence up as I only had a chain link fence there. It didn’t help they dug up a hedge that had been between us, and had been there at least 60 years, so I needed something sturdier and to hide what I was actually growing in my garden. That fence will help without me spending too much.
I will be putting extra security in, but for now it will have to do. So it will be down the nursery soon for some more Lavatera, and this time I hope it is allowed to grow..

Thursday, 26 April 2018

Vets, are they killing the golden egg?


           Vets, are they killing the golden goose ?

I have for many years taken in old dogs, some I managed to insure, but others were too old so it was down to me for vets care and their welfare. Sadly nowadays the cost of that care has escalated to ridiculous levels, especially at the point where you have to let them pass on to the other side.
I did take my old hounds to Kew’s for their final journey but their lack of empathy I found very hard to endure. To them it is a job, to me it’s a time of despair and anguish, but as long as they received their £116 they were happy.
Then on February 9th my old girl Ciara become very ill which gave me no other option than to put her to sleep. This was a Friday evening after 20.00 hrs, so this time I chose to use Forest Vets in Epping. The bill came to over £300.00 just for sending in on her way to her God. So through my tears I paid my bill and wondered if it was really worth my while making vets richer while I suffered the pain of losing another old dog.
Two weeks ago I lost another old dog (Julian)to the same debilitating illness that Ciara suffered, an illness that doesn’t give you a choice, there is nothing other than to end their suffering.  This time I went to a breed specific vet in Brentwood who charged me just £60 to cover the cost of euthanasia and cremation.
Although £60 is a lot to pay to never see your loving dog again, it eases the pain to know I am not being ripped off to such an extent I have been in the past.
It seems you are nothing more than a cash cow in the eyes of so many vets, especially in the Harlow area, but use them you must, but if only they gave further thought to what you are going through other than how much can they make out of your distress?