A fixer-upper opportunity

We visited another plot of land for sale this week. It was located next to a lovely coniferous woodland, but had a number of big disadvantages, the main one being access. The land was accessed by a half mile long lane, only suitable for four-wheeled drive vehicles, with 5 gates between the main road and the land. The land contains a "cottage" and another small building. The estate agent's details state that the cottage hasn't been lived in since the second world war and that there is no planning permission to live on site.

I'd be highly surprised if anyone was interested in restoring this.

The cottage:



Ian in the cottage (note the lack of roof)



The fireplace:



Inside the other building:

Only the best

A couple of weeks ago I had my first ever Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I've always considered it a bit expensive to try and now having done so will probably not be buying any again.

Last night Ian finished it off and left the lid on the bed. William proceeded to lick it and then (not being able to resist the photo opportunity) Ian gave him the pot to lick. It seems that William was more fond of it than I was.

Introducing Panambi

We were a little concerned that Panambi might be shy, having only been at the Chestnut Centre for 3 weeks. She was actually very friendly and came right up to see us. Manoki and Panambi are getting on really well and we were lucky enough to watch them play together (mostly in the water) for over 30 minutes before dinner time.

This is Panambi:



You can tell any two giant otters apart from the markings on their neck. Manoki has more white on his:





It was extremely difficult to get a photograph of the two together as they were constantly on the move

Manoki & Panambi

Ian and I received this lovely (if a little blurred) photograph from the Chestnut Centre yesterday.



Manoki the giant otter has now been joined by a female called Panambi. They seem to be getting on really well together. We've decided on the spur of the moment to go North and visit them this weekend. Thanks to Gary and Dewi for letting us stay with them.

A seat by the pond

GB was kind enough to get me some Otter Nurseries vouchers for my birthday. We decided to spend them on a bench for the bottom of the garden. It's not quite in place yet and will move back behind the new path when we've prepared the ground.




The photos also show the new fence panels that Ian put in last weekend.

Thank you GB. We look forward to lots of time spent sitting by the pond.