Sue Woodcock: Festival turns village to a hive of activity

At first I thought that a shepherd with a sense of humour had been feeding his sheep in large circles but it wasn't so. It is a sculpture, something to do with sheep, so I am told, but I have not had yet a chance to visit it. It is illuminated at night which from my place makes it look as though aliens have landed.

With the festival come the crowds. All good for business but a nightmare to drive through. I was taking a friend and our dogs out for a good walk and was somewhat peeved to meet "road closed" signs down in the village being erected. I am afraid I insisted and we drove on to Grimwith where we escaped the crowds and had a great walk. The reservoir is very low at the moment but it is amazing how the grass and vegetation has grown in only the last fortnight. We arrived home after dodging the tourists with fortitude, quite tired. I wouldn't mind so much but they glare at you as if you have no right to use the highway which for me is my only access to my place.

I have had some interesting visitors. A lovely lady came over from Hartlepool bearing wonderful gifts that she no longer needed and thought I could use. I now have a great new supply of clothes and bedding, not to mention the vast amount of cakes and supplies that she and her sister gave me for which I am profoundly grateful. Thank you Edna, very much.

Another friend was staying and while he was here we got the trench dug for the foundations of the small extension I intend to build.

The local farmer and contractor who the day before had been helping to erect the world record bunting in the village, arrived with his diggers and moved and exposed a lot of stone which will be ample to start the building work. Then we asked the local building inspector to come and advise us. What a helpful and knowledgeable chap. I have consistently found all the local council employees to be great.

Having dug to the underlying bedrock the trench looks quite imposing. Of course, even as we were digging it the chickens were in there gobbling up any worms and bugs.

The turkeys, all of them, are roaming the fields with their accompanying turklets but are growing fast. Henry the stag turkey, who had been on a brief holiday with a friend to father yet more young, returned and is strutting round with pride. Three young ducklings are growing fast. Brillo the terrier is fascinated by them and spent ages gazing into their pen. She is not interested in grown up birds although she did retaliate when a curious chicken pecked her the other day. The end result was a squawking hen and a small dog spitting out a mouthful of feathers and then running rather crestfallen into the house after being told off. I have been removing feathers from all over the sitting room for days now.

What did puzzle me was some unidentified bird prints close to the barn in the mud. They were very large and looked like something the size and shape of a raisin. I saw a beautiful lapwing quite close the other day. They are magnificent birds and this one was warning the dogs off as I suspect we were close to its nest. There are some lovely birds around and down in the valley there is a great selection. Even up here I rejoice in the variety. I may only be a mile from the village but the peace and tranquillity here is like a tonic. The lambs are growing fast and the sheep are looking smart with their new hair cuts. I like this time of year. It brings such joy!

CW 19/6/10