22 July 2010

We had a warmer brighter day, until showers developed mid-afternoon. By the time we were all ready for the off it was 10.30; we drove to Wyevale Garden Centre on the outskirts of Hereford first. Passing quickly through the plants for sale as it filled me with longing and regret, the girls were entertained by the extensive fish for sale and then by the toy area. I could easily have browsed for an hour or two if I didn't have Emily, as it is a veritable Aladdin's cave. We ate outside at the restaurant there and I was pleased as for once Emily ate most of her meal so I didn't feel like I had wasted money. The girls enjoyed a Thomas ride on the way out.

Half an hour along the road to Kington brought us to the small breeds farm and owl sanctuary. I sat in the back between the two child seats while Mum drove as I was determined to prevent Emily from dropping off and missing out on the visit. It is a great venue for young children, with many miniature breeds of goats, sheep and ponies as well as chickens, pigs, donkeys and even reindeer!

Visitors are allowed to go in some enclosures and Mum and I took the kids in one, but a goat got into the outer pen and when Mum tried to herd it back in the gate it butted her a bit. We had to lift the girls out and climb over the fence as it would otherwise have escaped when we opened the outer gate. One of the pygmy goat kids started to nibble Emily's top when she stood a bit too close to the wire.

It came on to rain and we took shelter against some bird cages that housed beautiful pheasants and also some red squirrels. After a snack the rain stopped and we went to feed the ducks, then stopped off to see the rabbits, guinea pigs, chipmunks and mice. Emily was a bit grouchy with tiredness and also as she was due for a poo; we had been there two hours and quickly looked around the owls before leaving. Again, I sat in the back to keep Emily awake, though Fern dropped off instead. Emily enjoyed stopping off to shop at Tesco's. How on earth can they sell so cheaply? I can't help but convert the prices back into Yen and feel sick at how much I am paying for some items.

I managed to get her back home without a nap and we went for a wander around the garden with the girls wearing their newly-acquired wellies. As we went back to the house Emily got very upset and I realised that she was spitting out some sort of orange berry. She was very distressed and I felt really worried as I had seen some cuckoo pint in berry and that seemed the most likely candidiate, which I knew to be poisonous. I was annoyed with her too as I thought we had drilled her sufficiently that she must not eat berries unless we told her they were OK. We got her to drink a little milk but she was still crying so I brushed her teeth to help clear the taste from her mouth, then convinced her to eat her tea, which she duly did with no more fuss. I prayed she had not swallowed any, and the episode seemed to be over and hopefully a lesson had been learned too.

Once she was safely settled into bed I donned running gear and went out for my first exercise since Fuji, nearly a fortnight ago. I only ran for half an hour, along from the bottom of the lane to the Skirrid Inn and then round the back road to the Pandy Inn. It was about 15C and pouring with rain, so I enjoyed it immensely.