Happy New Year 2015

Christmas 2014

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year guys :-) xxx

Tilly May and her letter to Santa.

This is Tilly May our granddaughter with her quilt that has driven me mad at times over the last year. A whole year !!!!
It's not as if I'm a great quilter I'm not. 
I'm pleased she liked it. As for her hair, well, she had just got up and was supposed to be getting ready for school.

This is Tilly May's letter to Santa.

Dear Santa
Have your reindeer been good this year? I hope they've been good.
Please can i have a new scooter and please may you make my nan (Great Grandmother) and my mum get better thank you. 
Last year and this year I hope everyone has been good this year.
I hope I'm on the good year (on the good list).
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Love from Tilly.

How can Santa ignore that.

See you all soon :-) XXX

The Soggibottom Fox

This little guy isn't the only Soggibottom fox around the cottage.

The other one spends half her life covered in sand,

 on the beach with her head down a sand hole. 

At least this little fox will keep his whiskers sand free.

See you all soon guys :-) X X X 

Palm oil alert on South West England Beaches

A deadly menace washed up by the savage storms we've had recently is poisoning dogs at a rate of one a day.
Several animals have died after licking or nibbling on boulder-sized chunks of palm oil which have been found littering beaches in Devon and Cornwall.

Hundreds more have been left writhing in agony with their owners facing huge vets bills for emergency treatment.
The strange blobs emit a stench of diesel and were thought to be firelighters. but the source of the pollution has yet to be found. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency identified it as solidified palm oil, a substance used in food, soaps, shampoos and biofuels.

It is harmless to humans but can kill dogs unless they get swift treatment which involves being fed charcoal to soak up the oil and induce vomiting.
The first reported casualty came when a three-year-old miniature schnauzer was killed after ingesting a single, tiny lump.

Freya for the time being is limiting her walks to the lake and woods.

She doesn't seem to mind missing her jaunts to the beach, there's always the added bonus of duck and swan watching beside the lake.

Squirrel and bird watching.

Meeting and greeting other walkers, we even met Rudolph.

Some walkers have such amazing smiles.

Freya as usual can be found over at the CAT FLAP CAVALIER.

Keep those paws safe guys.
x x x

The Mad Monkey water project at Soggibottom.

The Soggibottom bears are still around. One Panda, ready to make his way over our little bridge before Christmas.
Many thanks to everyone who viewed and donated to the The tuk tuk project.
The tuk tuk project was a couple of posts ago on Soggibottom, but if you missed it click on the link above it will give you all the information you need.
I have it in good authority the amount raised so far is over Fifty Thousand Dollars.
Enough to buy and help the up keep of a tuk tuk. At night time it can be converted to a mobile Taco canteen selling taco's to help sustain The Sala Monkey School in Cambodia.

It's great to know, not everyone puts their head in the sand like Freya Rose Blossom.

Freya digs holes along the beach as a duck takes to water.

Freya is an expert digger, woe behold anyone who travels along the same path on the beach as Freya in the dark.

Luckily the tide has come back in and filled all her beautifully dug holes up by then. Digging is most defiantly her specialty.

One of my friends reminded me Soggibottom and water go together well.
Winter has arrived here in Devon, at the moment it means rain and rising water levels. Our first flood warning of the year has already been given.
Winter for Soggibottom means never being complacent about the recent ditch water relief channel that was constructed last year to help the village where we live with flooding.

Once bitten, twice shy and all that.
Or in our case bitten as in quite a few times of having our home flooded. At least it gives a great perspective of how lucky we are living in this part of the world where "STUFF", really is just stuff and it gets fixed. It dries out and eventually we go back to normal.
We can still turn on the water tap and know if the ditch and river outside has gruesome water in it, at least our tap water is clean.

Way back in the Summer on one of our walks with Freya we noticed how stagnant the water was on our lake walk. It had been hot and no rain for weeks. The water was a beautiful shade of green, Pike were gasping for breath at the surface of the water. Although it was a hot day, it didn't look good to paddle in let alone want to drink. We wouldn't let Freya dip her paws into the green stinking water. It was so bad, we gave our lake walks a miss for ages.

There is another Mad Monkey project that's ongoing. Clean water.
So far 20 newly dug wells are already helping communities that have no access to clean water in Cambodia.
By clicking on the link below you can see for yourself. Clean water means health.

The Mad Monkey clean water project.
 It will make you think twice the next time you go to your own water source. 

Freya Rose Blossom can be found over at the CAT FLAP CAVALIER in puppy mode. 
She also has a new blanket, it's not just the new colour which seems to suit her. She's warm, cozy, her drinking bowl is full to the brim of crystal clear Adam's ale. CLEAN WATER.

:-) xxx

Teach your children to remember.

Tuk Tuk Taco Project.

I asked Steve our eldest a while ago if Soggibottom could use this photo, it's one of Marley Wynn our granddaughter and Steve sitting with a guy he often has meetings with reference digging new water wells in the area of Cambodia where they live. Water wells mean clean water, clean water saves lives.

The last time we had seen Steve was 2010, he went walk about, stopping when he reached Cambodia.

Steve, Erica and Marley Wynn's visit to the cottage last Summer was something we had been looking forward to. Our eldest son, his new wife and our new granddaughter who we had never met before.

Apart from the water well project which is ongoing, there is another project now starting to take shape.  It's called the

 TUK TUK TACO PROJECT.

Soggibottom isn't great on advertising as most know, but when our lad starts on a campaign, we like to give him all the help we can.   Happy belated birthday Steven.

Love Mum and Dad. X X X 

The arrival of the raining season

It's been a great Summer this year, I suppose it was too much to wish that it would last.The rainy season has hit the South West of England again.

We've been saying for weeks we needed some rain and at least there is now a decent amount of water again flowing through our stream/river (it's only classed by us as a river when it's about to overflow).

Our new dirt water ditch water relief channel seems to be working.

Here's the view on Saturday. The view from the play park end at the back of Soggibottom cottage.  The little weir still needs attention ref the water level and the right amount of water that should be flowing along the river. The sand bags in one corner have only been there for a few months. I'm sure those that know better believe the sandbags are going to help with water levels. We only live here, what do we know about water levels.

The same view today. The sandbags will be around, probably to be found floating down the river Teign by now, half way on their journey to the sea.

It has to be said, it's not a great day to be out and about especially for Freya Rose Blossoms. Our plans had to be altered last week, we never did make our intended visit to see our kids.  I also have to mention to Kiann, Jake and Tilly May.

Grandad has been eating the sweets he was going to bring you. 

Freya Rose Blossom can be found over at The Cat Flap Cavalier as usual.
Everyone keep dry. See you later guys :-) x x x

Soggibiottom and The cat flap cavalier are having a bit of a break guys. Squeak to you all later. lots of love x x xx x

Apple blossom found in Devon on the 1st October 2014.

October the 1st is normally the time of year when everyone's thinking of the run up to Halloween at the end of the month. Seemed strange as we are winding our garden down for Winter to find we have apple blossom on Amie Soto Blossom's apple tree.

 It's been known to see roses still in bloom on Christmas Day here.

 There are plants in bloom around our garden that are still giving glorious colour.

Blooms and colour in the front of the cottage as well as the back

.Who ever said Autumn is a sad and boring time of year ?

Freya Rose Blossom softly follows in Amie Soto Blossom's footsteps around Soggibottom cottage.

Freya can be found over at The Cat Flap Cavalier. 

See you all soon. :-) x x x