First Friday night daffodils

It started well with high clouds in a blue sky

And delicate speedwell flowers in bloom beside the path

But suddenly two ownerless, collarless dogs appeared and decided to accompany me on my walk

They wanted to jump and play and, although I knew the house from whence they came, they refused to return across the field to their home. I walked on a while but worried that the dogs would go with me even when I arrived at the road. So, reluctantly, I turned tail and retraced my steps and the dogs retreated to the field behind their garden.

I knocked several times at the door where the dogs live but there was loud beat music blaring and, either no one heard or no one wanted to answer the door. Or maybe an exercise class was in progress. I don’t think I want such lively walking companions tomorrow.

The geese were fighting in the orchard as the sun rose

Yesterday Jeremy walked to the corner of Mill Road to post a letter. Yet again the Royal Mail postbox had vanished. The last time was about 18 months ago. When our postie Jason arrived with our post this morning he told us that he went to empty the box and found that it had disappeared.

I went walking with pal Sammy and her dogs at midday. The postbox was nicked from their village yesterday and several other places too. So if you get offered one on the black market may we please have ours back.

Outside, in the barn, there are “lazy lambs” taking the load off their legs.

A zoom lecture from Fairfield University, Connecticut was taking place at 7.30 eastern time but 12.30 am our time. It was about a subject who has been overlooked for a number of years but, thanks to historian and antiquarian and writer, Irvin Ungar, is regaining the prominence that he deserves in the field of art and illumination. That man is Arthur Szyk who was born in Poland but escaped before the Nazis entered his beloved country. He illustrated books, he drew and painted political cartoons and in 1940, in London, 250 copies of his illuminated Haggadah (the book we read at the Festival of Passover) were printed on vellum and sold for 100 Guineas each. At the time this was the most expensive new edition of a book ever sold anywhere in the world.

Do take a look at his work through Dr Google, Wikipedia or the szyk.com website. It is simply beautiful and also, many pieces, highly political. a modern,inexpensive edition of the Haggadah is available in paperback and hardback. I just ordered one.

I didn’t manage to stay awake until the end of the talk because a hungry lamb needed his early morning bottle and chicks needed feeding and goats opened up. Bless ‘em all!

A common theme in many of our festivals is “they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat!” Each festival has its special foods and on Purim we eat Hamantaschen – pockets of pastry filled, usually, with sweet meats. I decided to make some savoury pastries as well as sweet hamantaschen.

Then home in time for Di to feed Lambikin and cuddle one of Toffee’s tiny twins