Ok, anyone that knows me will know that usually I am fairly laid back with my daughter who is 11 but she is very tiny for her age and I guess most would say that I am being over worried but...

She started a new school last week, in the UK at 11 they start year 7 of another school, and although my daughter could have gone to the local one just half a mile away she really wished to go to one where you have to apply and sit exams in the town.  She got in as she is very bright but now part of that development is to let her catch the buses with her friends to come home.

Last week I picked her up, but not wanting to be an over protective parent and with work commitments I decided that the only option was to allow her to come home by bus.  Today is the first day, i have done my upmost to allow her the freedom to grow and develop but to keep her safe so have arranged for her to come home with another older student and five friends but with the instruction that she turns on her phone when she leaves school and texts me when she has got onto the bus.  I know I have done everything I can, but here I have sat rather than working I have cooked cleaned done the garden, all to keep my mind off the worries of my childs step into independence. It is funny though, I have never worried about her visiting her granmother at the other end of the village or her going out on her bike or pony with her friends alone, maybe it is either her in a city or may be it is more the odd feeling I am becoming free to pursue my own career and have no excuses now!

To other parents out there, does it get better? 

Hi All

Well I am back for a short time.  Been busy working and I am helping the Woodland Trust input all of the surveys from BBC Springwatch viewers, If you wish to become a volunteer, try this site.

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

We have also been to Bransby so Holly could work with Tiny, her new pony from there, we have also taken on Earl, who is a little Shetland pony, anyone interested in horses, this is their site.

www.bransbyhorses.co.uk

The summer holidays have been a disaster for weather and sadly has seen the loss of some of old hens and Catkin, Holly's pet rabbit.  Holly has been brave but Catkin in particular has been a real loss.

Our two really old hens Sweetie and Alice have been brought down to the garden so we can keep and eye on them, we are getting them fat and strong to get them through winter, they still lay on occasions but they have earned their keep through retirement.

I am making bath products ready for the Christmas markets and for my friends new shop. I have also started jam making and pickling as well as wine making ready for winter. 

Work is busy at the moment and I will hopefully having an exhibition of my photographs in 2008 so will require lots of time photographing and framing for the event.  Luckily Jeff and I met when working at an art gallery where he used to frame and cut the mounts for the collection so I have a good technician to hand! Jeff hung and light the exhibitions and even got to do some mounts for the late queen mother, so I guess he is up to the job!  He is an I.T. man now so it will be a learning curve again.

Right off to an auction room to look for cheap saddles now, see you soon

XXX

Yesterday my mood went slowly downhill as it does from time to time, the weather was wonderful, so really no excuse.

As my mood got blacker and blacker, mother nature once again came to the rescue, My beloved goldfinches, the little wildbirds that chatter happily on telephone wires in most parts of the UK, visited, this time though they brought their three young fledglings all arguing noisily for the best spot on the feeders, Mum ignored their begging for her to feed them and got on happliy with her food.  I opened the door quietly and pointed my camera and luckily got some nice pictures although they did not seem at all shy and continued feeding, one even fell asleep contentedly in the weak summer sun. The visit lifted my mood no end and to top it all by a request from a satellite TV station to follow up an article I wrote, it seemed to finish Sunday on a high.

I have posted one of the pics so enjoy

xx

I woke up this morning to the birds singing and the goldfinches arguing on the bird feeders, the sun was shining and I felt better than I have felt in ages.

I came down to the dogs wagging their tails waiting to go out.  The old cat snoozed on the bed.

Dogs out, coffee on and windows and doors wide open to enjoy the early morning air, times like these make you realise that the world can be a pretty good place!

Hi everyone,

If you are in the UK, hope the flood didn't get ya!  It did us, the beck flooded further down the village, the roads to the horses field were under nearly a metre of water and my faithful old landrover fished a few cars and vans out!

The village school was built on a spring which erupted and flooded the school and our road so we were closed off. 

The weathers improved and things are more or less back to normal.

I have spent the last few days writing articles (this months Equestrian Life and The Countrymans Weekly) and producing over 100 pictures for the Woodland Trust where I work as a volunteer.  Most nights I have been processing them on the computer and have worked into the early hours.

Moss, our border collie pup gets more mental every day and his tail nevers stops wagging, Mist our older collie is racing aound the garden like a thing pocessed!

hens are laying, ducklings are growing and alls right with the world!

I have had a real up and down couple of weeks, first the pony my daughter was getting from Bransby sadly died of Grass Sickeness, an illness found mostly in Britain, we spent all one day crying as she was so adorable, Bransby were kind enough to ask if I wished to say goodbye but I was away working at the time and couldn't get back fast enough.

Jo at Bransby and I talked and she felt it would help Holly to chooses another one, so Holly spent the morning with Jo, she had three to choose, in the end she has chosen a little coloured cob gelding, he is going to be backed and schooled and hopefully her will be here for the summer vacation.  We had a small farewell to Cariad, the cob who died as although she was not home (she was due this week), we still considered her part of the family.

We have three adorable silver appleyard bantam ducklings, we lost two as they were not quite right when they were born and inspite of our best efforts did not survive.  The three left are strong and noisy, just like mum!

I have been working and visiting Norfolk, UK, a lot recently and enjoying my time there, having fresh crab for lunch, watching the skylarks overhead and listening to the sound of the reed warblers, it was a really relaxing time, we walked about ten miles per day so hopefully I will be loosing weight soon! The dogs enjoyed the sea although Moss, the puppy is not convinced that we were not making the waves splash him. 

It was Spring school holidays here so Holly came with us and enjoyed her adventure as well as spending time with her calf that Alan gave her riding with her friends through the country lanes here in Lincolnshire, and stopping of at the garden centre for a drink and a cake!

We have also been sorting the free range eggs, we have a lot so I am selling some and baking with the rest, we have a woodburning Rayburn (AGA range cooker). which we bought for a £1 ($2) so I get a real buzz out of cooking and heating the house for free, a bit of bartering can swap flour for eggs or cakes, a real good life experience!

I am off back to do some work now, See you soon

Rosey xx

Well at last a day without rain so I have been able to do the pictures to finish the articles.

We have gone from no rain to loads and the little grey pony looks mucky!!

My Mum bought a spinning wheel the other day and eager to try anything new I learnt to spin the only problem is I have gone all these years with no one being able to teach me,  but desparate to knit my spun wool, I tried and I have got it at Last!!

Going to process my pics now and get a coffee and lunch, I forgot breakfast so I am starving!!

Well today, weather permitting I am off to work on an article for a largish horses rescue charity with the article in July's Equestrain Life. I am doing this for free as we are about to have two horses from them, My friend's daughter, who we share the fields with is having a coloured cob and we are having a pretty little black cob. We have worked hard getting everything ready for them, hopefully our other horses will be happy with the newcomers! Fritz will be the only boy so I am sure he will be very happy!

Yesterday as well as working I spent time in the pouring rain fixing the field fence where nezzie, colin and others had broken down, Nezzie and mates are massive great rams.

I have some more work for a biggish company supplying pictures for them so at last things are picking up again

Hope you enjoy the new blog, Viewers to my website will be able to keep up to date again!

Rosey

Hard work this freelance stuff

Hi all this is me an overwieght, middle aged wildlife photographer. Today it is chucking it down with rain so not much wildlife out!!

Been starting an article for an equestrian magazine, deadline next week, need pics, weather crap, Oh god.

Daughters SATS this week, she is in  a panic whether she will get top marks or not, god it is hard for them now.

Another lamb born at my mates farm, I have been left to move four lunatic rams! why can't I see sense and get a proper job?