Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
The Menace in the Walls
by admin - 22:49 on 12 May 2011
The Rural Retreat's rampaging rodents are prime suspects in the ongoing investigation into the loss of our phone line – hence the recent lack of blog.
Activity inside our walls has increased so much in the last week or so that Matchgirl has found sleep difficult. What the mice are doing is difficult to determine, but they're doing a lot of it. Maybe the blame lies with lots of sprightly youngsters.
My suggestion that we put Bess inside the walls to earn her keep was not well received by Matchgirl, whose suggested remedy is lots of electronic rodent deterrents.
A short-term bodge involving the master junction box has got us back online and contactable by landline. The only drawback is that its situation means we can't open the door when the line's plugged in, as a baffled Bess discovered this evening.
The pampered puss usually has to yowl only once for the door to be thrown open, but as Matchgirl was busy on the internet she was left to use her cat-flap. No chance – in the end I opened the window to let her indoors.
Mr Buzby, who sorted out our last telecommunications travail, is expected tomorrow to give us a long-term solution. Fingers crossed.
Life continues to be problematic in other areas. Just when we thought The Bumper Book of Black Isle Snappery had overcome its last obstacle on the road to success, out of nowhere came another one. Its authors deserve fame and fortune for pure persistence.
The latest drama began with a phone call from the bindery to Norman and Co to inform them that there was a blemish on the inside back cover. Much telephonery and emailery ensued, at the end of which it was decided to halt the binding and have two specimen copies sent north so we can decide whether the blemish can be overlooked or necessitates a reprint of the covers.
Large amounts of chuntering took place when Andrew, Marten James and I met yesterday evening, most of it concerning Norman's quality control. The faint chance of him being asked to do a third print run (if we ever get a second completed) has now completely gone, especially as we've received a very decent quote from a Findhorn printer for a thousand litho copies.
If there are no hidden costs or misunderstandings a deal could be brokered soon – and we need it. More than two hundred copies of the forthcoming print run are reserved, more outlets are showing interest and it's less than three months until the huge selling opportunity of the Black Isle Show.
My gloom was lifted later in the evening, some time after 10pm, when the smallest pine marten we've ever seen was spotted on the gate, tucking into Nutella. This was not the individual we saw three nights ago. No-one came the night after that until Matchgirl and I were in bed.
It was too dark for snappery but the prospects for some new marten action shots look good. If I can capture one of Baby Marten I'll make the cover of National Geographic for sure.
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