Dreaded year end.

Well, we are round to the first week in April again and here on the farm that only means one thing - the financial year end; the date when all the 'books' have to be balanced, all the receipts and such like sorted, numbered, clipped together and put into a folder.   Then the whole lot is taken to the Accountant and I can heave a sigh of relief.

Every year I promise myself that I will balance each page of the ledger when I get to the bottom of the page, but I never do.   Consequently, I now have about four pages of figures to add up and - worse still - balance.    The first page worked like a dream but the second page - oh dear - I struggled with it all afternoon and finally gave up at tea time.   I should have known better than to continue once it didn't balance.   Experience tells me that it is better put away and seen afresh the next day.  So today's programme is plan the lunch and then get out the ledger.

Yesterday was the exercise class for the over sixties in the morning.   It doesn't get any easier, that's for sure.   One hour's concentrated exercise, non-stop, and we are all glad to sit down for a cup of tea at the end.  But it definitely is good to move about in an ordered way, stretching and exercising each muscle, taught by someone who knows what they are doing.

Two hen pheasants are mooching about the front walled garden.  I suspect they are both nesting somewhere in the undergrowth, like one did last year.  The vegetation is growing so quickly that there is plenty of cover for them.

We have a fine crop of baby rabbits in the fields.  I can see some of them gambolling in the paddock from the kitchen window, and one, braver than the rest, pops on to the lawn for his supper every night.  He is so pretty.  He had better watch out for the farm cats who at the moment seem to be existing on a diet exclusively made up of rabbit.   Their food is uneaten and when the farmer went in to feed them last night, both were stretched out asleep on the hay, both had huge stomachs and neither moved when he went into the barn.  There were numerous rabbit skins on the floor - they are certainly good at skinning their prey.   Pity the rabbit skin man doesn't still come round - we would make a fortune.

Ah well, the ledger calls.   Might have a coffee first - anything to put off the evil moment.   We are having bacon and egg for lunch so I can't make preparing lunch an excuse.