Wednesday 25 April 2007

Not so home alone

Walking three dogs at the same time isn’t easy! We’ve got two of those expandable lead things – one for Alfie and the other has a double connector so that April and Tanzy can share. Usually J and I have a lead each but, as he has now gone down to London, it was just me today.

We set off down the lane opposite our cottage and all seemed well for about 30 seconds. Then Alfie decided he’d go this way, whilst the girls went the other. The leads became entangled and I had to stop and unravel the heap of spaghetti before we could go on. And then they saw the pheasant and so went charging off as the leads unraveled, and unraveled, whirring away and then…… clunk! They came to the end of their length and stopped in mid chase – suspended animation as they turned and looked at me in frustration. Ha, ha you little blighters! That’ll teach you.

After about five minutes, I’d got the hang of the brake system: push and hold = stop; reel back, push and hold (so they stop moving!), then reel back a bit more and repeat until reaching desired length of lead. Perfect. So now it’s like driving a team of horses as I try and keep them all going in line, but then when one stops, I can stop them wrapping around each other by reeling in desired team member. I wonder if I can patent this idea for child control too.

By the time we’re half way down the lane, I can smell the rape even before I can see it. It’s not my favourite crop – the smell is so overpowering and the colour so harsh, plus it sends the dogs loopy. We never let them off the lead in the fields adjacent to it as they go tearing in at full pelt, get totally disorientated and when we eventually get them back, they have skinned their faces below the eyes and are smeared with blood from the hard stalks. So, for now, they’ve got to get used to their freedom being curbed.

The sky larks are out and diving and twittering amongst the crops and it’s wonderful to see their growing numbers. The farmers round here are great at encouraging wildlife: the hedgerows are maintained and clusters of trees allowed to stand in the middle of fields. And the bluebells! Wonderful blobs of blue peeking out from the verges, waving in the slight breeze. Further down the other lane is a wood and it is a carpet of blue at the moment – I would take a picture but J has taken the camera with him down to the golf show.

It is another twenty minutes before we get back and I see an empty mug in the sink! Hmmm. At the bottom is a drop of black coffee – Mum!!! The phone rings and she tells me she’d popped in on her way to her next job (cleaning the Church) to drop off her bag for tonight’s stay, and could see the dogs gone but wasn’t sure if we’d just left or were nearly home. By the time she’d drunk her coffee, she had her answer!

I have to cut her short as I’m taking all the books and paperwork regarding the village hall up to the new booking clerk for the official “handover”. This time next week, I’ll be officially off the committee and, after six years, I’m looking forward to the rest.

We get through the business bits and then sit and gossip until I catch a glimpse of the school bus going through the village and realize how long I’ve been. Things to do and all that………. So I rush back up the lane, grab a quick five minutes to write this blog and then I’ll shimmy through the house with the Dyson and cut some flowers for mum’s bedside table, ready for her arrival at 6.30pm.

Tomorrow I’ve got a checkup at the Royal Free Hospital in London and will be on the 7am train so it’ll be a fairly early night tonight for a 5.15am get-up. I won’t be back ‘til 8ish and mum has said she’d like to stay tomorrow too – I’m not home alone too much, after all!!

I’ll leave you all now and probably won’t get to catch up on your blogs until Friday. But before I go, I’m going to copy an email I had today from a friend called “Beautifully Stated”. It’s about life and I think it does sum it up pretty well. Until Friday, then…….. And don’t drink all the wine while I’m gone!!xx

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

12 comments:

Chris Stovell said...

Hi Woozle! Just getting familiar with the new site. Have a good time see you again soon.

DevonLife said...

Good luck at The Royal Free. That's three of us bloggers in London tomorrow, Chickenix would be furious!

Pipany said...

Oh Woozle, that's lovely. I hope all goes well tomorrow and have a great time with your mum - thinking of you xx

Un Peu Loufoque said...

bon chance at the Hospital.I tried those leads on our labs when pups but they ran so fast it was like trying to reel in a whale ! I was dragged in their wake!

countrymousie said...

Good luck tomorrow - GOH in London tomorrow - eldest son's birthday - so a boys night out.Good luck. I too have checkups with my cardiologist and neurologist tomorrow but locally thank goodness. Im doing good now though I think. Its always very stressful isnt it going for check ups. Best wishes - mousie

Exmoorjane said...

Asbo sends love to the three....how fabulous to be able to see proper pictures at last - I could never quite see them on the other site (eyes need a checkup!!)
Having a lovely time catching up on everyone here..... Hope London treats you well.
jxxxx

Aunt-Eunice said...

Wise words. Lovely photos.

Withy Brook said...

Lovely camera pics and equally lovely word pic. Took me back to takeing too many dogs at once on leads! You seem to have got it sussed though.
Shall be thinking of you tomorrow. Luv Rho

ellen said...

I "wandered" in to your lovely spot today. I'm not sure how I got there, but I am glad.
I particularly enjoyed reading about the Dymock Poets. I had never heard of them, but will find much to read up on I am sure. I am familiar with Robert Frost, but never knew that he spent time in England. I did remember Rupert Brooke's poem...always makes me teary-eyed.
Thanks, I'll be back.

Fennie said...

Absolutely true. Hope the day went OK.

lixtroll said...

Matron is visiting again with an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

The chat-room is experiencing problems with overloading which we think is causing it to be marked as SPAM, which is in effect locking us all out :-

So in the mean time: each day please look out for the post called ANNOUNCE NEW BLOGS HERE and put your announcements in as comments on that post.

This will still leave space for one personal post per person which we can all comment on.

This is purely a temporary measure, we are keen to get the chatroom back to the weird and wonderful way it was going before - we are looking into various options at the moment (by the way, have you noticed that option is an anagram of potion) - WesterWitch! put down that cauldron!

Posie said...

Wow, the end was sooo true, must try and stick to that wisdom. Hope all went well at the Royal Free, used to often pass it when I lived in London.