Walking the Fields with Winston + First Bread Oven Trial

 When I lost the use of my laptop computer I decided to embrace the change and make good use of the time I would normally have spent online.  Extra dog walks, lots of reading, a little extra cleaning (that one didn't last long) but the reading and walking were enjoyable.

Now that the computer has been restored and secured things are almost back to normal.  Almost, but not quite.  The extra dog walks are here to stay.  Winston is now old enough to be able to do 35-40 minute walks which means that he is able to come on some of my favourite walks along farm tracks, and old rights of way.  

One particular route is still out of the question because he can't jump over the stile and there is no dog-friendly alternative offered.  He is not a particularly agile dog and I don't want to encourage him to jump over gates or fences anyway, lest he take it into his doggy head to set off on an adventure following the cats into the field around the house.

Once we get home he has a quick rub down followed by a quarter of an hour in his crate, while I sort myself out and catch up with jobs, feed the cats, etc.  Then he takes up his favourite sleeping position and is soon snoring.

The bread oven is finally complete and has been fired up a couple of times.

Once the correct temperature reached, the ash is swept out and the bread quickly popped in.  Today's recipe was for a milk bread, it rises well and keeps nice and moist for several days.  One for the pantry, one for the freezer.

Unfortunately, the oven didn't retain the required temperature for quite long enough, so I had to pull out the loaves and finish them off in a hot fan oven for an extra ten minutes.  Almost there, but not quite.  Still, I like a challenge.

The bread is excellent, I couldn't resist cutting off a crust and having a nibble.

This photograph was our morning walk,

and this one, our afternoon.  Lots of space and plenty of good sniffing time.  Winston is still able to fit into Toby One and Toby Too's old harness at the moment.  It won't be too long before he needs a larger one though.   He is built on a much bigger scale.

Wishing you all well,

Elaine

Computer Issues

 Hello Everyone,

At the moment I am having serious computer issues.  These problems seem to be beyond home fixes, so the computer has to be taken to our local computer guru, fingers crossed he can fix the issues.

Apologies for not being able to finish responding to comments on my previous post.

Back soon...I hope.

Elaine

How I Spent the Summer Holidays (!)

Hello Everyone,

Where have I been?  

Nowhere.  

I just stepped away from blogging and social media for a while because I couldn't quite trust myself to be sufficiently restrained in my comments about our glorious leader and his fabulous front benchers.    (Don't want to get myself arrested for hate thoughts or speech, could lead to me serving more time in prison than if I committed a real crime.)   

I have spent most of my time with young pup Winston.  His tummy troubles were persistent and reached a point where the vets wanted to do x-rays and various tests.  I decided to try and fix the problem without frightening him with all those procedures.  He wasn't in pain or losing weight, so I tackled it with common sense and a really restricted diet, plenty of water, etc.  I also continued with the probiotic pastes (several tubes were used) slippery elm bark and German peat mixed in with his food.  Many thanks to the people who suggested them, they really helped.

Once I got him stabilised I gradually stopped the bark, peat and probiotics, one at a time, so I could see if there was a relapse.  

I am glad to say that he has been off all 'medications' and problem-free for the last two or three weeks.  Success, and much relief.  

The main problem I am left with is that he is still on a mission to eat anything he comes across.  Just this last week I have had to wrangle a flattened squirrel corpse out of his mouth, a squashed frog, conkers, acorns and assorted types of poop - cat, hedgehog, goose - he doesn't mind, they all taste wonderful, apparently.

Then we have the greenery - and here in the countryside we are surrounded by tempting greens, even at this time of year.  

I love him to bits but I do wish he didn't have such a strong death wish.  I have to take him into the garden on his lead every time he needs to pay a visit because he is a demon for finding potential trouble.  He has an enormous mouth with elastic cheek pouches, very handy for tucking away his contraband until he thinks he can munch in peace.  Fortunately he is an amiable chap and takes it in good spirit.

He will be six months old at the end of the week and is now capable of doing some slightly more adventurous walks although it will be a while before it would be sensible to let him do my favourite three mile walk.  He is getting there.

I wouldn't swap him for the world but it has taken a huge amount of time and energy to keep him safe and well!

Meanwhile:

Apples have been picked and stored, where appropriate.  The quince trees are laden and the fruit is ripe and ready to go.  So far I have been adding them to apple pies and cakes, but I must get some bottles of quince vinegar brewed and perhaps a batch or two of membrillo.  The rest can go out on the lane, so that people can help themselves.  Much better that, than having them go to waste or composting them.

Elderberries were picked and turned into elderberry rob, ready for using through the winter to ward off sore throats and colds.  Blackcurrants and plums were picked and are in the freezer ready for some winter puddings.

Pretty much everything in the vegetable garden was a disappointment, not that I would have had time to process any glut of vegetables anyway.

I have attended a couple of coffee mornings and read a lot of library books, as well as some I selected from the shelves in the village hall.

Nothing thrilling or exciting, just normal life.  The perfect antidote to all the trouble and chaos, the corruption and deceit in the world.

The bread oven is almost complete and will soon be put into action.  Watch this space.  No doubt there will be some spectacular failures, but I will enjoy the challenge.

I hope you have all found yourselves enjoying life in your own way.

The Blue and the Dim and the Dark

Winston's tummy problems have meant that during the dark hours I prowl around the gardens with him and the cats in tow.  We often hear assorted owls calling and the barking of a muntjac deer but it is the night skies which have enthralled me.

From deep within the memory banks I found myself remembering a poem by W Yeats.

Heavens' embroidered cloths

Enwrought with golden and silver light

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half light

Some nights have been deepest indigo, others much lighter.  Walking in the dark, with only the animals for company, has been a marvellous way to put the madness of this world into perspective.   

Last night I stumbled out of bed to check up on Winston.  He was quite contentedly sleeping in his crate, but on hearing me he lifted his head and didn't bother to get to his feet to be let out.  I could almost hear him say 'go back to bed, mum.'  

So I did.   I must admit that I felt a slight twinge of regret at not viewing the night sky but I rejoiced in the thought of my bed and some more sleep.

He is such a sane and sensible young pup, given to a little silliness, but generally a Mr Sobersides and very affectionate.

Here he is this morning, I notice he has snaffled a pair of my socks.  He has form for this, he doesn't chew them but he does like to hold them in his mouth. 

As Fussy as a Dog with Two Tails + Bread Oven Progress

 I have had to write this post so many times, I keep drifting off into commentary on my views about the dangerous direction this country is being 'steired' in.  No use airing my thoughts here, so I shall redirect my thoughts to life with Winston.

I hardly dare say that last night was a good night.  Good in the sense that although I got up twice in the night to check to give him the opportunity to go outside, his bedding was clean for the first time in several nights.  The signs are good...

He had an excellent day yesterday, and was beside himself with delight when Tina, our friend and neighbour, the woman who bred him, called in for a visit.  As soon as she parked up and opened her car door to call out a greeting, he was up at the gate with his tail wagging madly as he stood on tip toes prancing along to get a better view.

He was, as my father would have said, "... as fussy as a dog with two tails."  I had forgotten about that expression but it was certainly apt for Winston's delight.  Tina was delighted to see him and was especially pleased that he hadn't forgotten her.

She took this photograph of Winston (me in the background, trying to keep out of camera shot!) so that she could post in to show the owners of the other eight puppies from the litter (Tina kept the tenth puppy for herself).   It shows just how much he has grown despite his tummy troubles.

The cushion he is lying on is actually his old bed.  It is far too small for him now but he still tries to cram himself in there and ignores his larger bed.  One day I will make it disappear but for now we pretend it is just a big cushion.  

At the moment he is taking a special paste, twice a day, and I am feeding him on half his normal food, mixed with some special gastrointestinal puppy food.  So far, so good.

This morning he was obviously feeling great so I walked him down to the railway bridge and then took him into the barley field and down as far as the second field.  He loved it, so did I.  It took me right back to the two decades I have spent doing just that walk with my other dogs - Pip, Toby, Ned, and Toby Too.  It felt right and we both enjoyed it.

We got back home just before 6am and the lane was very quiet, so quiet that I saw something I have never seen before, a live badger.  This one just popped out of the field and crossed into the woodland over the road.  Not sure who was the most surprised, Winston, or me.

I was hoping to take him out for another little session in the field but the weather has turned rather wet, it is teeming with rain, so that won't be happening for a while.

The bread oven is coming together, great progress has been made but there is still a way to go.

Winston is set for a whole other adventure this weekend as my three grandsons who live in London are coming up to see us.  They have a red Labrador of their own, along with a grey French Bulldog...only the boys and their parents are visiting though.  Phew!  Thank goodness for that.

Village Life: Village Show and Puppy Dog Trials

 

The Village Show took place last weekend.    I will admit that I was rather less than enthusiastic about entering compared to previous years, mainly because I have been so tired from the demands of life with the dear and wonderful Winston.  More of him later.

I had planned to enter a Victoria Sponge, nice and simple, what could go wrong?  Nothing, until I made a rubbish job of turning the second half out of the baking tin.  Disaster! It broke into so many pieces that it was impossible to stick it back together.  No time/energy to make another.

Scones, then.

Fruit scones and then a batch of triple chocolate scones, just for fun and because they are unusual.  I was so caught up in following the recipe for the chocolate scones that the fruit scones were left in the oven for far too long.  They looked good, but I thought they would probably be more like rock cakes. 

The chocolate scones looked wonderfully decadent although rather large.  No idea what they tasted like because they contained quite a lot of cocoa powder and that is something which triggers migraines in me.  I drizzled them with a top coating of chocolate and entered them anyway.  Let the judges find out at their taste test.

The sour cream bread loaf was a little better, not quite as puffed up as normal, but it still looked reasonable.

Three entries would have to do for the Baking classes.

Produce classes were out of the question, because we have had a really bad year, everything is either late or just not up to standard.  Fresh garden herbs and garden flower arrangement, then.

As you can see, I am just a cut and squish into the vase type or arranger, no finesse at all!  I don't have the patience to actually 'arrange'.

The flowers got bunged into an old pot and the herbs I simply tied with string to turn them into the requisite bunch.

The herbs, a huge variety from all around the garden, the smell was simply wonderful.

Done!  

A quick trip down to the hall to fill in the entry forms, hand over my money and then I had time to  have a quick yarn with everyone and a sneaky peek at the opposition!  At 11am the hall had to be cleared ready for the judges to do their work.

Just as I was about to return to see how badly I had done, we got the opportunity to have a video call to see our lovely little grandson, William.  No contest.  William wins every time.

Later in the afternoon we had a surprise visitor bearing my vase, some award certificates and a plaque.  To say I was stunned is an understatement.  I won first and second place with the scones, first with the bread loaf, first with the summer arrangement of flowers and a first for the bunch of herbs.  The plaque was for best in show for one of the categories - either the baking or the flowers/herbs section.  I haven't checked.  

Winston has had another bout of ill health.  A very tricky tummy.  No need for details, but it has meant a huge amount of vigilance and cleaning up, despite getting up to let him outside every couple of hours through the night.

I followed all the advice, he would seem to recover, then the problem would come back.  After almost a week of this we decided that another trip to the vet was required - quite tricky to arrange given the state of his digestive tract.   

That was three days ago and, touch wood, things are calming down.  I may even risk only letting him out once tonight...still debating that one.

We still don't know what caused the problems, could be something he ate, some green stuff snatched and gobbled which irritated his tummy, perhaps, or it could just be the hotter weather, or an allergy.  For now, all is almost well and I am thankful.

A New Arrival, the Village Show, and Winston

 Young Master William came into this world just one week ago.  His journey was a traumatic one, but mother and son are both doing really well and are now back home.  Home is Shanghai, for now.  

They may be many thousands of miles away but thanks to modern technology we are able to keep in close contact and have lots of photographs of him.  He has a wonderful head of jet black hair and weighed in at over 8lbs, a very handsome young man.

When his father, my youngest child, was born things were very different.  Telephone calls were very expensive and quite difficult to arrange to Saudi Arabia, which is where my husband was working at the time.  We had one short call once a week, if available.  Jonathan was several days old before my husband knew he had been born and six weeks old before he came home and saw him.   Thank goodness things are different now.

Talking of young men, Winston is also thriving and has certainly brought a new energy to this place.  It would be true to say that my husband is as fond of him as I am, and that certainly couldn't be said of my other dogs.  I think he has finally got the puppy he didn't know he had always wanted.

I am  in slight panic mode, the village show is on Saturday.  So far all I have prepared is a fruit loaf.  Time, and Winston, permitting I will bake a loaf of bread, a Victoria Sandwich and a couple of batches of scones so they can go into the auction later to raise funds for the village hall.

As I type this Winston is fast asleep in a corner by the door, he is a restless sleeper and migrates from bed, to dog chair, to floor, all the time staying virtually asleep, then snoring deeply immediately he has found his new position.  At night he sleeps in his crate and is perfectly happy to do so, which is just as well given the restless nature of his daytime naps.

A Small Dose of Village Life and Miss Read

 Last night the heavens opened and Lincolnshire got soaked.  The back garden drainage is rather poor (clay soil) so this morning when Winston dashed out, he got quite a surprise to find the whole lot was under an inch or two of water, with just a few 'dry' islands.  He wasn't quite sure what to do, until necessity spurred him on.  

I almost decided not to bother going up to the village coffee morning but in the end I pulled on my trusty Wellies and a raincoat then plodged up the road.  I will admit to enjoying myself, the water was still cascading down the road in places and I took childish delight in jumping in some of the puddles and then cleaning my boots off in the flowing water.  Luckily there was no traffic, no one to witness this silly (but most enjoyable) behaviour.

By the time I reached the village I was back to normal, sane, sensible.  Boring.

Coffee, tea, cake, raffle and plenty of chatter.  

I enjoyed a good long chat with Miss Read, she is 93 years old now and still as sharp as a tack.  Her eyesight is failing rather badly and she can no longer read or paint but she can knit straightforward things.  She knits blankets, lots of blankets.   When she has a big pile of them they are donated to care homes, charities and anywhere there is a need.

The village show will take place in less than a fortnight.  Eeek!   We may have some decent tomatoes then and the cucumbers are ripening but other than that our crops are pretty dismal this year, so I don't think we will be entering many things in Produce.

Perhaps a bit of baking, just to show willing.  So different from previous years when the show really got us fired up and entering as many classes as we could manage.   I hope it is well supported, I know from past experience just how much work goes into organising it.

Winston has lots of toys but his favourite items are a stick which he carries around with him, an old woollen sock which he loves to play tug with, and the old baby bath.  He uses this for drinking, so much nicer than his water bowl, apparently, and for washing his feet -  makes the water much more to his taste.

Enough of my babbling.  I have a young pup wanting some attention.  Time to clip on his lead and take him around Owl Wood.  Grandson No 1 has strimmed us a pathway around and through there.  Winston thinks it is the most exciting thing ever, so many scents, sounds, distractions.  He loves it. 

Later:

I love it too.  It is a short walk, perfect for a pup of his age but, because he gets sensory overload, he is totally worn out when we reach home.  Nap time for him, peace and some time to catch up on things for me.

The last few weeks have been busy.   Looking after Winston has drastically reduced the amount of time I am able to spend on my laptop, so no time for reading your blog posts, sorry.  Luckily, I have found that I can keep a reasonably close eye on him while reading a book - years of practice have gone into that!  It is how I have retained some of my sanity, although, thinking about the jumping into puddles...

Don't Forget to Wash Behind Your Ears

 When a young puppy gets a little too frisky, or too big for his boots, there is only one thing to be done.  Calm him down by flinging yourself on the ground and have a jolly good wash. 

This was the lesson Sparky chose to teach Winston this morning.

He couldn't believe his eyes.  He was stopped in his tracks and simply stood and watched her, until she decided that she was clean enough and he learned that cats do what cats want, when they want, and puppies count for nothing.

Millie decided that she preferred to have the fence between her and the puppy, but she had a wash too.

This old fencing was hastily thrown up to help contain Winston in a manageable area once we found out just how enthusiastic he is about digging, eating anything green, muddy, or dead and decomposing.  I had to put the bricks down under the gate when I caught him shimmying underneath, just as he had seen the ginger cat do - Sparky is so slender that she simply slips through the gaps...Millie is a little more pear-shaped.

The year is rumbling on while I spend all my time with the cats and the puppy.  The village show is looming, the schedule was popped into the letterbox this week.   Eeeek!   I doubt that I will be entering many classes this year.

I noticed that the blackcurrants are large and almost ripe, so I may make some blackcurrant curd, scones and a Victoria Sponge Cake.   Perhaps a loaf of bread, we will see.

As to the vegetable categories - the signs are not good in the vegetable garden.  Nothing seems to be doing well.  I guess some years are like that and little Winston has definitely diverted our attention away from our normal routines.

He is worth every moment.  

He is the most adorable and cheeky little chap.  

He would be perfect, if I could just find a way to stop him trying to eat everything in the garden.  🐶👮

Drying Octopuses on my Washing Line

 I was removing the washing from my line and thought of you Linda, aka local-kiwi-alien.   Who would have thought that I, too, would have to dry octopuses on my washing line.  All thanks to young puppy Winston, of course.   He is particularly fond of the green one, it gets dragged all around the garden with him.  Those tentacles also come in handy for a game of tug-of-war.

I indulge him.  He has been a poorly boy.  The last week has been something of a nightmare, for him and for me.  Winston developed cystitis, and needed, or felt that he needed, to be let outside every couple of minutes.  I won't go into the details.

A couple of visits to the vets, two injections and a daily dose of anti-inflammatory and painkillers and he is now feeling much better.  The only amusing part of it was being asked to collect a sample of his urine, not easy when all that was coming out was dribbles!   I managed to lull him to sleep and by some miracle I was able to keep him asleep for over an hour, by which time he was more than ready to dash outside.

This morning he is so much brighter, simply weeing for Lincolnshire, rather than for England.  He is calmer, so am I, now that we are not having to dash outside quite so often.  His appetite has returned and he is back to being able to play and enjoy all those puppy games again.

I  have not had time to read blogs, so apologies.  My whole focus has been on this little chap.  Even old Sparky was concerned about him and took time out of her busy schedule (mouse/rabbit hunting) to spend time with him.  Yesterday I found Winston fast asleep in the porch with Sparky sitting on the bench just above, watching over him with a benevolent eye.  

How to Lose Weight without Dieting

Lose weight without dieting?  

How is that possible?  

Get yourself a puppy!

Sweet, cuddly, adorable?   Absolutely!  

My little tyke is all of those things, but he is also hell-bent on trying to kill himself.  

  

He snatches at daisies, lavender, buttercups and, generally, any flowers he can reach.  He is also rather partial to munching on big chunks of moss, snatching up twigs, sticks, large pebbles, small pebbles,  pheasant droppings, hedgehog poop and tiny fallen apples, cat litter...to name but a few forbidden delights. 

The cats have been very clever.  They spent the first few days steering clear of him at all times, however, they simply observed.    Then they took action, deliberately taunting him, secure in the knowledge that they can simply turn around and hiss angrily at him, or jump out of reach.  This stops him in his tracks and he romps back to me.

Everything Winston does is done at pace, of course!  So I have spent much of the last couple of weeks charging around in hot pursuit, ready to scoop him up to remove him from danger.  

I have begun training him and he is very receptive, except when he is not!  

He takes several naps throughout the day - for which I am truly thankful, for young Winston has turned our peaceful lives upside down.  The gardens and the house have all been zoned into accessible/safe-ish areas.  Thank goodness we have internal stable doors for when the cats require feeding, but Winston is awake and on the prowl.  

'See it, eat it!' is his motto.

Organised chaos.  Long days and short nights.  My house and garden are constantly evolving as we strive to make them reasonably puppy-safe.     Luckily, he is easily distracted by a squeaky toy, or a thrown ball.  But, he doesn't forget, he goes back for more fun later.  

I adore the little chap, but I am worn out.  

Most of it is down to Winston, but there have been other things going on at the same time - our dear DiL, MingMing, was in hospital in Shanghai for a week.   Thankfully, all is well, but it was a worrying time.  At the same time, our oldest grandson has been/is doing his GCSE exams, which means that often a lift to/from school is necessary.   The school bus is generally pretty good, but it doesn't always arrive on time and no one needs the extra stress of that before an examination.

As for the title of this post - well, Winston has been with us a little under three weeks and I have shed half a stone.  An unexpected benefit, but I'll take that.

His latest bit of mischief?  The safest area of the garden (newly fenced, especially for him) also happens to contain the old hurdy-gurdy washing line, a horrible contraption, but useful.  This morning just after I had pegged out a wash load, young Mr Winston came along and pulled one or two of the longer articles off the line.

Another job to add to the 'To Do' list.  Buy a new washing line and site it in another area of the garden, out of Winston's reach.    Meanwhile, the vegetable beds have now all been enclosed in new fencing because Winston has show a great desire to get stuck into them.  The polytunnel has some old fly-screen doors pressed back into use to act like stable doors and prevent him from getting in and poisoning himself with the tomato plants, etc.

He keeps us on our toes!

I haven't had any time to read your blog posts or do any of my usual internet reading.  This post has been typed up over several days, so apologies if it is a complete mess.  No time to correct anything.  Winston is finally asleep and I need to get some food organised for when the school bus brings the grandchildren home.

Bye for now.

There is a Very Good Reason why Old People Shoudn't Have Babies...

 ...or take on young puppies.  

They are exhausting!  Really exhausting.  Routine life goes out of the window.

Yes, they are adorable bundles of fun but they chew carpets, rugs, furniture, fingers and clothes.  All with great enthusiasm and affection, even when they accidently draw blood.  Then there is the over enthusiastic gardening.  Not digging, yet.  Just grabbing any foliage, flowers or moss, along with a side-serving of bird poo, if available.  The careering around the garden, oblivious to the danger of a drop onto the paving slabs, or the danger of squeezing into a narrow gap by the wall.  

They also get between, in front, just behind and to the side of your feet.  Every footstep has to be monitored.  One develops a kind of 'puppy walk' widely spaced feet and constant scanning!  It looks weird, but it does work.  Very necessary when one is older.  Last thing we need is a tumble, or an injured puppy.

Winston was due to move in here on Sunday morning, but in the event he came at around 5pm on Saturday.  He is an amazing ball of energy who keeps on going, until he suddenly stops.  Snooze time.  Luckily he has plenty of naps.  I couldn't cope otherwise! 

Once he gets to sleep I spend time working with the old cats.  They are coming round.  Millie is still not impressed, but she is back in her favourite high-level spots and demanding food, special food because she is so traumatised.  Nice try Millie!  

Sparky has assessed the little chap, decided that he is a bit of a nuisance, but not a threat.  She has taken over the porch and insists on being fed out there, luckily it is quite large and has a very long window sill.  Between that, and the bench seat at the end, she is quite happy.  She has her own entrance, fresh air, a great view of the bird activity in the garden and access to all her facilities.  If she and Winston happen to come face to face in the garden, she stands her ground and he leaves her alone.

It has gone better than expected.  The length of my day has expanded, my knees have callouses from crawling around the floor playing with Winston,   I am grubby and worn out, but all my animals are happy and my husband is still getting fed homemade food.  The house even gets an occasional hoover - mainly because I am determined that the puppy will become used to all the normal household appliances, doorbells, telephones, and so on.

He is crate trained now and sleeps in it from 10.30pm until around 4.30-4.45am, when I let him out to do the necessary in the garden.  So far, so good.    He also takes daytime naps in there. It is his special place.

It is early days, but he is a delight.  Yes he has slightly weak back legs, but the vet has checked him over and is not concerned.  Yes he is rather brighter than my usual boys, so bright that I should be putting his name down for a good school, were he human.  Luckily he is not. 

Yes, our nice peaceful life has been radically changed, our routine totally trashed.  That is a good thing.  It is too easy to become set in our ways.  A little shake-up now and then is probably good for us.

Finished with Dogs Forever

 Parsonage Cottage had a visitor today, Winston.   

My first problem was trying to pick him out from the little gang of ten puppies.  He is a little smaller, but when you have ten very enthusiastic, almost identical, puppies standing on their back legs wagging their tails, it is really difficult.

I failed with my first pick, but got it right with the second.  His mother came over and gave me a jolly good sniff, demanded a little bit of attention and then walked off.  She seemed quite happy that I was borrowing one of her boys.

Winston toddled around the kitchen, boot room and conservatory sniffing everything before settling down and having a play with his new toys.  He may be a little smaller than the others, a little weaker, but he seems quite a bright little thing and quickly learnt the difference in my tone from gentle disapproval to happy approval with his choice of chewing material.

Millie, the ginger cat, spotted the little invader.  She didn't hiss, but she did fluff up to twice her normal size then kept peering at the little puppy who looks so much like herself.  She couldn't decide what to make of him so she took to her favourite bed up on top of a sideboard, where she could spy on him. 

Sparky was disgusted.  She simply stalked off, didn't even bother to fluff herself up.  No doubt she had thought we had finished with dogs forever.  She came home when she was hungry, so did Millie.  The signs are good. 

Winston tucked into his lunch with great appetite and would have eaten more, had there been any.   I took him back outside for a few minutes of exploration.   We have a daisy sprinkled lawn and I ended up singing "Don't, don't, don't eat the daisies..." as I moved him on to a section which is free from flowers.    Sorry, Winston, the sooner you learn that I have a song for most occasions...

Back inside and the need for another nap came upon him.   We had one more play session then it was time to take him home.  He had been with us for three and a half hours.  

When I put him back into the outdoor pen with his brothers and sisters they all romped over and gave him a good sniffing.   He took it well.     The short time he had been away from them seemed to have given him more confidence.   He simply snatched up a few blades of grass and trotted around with them hanging out of his mouth, with the others in hot pursuit, they wanted that grass!  

The runt had become the leader.  It was so funny.

This is a photograph of him tonight, back with his mum (not in the photograph) and having a nap away from his livelier family. 

Eight o'clock on Sunday morning is when he moves into this place.  He will be the first one to leave home.  Most of the others will be collected later that day.  

In other news, the bread oven is progressing very nicely.  It should be ready for action in a couple of weeks, so expect there to be either biblical rain, or a heatwave as I give it some trial firings.  😉

Capturing the Essence

 A few years ago I had great fun trying to recreate the covers of some of my cookery books.   You could say that I had too much time on my hands, all I know is that I had a lot of fun.  

I posted one or two here, a long time ago.   

I was trying to capture the essence of the cover, rather than slavishly recreating them.  Some are more successful than others.  They were all fun, some of the simplest ones were the most difficult to capture.

I quite liked the way this one turned out, just a preserving pan, a cloth, garlic cloves, an old tankard and the look was there.

I kept this one simple.

This one was photographed outside against a hedge because I couldn't magic up a house lookalike.

I used one of Frankie's dolls to do this little bit of fun.

I 

I had to abandon the little wicker basket for this one, it was impossible to fit it in without obscuring the book cover.  I quite liked the result though.  It was inspired by some large plums in the fruit bowl.

I had a large quantity of red apples, padded my largest soup pan then put apples near the top, and the job was done, once I had found the right place to position it in order to capture the wooden surface.

I'm not quite sure where I was going with this one, but I quite like it.

Impossible to recreate this cover, so I gathered up all things mustard and hoped for the best.

Once again the cover was impossible to recreate, so I just threw in a few country elements.

The same with this one, just Mr Fox and a hunting horn.

I remember doing this one, it was ridiculously difficult trying to prop the book at the correct angle without anything else showing, then the lighthouse wouldn't sit correctly.  I was quite pleased in the end.

This one came about when I had been having fun with baking some fancy rolls.  Out came my picnic basket, pile in the rolls.  Job done!

Sparky decided to assist on this one.  I am not sure that I ever managed to finish this particular photo shoot.  

No, I haven't taken up the crazy suggestion of eating insects, but I did my best to extend the cover, using a silk scarf from my collection.  It does a reasonable job, I think.

I don't suppose I will do any more, that phase has passed.  It was fun while it lasted, and it has been fun for me to look back at the nonsense my brain comes up with.   My head is a restless place!

Walkies with Winston

 This area is perfect for walking.  

Of course I have my favourite routes, but I also like to mix things up a bit.  Sometimes I stick to tracks through and around the local farms, at others I venture out to neighbouring villages and along the lanes.

A quick visit to the church reminded me that I still haven't been up there with my polish and dusters.  Add it to the to-do list.  Somehow I find the thought of dusting and polishing the pews and rails rather more appealing than doing my own housework.

Country lanes and country cottages.   Always beautiful, but a spot of sunshine and warmth makes them even more so.

I always stop and have a chat with any of the livestock which takes an interest.  This splendid new gate has only recently taken the place of a very old and decrepit railway gate strung with barbed wire.  Just as well, the bull is also in this field, and he is a beautiful and very powerful beast.  He was too far over the field for me to be able to photograph him.

Splendid walking, even on the cloudier days.  I can't wait to eventually be able to share these walks with Winston.  It will take quite a while, but in time he should be enjoying them as much as I do.

Meanwhile, this was him yesterday.

I love that serious little face but I really hope to be able to put a smile on it soon.  Those little legs need to grow and firm up before he is ready to tackle a real walk.  Owl Wood and the gardens will be fine for quite a while. 

He comes from a long line of gun dogs, that's not what lies ahead for Winston.  I think that is just as well, he really is the runt of the litter, a little less strong, etc.  Perfect for being my walking companion, rather than a working dog.

Sunday is the day he comes home.  

A Cup of Parsonage Soup

 No, not a recipe.  Just listing some of the ingredients which have made me so busy for the last few days..

I have made several visits to see the puppy, of course.  Added to which, I have spent far too much time looking at the extraordinarily long list of puppies' requirements.  Goodness me.  If one were to follow those lists it would be almost as expensive as preparing to welcome a first baby.  

I have managed to mow all the lawns again, and done some seriously boring housework.  No more need be said about that.

Granddaughter, Frankie, had a stall at the annual plant sale of a local church, so we went along and made some purchases from her.  No family discount, apparently business is business!

I hasten to add that we didn't ask for any discount, she has been doing these plant sales, as well as having a plant table outside the house, as a way to raise money for when she is old enough to undertake a World Challenge.  She has done remarkably well so far.  

The local church is the one Frankie attended Sunday School for many years.    She is always very comfortable at events here.  I think she enjoyed it more than ever this year because she had just come home from a school trip to France.  She has discovered that travelling is wonderful, but home is a great place to come back to.

We all got the most enormous bear-hugs and a lengthy discourse on her time away.  France was fine but she didn't like all the school work they had to do, the food was okay, but home cooked is better.  Only five people were up for trying the snails and frogs legs, one of that number was Frankie, of course.  Mussels taste much nicer was her opinion, though whether she was referring to the snails or the frogs, I don't know.  

Frankie has never been short on confidence, but she seems even more self-assured and more mature.  Appreciative of even the little things we do.  How long will it last? 😇

I also visited an exhibition which looked at the animal myths in the religions of the First Nations and pre-Columbian culture of the Americas.  Fascinating stuff, but difficult to get any good photographs.

If memory serves me, this is a clay figure, possibly 9th Century, from the Honduras.  

A llama bone carving,

 900 bce, Chavin Culture Peru.

A Navajo Tree of Life Rug, 20th Century.

I have been working on my painting, when Sparky allows me access to my work table.  She has ignored it for weeks but as soon as I began putting out my paints and setting things up for painting, she decided that it was the place to be.  Not only that, it was imperative that she streeeeeeeeeeeeetch right out, almost the full length of the table...

She won.  I went away and got on with other jobs.  She got bored and went outside.  I got to do a little painting.  Honestly, cats!