Happy Mother’s Day and all that. Bit of an odd day for me if I’m honest. For many reasons. Not least the fact it’s the second without my Mum. I kinda miss the challenge of finding a suitable card.

I get the sentiment of Mother’s Day. I find it sad that we have to have a day to celebrate motherhood or anything else for that matter. I wish we appreciated the wonders of life every day.

After contemplating over my coffee, I decide to spend the day with my unorthodox family. First up I took Bert out for a long walk. Then cuddles with the kittens in the sunshine. Finally a lovely long hack on Buddy.

Bert and Buddy were definitely feeling the positive effects of yesterday’s chiro treatment as they were both full of it!

Either that or it was the wind up their tails. Whatever it was they both made me laugh with their antics. Bert ears flapping. Buddy cantering sideways.

So far, no cards, flowers or other presents from my boys. I But they did all add to my day…

After my chiro check yesterday, today it was Buddy and Bert’s turn. I needed a few large adjustments, so I was interested to see what my boys needed.

It was Bert’s first chiro check! Buddy is an old hand at it, but still likes to make his feelings known on the matter. Thankfully Jess has been treating him a long time so knows what he’s like. She was impressed with how he’s wintered. He had a few tight spots, but overall he was in fine form.

Neither of us were sure how Bert would be. He’s pretty wiggly at the best of times. He was happily camping out in my lorry so he had his adjustments in there. It was a bit cramped, we made it work. Lots of food helped too. He needed a little straightening out. Understandable when he’s so wiggly.

Once he got what was happens, he really settled into it. And enjoyed it overall. Bit like his big brother…

Today was my last peopling before the clinic moved to its new location. It was chaos trying to pack, tidy and clean between clients.

We worked out that the clinic has been there nearly 20 years. That’s a lot of stuff to sort!

It’s a full circle moment for me as the clinic is moving to the building that I worked in when I first moved to Norwich.

It’ll be really odd going to a different location. It’ll make popping into the city easier. Not that it was far before.

I found this while I was clearing up. After my swirly brain of yesterday, this helped ground me again. Life is pretty simple really. Sadly we have a habit of making it very complicated. These words are ones to adopt me thinks…

It wasn’t just the wind that has sent things swirling. My brain has been on one today, with random thoughts swirling about all over the place.

There’s so much negativity and horrific stuff in the world right now. It’s hard to know what to think about anything.

It makes you feel so powerless. How can we stop it? We are slowly destroying ourselves. No other species does that. Well maybe bacteria. Says a lot. We are destroying our society, destroying our environment, poisoning our water and food sources. It’s madness when you look at it. It makes my head hurt.

And for what? Ideology? Greed? Who knows anymore. Who knows what to believe anymore either. There’s a lot of opinions and few facts out there.

I was getting myself wound up about it all. So I went and walked my dog (while I am still allowed to have one) and rode my horse (while I can still afford one).

Mother Nature did her stuff. I came back windswept and interesting! The wind was the ‘stop you in your tracks’ type. So that blew some of my thoughts away…

Bert loves the wind. He was bouncing around, ears flapping, tail wagging. Buddy, not so much today. He was bouncing around too, ears twitching, tail all over the place. One thing I’ll say for a dressage saddle, it keeps you in place. There were a few ‘jump to the centre line’ moments.

The wind is still howling. The world is still turning. Whatever happens, I will be OK. I’m doing my best to control the controllables. Wish me luck…!

Tonight was Retro Night at Carrow Road. Wasn’t totally sure what to expect. Did it mean 80s or 2000s? Retro to me could be rather different to others. Guess it depends on your age.

I was rather surprised to see the return of Splat the Cat. I thought that costume was long gone. Bit sad they didn’t ask the Lemur to appear. But there you go.

I had many, many happy years prancing about the pitch. It’s a very surreal chapter in my life. Not many people get to say they’ve been a mascot at a Premier League, Championship and League One club. Norwich bounced around the leagues in my years there.

This photo always makes me smile. It was taken at the Mascots Grand National. Again achievement few have. I didn’t face plant, I didn’t come last and I completed the furlong course. In a furry suit on a very hot day!

Being Aviva Lemur is something I am very proud of. Another one of those wonderful things where having a go at something really pays off and turns into something very special…

I couldn’t stand it any longer. My ‘lawn’ needed cutting. It had gotten so long in places, it was making it a challenge to find Bert’s poos. In fact, stepping on a hidden one while trying to clear another was the final straw for me.

Over the years, I’ve found some rather unpleasant things while mowing. The joys of cats leaving body parts and dead things for me. But today, I faced another challenge. Not just hidden poos, but hidden holes too. Last year, I swear Bert was part mole. This year, I feared for the mower and my ankles are both ended up in mini craters! Thankfully, we finished relatively unscathed.

As I was on a roll, I decided to edge the lawn and clear the path. All while amusing Bert by throwing his toy.

It won’t be winning any awards, but I’m pleased with the result. At least I can see the holes to fill them. I’ve been clearing the borders too. Bert has definitely helped there! So looks like I will just have to go and buy some new plants. Let’s hope Bert’s hiatus on digging continues…

Good news for a Monday! The Upgrade sailed through its MOT. Always something to celebrate in my book. So that’s both of my vehicles sorted for another year. Hurrah!

My previous experiences with MOTs haven’t always been so pleasant. I’ve had a few failures. Well quite a few actually. So it’s a rather refreshing change to have two vehicles sail through with minimal effort. Guess upgrading my car and lorry are paying dividends.

Of course we know that anything mechanical can throw me into a blind panic. That and brown envelopes. I feel like I am making progress with one at least. I had the usual expectant wait for the result. It was all too much for Bert. He crashed out while we waited.

Typically The Upgrade told me he needs an oil change this morning. It’s been a long time since I had a car fancy enough to tell me things like that!

I woke up feeling distinctly unmotivated this morning. So a long stompy walk was in order. Bert approved of that.

Then we headed into the garden for a few hours of pottering. My garden seems to have exploded while I’ve been away. My lawn really needs cutting but it was rather damp so decided to leave that to another day.

I had two little helpers while I weeded. I had a pair of robins. I’ve seen them a few times now. But today was the first time I managed to get a photo of one. They’re very bold considering Bert was playing in the border too.

I love robins. They always make me smile. And make me think of those who I’ve lost. A comforting thought.

This is a sight for sore eyes I can tell you. It’s been rather a long time since I sat behind these ears. Or it feels like it.

It felt so good to be back in the saddle. Of course, I might not be saying that tomorrow when I’m walking like John Wayne.

I’d missed Buddy while I was away. I missed mucking out too. Funny huh?! It’s my thinking time.

I had quite a lot of that when I was away. I’ve come back rejuvenated from my mini-break.
It was back to reality again though today. Thankfully not with a bump. My washing machine has been rather busy. There were a few things I needed to catch up on too.

I want to hold on to the peaceful feeling I had in Somerset, for as long as I can. Time in the saddle really helps with that. It was very peaceful on our ride.

Bert and I are finally back home. We’ve been away for 10 days all told. A lot longer than I expected. The journey back was long, but then we did do a couple of detours…

First up, we went to Martock. Don’t worry, I’d never heard of it either. It has a special connection for me though. It’s where my Grandfather (or Grampy) was born. I never met him as he died a few months before I was born. Bert is named after him. I don’t know exactly where he was born, so I had a little drive round and stopped at the church. Unfortunately it was closed so I couldn’t ask anyone.

It’s a very pretty place indeed. Lovely to check out my Somerset roots. Grampy was born in 1897. By 1901, he was in Glastonbury. Which was my next stop too…

I’d not been there before, so thought I’d detour again and check it out. It’s rather quaint. We headed up Glastonbury Tor too. There are some advantages to a puppy that still pulls on the lead. Going up was a breeze! So was the top, a very fresh one at that!

Coming down was more of a challenge. Bert just wanted to fly down the steps. I wasn’t so keen on getting a flying lesson!

Heading home, we drove past Stonehenge too. Bert’s ticking off ancient monuments as well. Does it count if you’re asleep?! Bless him, he slept most of the way home. Holidays are clearly very tiring when you’re a Baby Sprocker. One things for sure, I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.