Dimness

I was a bit scratchy today. It’s Tax Return time. Enough said huh?!

Honestly, I’m nearly 55. I should be able to do my return without a borderline panic attack. The joys of 30 years of PAYE and someone doing it for me. I think it’s the way the questions are written. I haven’t got a clue what they’re asking most of the time.

Anyway I did as much as I could (yes I phoned a friend who’s helping tomorrow) and headed to the yard for some much needed Buddy time. Bert has had to take centre stage so Buddy and the kittens have been supporting players recently. It felt good to get out on Buddy.

On my way back, I stopped at the garage to get my headlight sorted. I let them know that Bert was in the car. He had 5 people wanting to meet him and have cuddles. See, centre stage.

They all commented on how handsome he is and how calm. He wasn’t so calm this evening as he was tearing round my office and chewing my blanket. The former makes me laugh, the later made me cry.

It’s not damaged but it is the blanket I was given by my Nanna. It belonged to my Grampy. The man Bert is named after. I know it’s just a blanket, but the connection to my Mum kinda hit me. Lots of tears from me. I guess it’s going to happen. Grief is a very tricky path to navigate sometimes. But like HMRC!

Runaround

After lunging Buddy this afternoon, I thought I’d let Bert have a runaround in the indoor school too.

One of the yard dogs, Thor, came to join the fun too. There’s a considerable size difference between then and I’m not sure Thor totally knew what to make of Bert.

Bert was submissive when needed. He also jumped all over Thor. But they were so cute together. It’s a very good start to Bert’s yard induction.

When I take him out on the long line, it’s a bit like lunging a horse. He’s getting the hang of it. But Buddy is definitely easier to lunge. He doesn’t randomly change direction when he gets a good sniff…

Roll up

Somewhere in there is a lesser spotted Bert! Or more apt, a slightly wild Bert. He’s had so much fun rolling around in the blanket sofa cover. He does make me laugh. It’s also exhausting watching him bounce around the house before he crashes out.

Oh to have that much energy! I do find that the cold makes me tired. Most animals like to hibernate when it’s cold. Horses can get a bit wired by it. Thankfully Buddy was on his best behaviour today.

We had the most magical moment when a red kite flew over the arena and hovered over head. I was so transfixed, I didn’t get my phone out. The red kite is one of my favourite birds. So majestic in the sky. Seeing one always makes me smile.

Humble by nature

This was one of my Christmas presents. I’ve been looking forward to reading it. Today was the day I started it. I took my turn to bask in the sunshine in the conservatory. Just me and the kittens while Bert had a nap after our lovely walk this morning.

It makes me smile whenever I walk out on to Braydeston Hills. I’d lived in the close for over 7 years before I found out there was a footpath at the bottom. It leads out onto the most beautiful countryside. One of the more positive things that came from lockdown!

Taking Bert out there this morning was so lovely. He was such a good boy on the long line. He even sat and waited while a rather nervous dog walked by.

Sitting in the sunshine reading about Kate’s move from London to Wales really struck a chord. I can totally understand why she wanted to move to countryside. I’m definitely a country girl too…

Bird battle

So today we found out that a seagull is better than a canary! My two teams were drawn in the FA Cup so only right that I pop along to Carrow Road to watch the match. One of those lovely matches where I didn’t mind who won.

It was a bit of a one sided affair, with Brighton proving to be the much better team. Very grateful I wore my Equidry. It was rather cold. Not much opportunity to jump up and down either. I felt it might be frowned upon to celebrate Brighton’s 4 goals…

Star chart

If Bert had a star chart, he would have added a lot to it today. Not only did he ace his lorry dog training, he also completed his Puppy Pre-School. What a clever boy.

I had to take a horse to the vets in Newmarket (not Buddy). Bert came along for the outing as we didn’t know how long it would take. He sat on my friend’s lap, watching the road go by, before crashing out on her.

He waited in the lorry while the investigations took place. He went for a nice walk round the grounds. And even sat patiently in the waiting room. Before sleeping most of the way home. He was a very good boy indeed.

Then tonight, he went to his final Puppy Pre-School session. It’s making the difference in from the first session to now. Though he was still running about like Superman with a hi viz cape on. Not quite the exercise. That was to desensitise him to having stuff on. Not sure he even noticed he was wearing it!

I had a chat with one of the ‘new puppy parents’. They took a lot of comfort from hearing Bert’s progression through the weeks. They’re in the ‘we seem to have gotten a piranha that never sleeps’ stage.

Bert starts Puppy School proper on Saturday. He’s got such a good brain on him… well when he’s not distracted or over stimulated. He’s such a darling, he really is.

5 years…

Wow! I’ve just realised that I’ve been writing this blog for 5 years!

I started it as a safe space for me to talk about how I was feeling, to chart my recovery from a badly broken ankle and generally share my musings.

Has it been the roaring success I’d hoped for? No. Have I enjoyed writing it? Yes. Will I continued? Why not!

Thanks to everyone who’s commented, liked or shared it.

Here’s to the next year!

Kiwi & Sage

Well my self-imposed saddle pad ban has held firm for a while now. Then they had a sale…. And my resolve waivered.

So Buddy is the proud owner of two new saddle pads. One in Kiwi and one in Sage. In my defence. He has got a couple of pads that have seen better days. So these will replace those.

I can’t wait to put them on him. I think he’s going to look very smart indeed! Just need the weather to improve so I can actually take him somewhere now.

Ancient woods

I took Bert for a walk through some ancient woods this morning. I’d forgotten how beautiful they are. Even more beautiful in the winter sunshine.

After the grey skies, clouds and fog of the past few weeks, this made a wonderful change.

These woods used to be privately owned, but were bought with donations and put in trust to preserve them. That makes me heart swell. So much of our beautiful woodlands and countryside are being lost. Knowing this will be kept for future generations is great.

These woods were on one of my lockdown walks. It seems such a long time ago that I used to walk miles to keep my head from imploding with it all. Now I have Bert, I can see I will need to rediscover some of the routes again.

Think I might need to invest in some decent walking boots…

Working boy

Super sub was called into action today. The receptionist at the Chiro’s has been poorly, so I went in to cover the desk for her. I didn’t want to leave Bert that long, so he came with me. His first day’s work.

He was a really good boy. There’s a treatment room at the back where one of the other therapists brings her dog in. So was already set up. Bert got lots of visits and a few visitors. Bless him.

He waited patiently in the car afterwards while I got the results of my recent health check. Gold star to me it seems. The nurse was very surprised at how good my results were. For my age. That does make me laugh. She said whatever I’m doing, keep doing it!

Apparently I’m very low risk for diabetes, heart attack or stroke. Can’t say I understand it. But there were lots of positives judging by how excited the nurse was about my results. She said I’m one of the rare ones.

Bert’s crashed out now. Tough gig this working lark. And yes, he got his pay in treats of course.