Outta proportion

Bert found a stick today on our walk. He was very happy with himself. Until he tried to bring it along…

It was at least three Baby Sprockers long (the new stick measuring scale I have adopted).

Bert loves a stick. He doesn’t chew them. He kinda shreds them. He’s worked out which size he can get through the cat flap. My office looked like Edward Scissorhands had been in there after he’s brought in a particularly old one!

Then he went mad trying to eat the dustpan and brush. He does make me laugh. Even if he does mean that things take bit longer to do.

Wonderful

What a difference a day makes huh? On Tuesday, I needed my layers as I rode round Blickling. Today, I needed less. It was wonderful to be back there. In the glorious sunshine.

I’ve had a wonderful day all round. One of those days where things line up and you seem to sail through things. Lots of wonderful things happened. Nothing earth shattering, but wonderful nonetheless.

Buddy had a wonderful day out with his friend Archie. Bert had a wonderful day when he discovered my yard owners dogs’ food. Little piggy!

The after effect of that aren’t quite so wonderful. His puppy farts are off the scale! He’s even spooked himself with them. I know I shouldn’t laugh, but I think he’s disgusted himself.

Cerulean

What a blissful way to start the day. Just me, my Baby Sprocker and Mother Nature at her finest.

It’s been a glorious day. One where I seemed to have been in my own strip poker game judging by the number of layers I removed. I even took off my over-trousers and fleece. Yes it was that warm!! It’s March, right?!

I love days like this. Blue skies, bird song, fresh air in my lung, the sun on my skin, a full heart and an empty mind. It makes me rather sad that people have to be told about the benefits of being out in nature.

And the constant threat of destruction for housing, solar farms and all manner of other stuff. It makes no sense to me. With one hand there a programme to rewild and plant trees, while there’s another to destroy it.

If it was down to me, we would protect the great outdoors at all costs. The Countryside is in my heart. Always will be…

Be there

Today seems to have been sponsored by the letter B.

I headed to Black Barns for brunch with a friend. Bumped into another friend there who I was only thinking about the other day. Spooky.

Then I headed off to muck out Buddy and Belle. Before driving the Buddymobile to Blickling to meet up with a friend and her gorgeous horse. We had a blast. As we were almost back to the car park, we bumped into yet another friend walking her dogs. What a bonus!

She waited while I untacked Buddy and got Bert. We joined her for a lovely walk round the estate. He had so much fun running around with her three dogs. Bert then crashed out in the Buddymobile on the way home. In fact, he’s still snoring now.

I love days like today when you get bonuses. Sometimes you just have to be there…

5 years

Today marks 5 years since we entered lockdown. And our lives changed forever. In so many ways, it’s hard to believe it actually happened. It’s like a hazy nightmare or dream. One where you’re not sure if it did or didn’t happen.

I’m still angry, sad, bewildered, grateful and a thousand other emotions. I know others are too. A collective sense of grief for what was, what might have been and what we lost.

Have we’ve truly acknowledged the impacts of Covid? Do we actually know? I joked at the time that it was like we were in a social experiment. Given the current state of the world, I’m starting to wonder if it was.

I read a post today that really made me think. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have wanted to be making the decisions. Looking back, I’m not sure what it actually achieved. We seem to be in a worse state now than before.

I guess time will tell. History is usually written by the victors. Wonder how it will be reflected in all the chaos, scaremongering and lies…

Littermates

Bert has had the best day today. He met up with all of his brothers and sisters!

It was a high energy affair. Well what do you expect when a group of Sprockers get together. What is the collective noun for a group of Sprockers?! Maybe an energy…

First up he met his two sisters and two of his brothers at a Puppy meet up in a secure dog field. Honestly, he barely stopped zooming about. They all had such a blast.

As I was nearby, I popped into see his other brother on the way back. More zoomies ensued. How he still had energy is beside me?! Must have been the two rabbits ears he scoffed.

He’s snoring now….

Breathing space

Today has been one of those days where I took time out for me. That didn’t mean I neglected my animals of course. It just meant that I knew I needed to take a bit of time to recharge my batteries too.

I took Bert out for a walk in the sunshine this morning. He met a deer for the first time. I say met, dear Bambi was a bit startled when the Baby Sprocker came bounding over to say hello. Thankfully one of them had pretty good recall (eventually). I’ll let you guess which one.

When I got back, even though there were a million and one things I could do, I sat in the conservatory and listened to a podcast. Now it’s warming up, the conservatory is a blissful place to be. The kittens joined me and Bert so it was almost a full house.

After Puppy College and coffee with a friend, it was the Oversized Labrador’s turn to run rings round me. Literally!

One paper, it might look like I didn’t really do much. But I did what I needed to do. And that’s what counts…

Dummy

I had to pop over to get some feed for Buddy today. While I was there, I was very brave and bought Bert some goats ears (I know!!). He was very happy indeed with my choice of body parts.

I wanted to get a whistle while I was there and saw this starter pack. As a Spaniel, he loves having something in his mouth so thought the training dummy would be good.

We had a go with the whistle. He was very interested in that. He loved fetching the dummy. Unfortunately, I left him unattended with it and he’s managed to rip a bit off. Maybe he’s not destined to be a gun dog…

Equal measures

Today is one of my favourite days of the year. It’s the Spring Equinox. It’s a milestone for me every year. A sure sign that we’ve made it through the gloom of Winter and longer, warmer days are on the way.

And it was a scorcher! The Upgrade said 18 degrees. Yes, my new car tells me the temperature. The Comedy Car was devoid of this feature. So now I can actually know, rather than just going with hot or cold.

The Upgrade also has working air conditioning. Now that’s a real luxury. The Comedy Car did have AC, but it didn’t work. Rather pumped out even hotter air! Kinda defeated the object really. I got used to the windswept look from having the window open. I usually arrived slightly battered. But no more…

Buddy had his own AC today. A naked day in the field. After months of rugs, it must feel good to have the sun on his back. I sat with it on my face and boy did it feel good!

Spring is my favourite season. Full of hope and wonder. Days like today make me smile.

Cocker

Bert is a sprocker. So has working cocker in his breeding. But today he added a different type of cocker to his repertoire. He cocked his leg for the first time today on our walk this morning.

This afternoon, we popped into the vets today for his wormer and flea treatment. He now weighs in at 11.7kg. He got lots of cuddles and fuss there too. He really goes love going to the vets.

On the way back, I took him to the Brundall Countryside Park so he could have a runabout. It was his first time there. I have no doubt that it won’t be his last…