Antenna

OK so I might have to admit that my symptoms might be more than emotional stuff. I woke up at 4am shivering and sweating in equal measures. Sure sign I am with cold! By 7am I had to admit defeat, cancelled my morning plans and very slowly crawled through the day.

I had a very gentle walk with Bert. Thankfully he got up have a runaround to burn off the energy. Mucking out seemed to be a slow process. I had to stop for a breather getting the straw down. Whatever this is, I am with snot and phlegm. Delightful.

As I finished up, I notice this single bit of straw standing tall. It looked a bit like an antenna. Or a lightning bolt. Even with snot, I still have an active imagination.

Normal service will be resumed shortly no doubt.

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.

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…

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.

Educational

Today has been a very educational one for Buddy, Bert and me. We headed over to Forest Edge for a BHS Clinic being run there. I haven’t been there for a while, it felt so good to be back. It was Bert’s first trip. He loved having zoomies in the forest.

Buddy thankfully didn’t have any zoomies in the arena. Lots of lightbulb moments in our two lessons. Bert slept in the Buddymobile while I was riding. He’s really getting the hang of it all. Good job too as it’s 6 weeks till camp.

Buddy was on top form too. He’s come back from his injury so much softer. It was lovely to catch up with everyone. It’s such a happy place for me.

Sheepish

Buddy and I headed over to catch up with a good friend and her trusty Haffy this afternoon. While out on our ride, we came across these sheep. There were lots of frolicking lambs. So cute!

We also came across a cast sheep. Poor thing was stuck on her back. And heavily pregnant to boot. My friend went to help her while I looked after the horses. Not a clue how long she’d been like that, but she was clearly exhausted. The farmer was called so she could be check on. Fingers crossed she was OK. Good deed done for the day…

Grinch Toes

Well it finally happened. I got so fed up of Bert’s ‘Grinch Toes’ that I broke out the scissors! I worked on the principle that if I can trim Buddy’s little feathers with scissors, I can do Bert’s.

I have to say I’m pretty impressed with myself. It’s not too bad a job. I’m more impressed with him for letting me near him with the scissors. There was a little bribery in the shape of some liver paste. I’ve found that Buddy is much more amenable too when he has food.

Bert is rather fluffy. Not sure if this is his puppy coat and if he’ll lose it. Buddy’s Summer coat is coming through too. He goes so dark in the summer. He’s rather mottled at the moment. The kittens are moulting too. Let the shedding commence…

Planning ahead

Today I did something that makes me smile every year. I paid for my first camp. It’s at the end April, so fingers crossed it warms up a bit.

If you’ve known me for any length of time, you know how much I love a camp. What’s not to love? Spending time away with Buddy. Learning from great instructors. Catching up with wonderful people. Making new friends. And this time I get to take Bert with me. Let’s hope he likes camps as much as Buddy and I do.

He’s making his debut at Forest Edge next week. We’re booked onto a day clinic. So this will be a good test of his ‘Lorry Dog’ status. Buddy will be so happy to be back there too. After his injury last year, it’ll be good to be back there and actually do the riding bit. I’ll always be a supporter.