Yesterday I lost George.
Now If anyone here knows Scottish terriers, they will immediately know that this is an almost impossible thing to do.
They are loyal and obedient dogs that never stray far from their owners' heels, so when out on a walk when you look round there they will be looking right back at you.
Yesterday we walked the length of Gypsy lane, and quite suddenly George had literally disappeared. I called and called, thinking that he had gotten all excited over a fresh pile of droppings, but there was silence after my call... no !"arroooo!" of recognition, no bark of answer.
I retraced my steps....no George. I hurried back to the main road dragging the Welsh by their leads.....still no George.....then I ran back along the lane again....nothing......
I was beginning to get frantic. In four years George had never been out of my sight before let alone gone missing,,,,and with Maddie dying recently, I let the whole thing get right under my radar and I experienced that awful cold prickly sensation you get when dread takes over from objectivity
I called and called up and down the tracks and snickets, all to no avail, and was helped in my search by two women out for a walk. I then decided to race back to the cottage to get the car... and as we turned into the lane just by my field I heard the usual Scottie greeting "arrroooooo"
We turned and in an adjacent sheep field was George sat calmly by the stone style....somehow he had taken himself through three fields full of sheep, negotiated two wire pig fences and a style and had trotted all the way home .
I could have burst into tears! and realized quickly that I am rapidly turning into an old woman where my dogs are concerned.
Anyhow today, Chris has left early for Kent again. His Uncle is having a birthday party over the weekend and Chris has gone down to join in. I am working Saturday night, so its going to be a bit of a boring weekend for me.
I am still worried about the fox too, last night I relaxed "fox watch" just a little and spent some of the evening in the cottage....at 8ish the hens kicked up a huge fuss and I got out there only to find the three main flocks all tightly knit in their own groups calling loudly at some unseen menace beyond the fence. My arrival put paid to any further problems , but he's still out there lurking in the sidelines.
My sister will lock the hens up tomorrow night when I am at work, but I am worried that there wont be a human deterrent around the field for a while after I leave for work at 7pm......I will ask the neighbours if they would like an amble around the field after I go perhaps...
I am getting a little obsessional
ps My rants to the water board seem to have worked...two men arrived this morning and repaired the wall!!!
I am a sucker for an underdog. The stocky, deformed and most silent of the battery hens has just about won me over. I was resolved not to name any of these hens as they are earmarked for eating but this little chap, who has the look of John Mills in Ryan's Daughter , has been dealt so many bum deals at such an early age, I feel that it is only right that I give him a little bit of freedom!.......so it felt only right that he/she is called SPARTACUS
Anyhow enough of me being an overly soft puddin. I am working tonight, a shitty night to work but a computerised rota system has suddenly been introduced at work which starts the week on a Sunday not a Monday.........the long and short of all this..means that staff are working more weekends.........Chris will lock up the animals tonight but wont watch over the field I would do, With the last sighting of the fox over two weeks ago now, I hope things will be ok tonight.
My first major crop of cauliflower is ready. We have blanched and frozen a load, and tomorrow I will make soup to freeze. The slog of harvesting has started
