Thursday 9th July Day 107

4.30   Why is it only at night that some stupid thought comes into your mind, often petty but nags and nags away at you until sleep is just hopeless.  I decide to get up and make myself a cup of tea.  I’m not a nervy person but nevertheless it is such a comfort having a large dog with a loud voice downstairs when you live on your own, or so I thought.

It is getting light now but I switch the landing light on as I go downstairs, walk into the kitchen leaving that light off as I don’t want Audrey to think it is time to get up; no dog to greet me.  I clatter around, fill the kettle, get a mug out of the cupboard, open and close the fridge, twice and am surprised to see still no dog.  It is then that I realise she is not on her bed or under the table so I go in search and discover her in the lounge, curled up in the small corner, her favourite place, out for the count, snoring gently, doesn’t even stir when I go over to her, so much for my trusty guard dog.

Back to bed with my cup of tea and a look at The Irish Post on line, a very entertaining paper.  Today there is an article about Christmas FM.  This is a channel which by its name you can imagine only broadcasts for one month in the year.  They have decided this year that people will need cheering up and today for one day only there will be a whole day of Christmas songs interspersed with people phoning in with their special Christmas memories.  Cheer me up?! I think I would rather chew my toes off than start the Christmas hype in July!

Whoops another Bah Humbug moment. Is it me?!

12.30  On our walk, on home territory today, we meet a man walking his bike.  He is wearing full black lycra cycling gear and sporting a very bright yellow helmet, he looks a bit like a bumble bee.  He is also quite elderly and I would have thought that cycling in the woods down narrow paths and over tree roots, probably wasn’t the best of ideas.   We chat for a few minutes and he tells me that he thinks his mother might manage a walk in these woods.  To be honest I was quite surprised that ‘mother’ is still with us by the look of the chap and again would have thought totally unsuitable terrain but don’t say so.  At which point over on the other side I see two large hounds who bounded all over Audrey once before, along with four or five other dogs, so I bid a hasty farewell, explaining that the dogs are over boisterous and my dog not so keen.  The chap says ‘Ooh perhaps I’d better get on my bike and start riding.’  Frankly I dread to think what happened as he headed straight towards them, wobbling as he went.

As we walk back past the only bit of deepish water that Audrey likes to cool off in, we see a large dragonfly inspecting the pool I imagine, as a possible nesting site, reminding me of the pretty damsel flies in the fields we saw the other day in the long grass with hundreds of gatekeeper fritillaries.

15.00  The fine rain has stopped so I am going to get outside and do some gardening, get some of the vegetation cut back and weed the veg patch which is coming along very nicely now in spite of pigeons and moles.