Author Archive
Frozen dew, like a rocket, stupidly goopy, pics or it didn’t happen
1. It’s cold but doesn’t look too frosty, so I can’t understand why the grass is crunching so loudly underfoot. Then, picking up a stick for Lily, I see them – thousands, millions, of individually frozen dew drops decorating each blade of grass. I tip some into my hand and they almost immediately melt into [...]
Sky colours, the treat, waiting
1. In the horses’ field, I turn away from the racing cocker spaniel to look for our slower springer but instead I find my attention stolen by the sky: glowing pink clouds on dazzling blue. 2. She knows I have something in my pocket but she doesn’t know what it is yet. Her eyes widen [...]
Spot on, Stanislavski would be proud too, the Movie Thing
1. The perfect amount of brown sauce on a bacon buttie. 2. I like that I can satisfy their glances asking for reassurance. But I like it even more when they get so lost in the moment that they forget to look for me. (2a. A silly one. I make a joke about “team Louisa” [...]
Body clocks, always something new, just right
1. My phone battery dies overnight but our – and the animals’ – body clocks wake us right on time. 2. The bracken, brambles and balsam have died away to reveal new paths through the woods and fields. We walk them together, her tail spinning, my heels sinking into the leaf mulch. 3. I love [...]
Three beautiful things from the last five minutes
1. A scratch-scratch-scratch. I open the door and a little boy & two little girls are waiting together to be admitted into the room of cosy-warm. 2. In previous days, I may have been sad that the pie tin was too big for the cats but instead I get to be happy that it’s perfectly [...]
Four beautiful things to end a frustrating day
1. Six are huddled together on the perches and the seventh in the nest box she’s still not outgrown. They cluck softly as I peek in to check they’re all in bed. Turn out the light. You’re letting the cold in. Go away, I’m trying to sleep here. 2. We spend a lot of time [...]
For the sake of it, I heart Coopers, by proxy
1. The two dogs run around fighting over THE BEST STICK IN THE WORLD while he builds a dam in the beck. His handiwork will divide the water more equally between the two paths, so the one close to the path flows better. I know it’ll be washed away next time it rains heavily but [...]
Relief, fishing for chickens, the pleasure of warmth and sugar
1. To wake up and find that after all that noise, there is no storm damage to the garden. Or rather, the only damage is both minor and desirable. 2. We drive out to see our chicken man. The views are different but as equally as stunning as they were on the balmy June evening [...]
