I had a rather disturbed night but managed to sleep between the interruptions. I was up at the usual 05.00 only to fall asleep again until well after 09.00.
H and I eventually made it to Gatehampton for our walk which was very lovely. It is a while since we have been there. Probably because there is little shade.
Anyway , although it was warm when the sun made a rare appearance, there was a very pleasant breeze in more exposed places.
Annoyingly, I had forgotten my phone, and there were things I would have liked to have snapped. There were few people around and only one other car parked up.
Firstly the large chestnut trees at the end of Manor Road are losing their leaves. So is the one at the end of our garden. The road was covered in a leafy carpet. a crispy brown carpet. It is only August! Not November! Between disease and drought…
Secondly the little sewage tanks have been betrayed by their soak away / overflow which has created a large patch of bright green grass. This bright greenness caught my eye, it was so dazzling and so unusual a sight.
H and I wandered the banks of the Thames, having located the whereabouts of the safely distant cows. I was surprised there were so few people around. Maybe Gatehampton had its share of visitors in the heat. It has a few little beachy areas which are good for swimmers and children. Unfortunately the cows sometimes muscle in.
Today, the receding, and lower water levels of the Thames, meant it was a muddy sandy area that was exposed. H enjoyed herself, actually running in the water. I sat awhile on the bank, allowing the breeze to cool me down. H came for a love in, nothing like stroking a dog with a damp, slightly muddy tummy.
We turned back across the field, carefully avoiding the cud chewers, who were mostly lying around displaying a dissolute and idle attitude. Apart from in the jaw area.
H disappeared into a thicket lining the field, carefully re-emerging with treasure in her mouth. I could see it was dead treasure. Dead baby bunny treasure. Fresh and floppy dead baby bunny treasure. H had not had time to kill it. Rigor mortis had either been and gone, or had not set in. The bunny’s eyes were not sunken. Maybe it was pretending to be dead. : )) . probably not.
H glanced my way and then did a bit of risk assessment. She weighed up the risk of my wrath as low, so she shuffled off in the opposite direction from the one I had in mind. Trotting off/ pausing/ a bit more trotting and another pause to look at me.
One of her pauses became a total halt, as she rearranged her treasure in her jaws. And then looked at me. And that was it. Submission and on the lead . I tugged her away, as she looked back regretfully at the abandoned dead treasure.
We wandered back to the car and then home.
A bit of pottering and a few domestic chores took place. And a snooze may have occurred too. But the forecast storms did not. And the temperatures have been comfortable.
My wardrobe still awaits reorganisation.
Looking at the forecast, we appear to have had our share of rain for the foreseeable future. It was nothing like enough. Other parts of the country got a good soaking. And storms. I am jealous. Our hose pipe ban starts on Monday along with renewed heat.
It seems that Rahila is seriously poorly. Stage 4 cancer is never good news. My heart goes out to her and to the wider Shah family.
Thought for the Day
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