Where does the time go?

Time flies when you're having fun. The older you get, the quicker the time goes. I've run out of time. And my personal favourite: time thief. I have been pleasantly indisposed of late. Not much time for blogging. Which is a shame, really. It seems that the last six weeks have just whizzed by; a whirlwind of Themba's diagnosis, the Jubilee celebrations, our wedding anniversary, not to mention a certain dog bite and a bee sting! Add to that Dad's surgery, work, and family visiting from Australia, and well you can see why I'm struggling to find time for blogging.

I'm not complaining, though. While I was recovering from the infected bee sting episode, I had time to catch up on reading some lovely blogs. I tried to comment on every one I read, so thank you for keeping me company.

The NGS open gardens for charity came to Shackleford at the weekend. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how the garden at Norney Wood has developed over the last year. It is also another chance to show some community spirit. The garden looked splendid, especially the new veggie garden, and the cakes were outstanding (even if I do say so myself).

Boxer back-chat

The Boxers meanwhile think all this activity is just fab, that us humans sign up for all these things for the sole purpose of dog entertainment. They are such lucky, happy dogs, trotting along where ever we go, hopping in the back of the car, ready for the next adventure. They had an especially happy walk yesterday evening. After a grey day and on-off showers, the sun came out, so we put on our welly boots and set off across the farm. The 'girls' were in the top field, grazing and lazing. The farm border collie ran across to make sure the Boxers stayed away from her sheep. We crossed two more fields, climbed over three stiles. I loved the way that Themba's tail could just be seen, bobbing above the top of the meadow grass. The happiest dog in the world.

And the time thief? There are plenty of demands on my time. I am learning to say 'no' to some things. And I don't need to make excuses, either. Time is a resource too precious to waste.

And in other news...

Puggle

Now, this will amuse you. I met a Puggle yesterday. That's a cross between a Pug and a Beagle, a chocolate brown idiot dog who wandered off and thought the Boxers would be fun to play with. I spotted her first, though, and made sure she got safely home. Apparently, she was visiting a neighbour and dug her way through the fence then came through two gardens, and crossed a road. It delayed our walk, too, but amused the boys over the road. I don't know if I'm in favour of these crosses.

Bassador

I've recently heard of a Bassador, that's a Basset x Labrador! And we know quite a few Labradoodles and Goldiedoodles. I know that crosses do sometimes happen unintentionally and most offspring are cute and quirky in their own way, well loved but not necessarily to be repeated. I'm not an expert, though, so I'm not judging, merely observing.

And in other news, two ladies of a great age. No, not the Queen. One lady has a Birthday today, hoorah! One lady, a stalwart of Village life, sadly passed away last weekend. My condolences to her family and to all her Village friends, of which she had many.

It's my week to open and close the Church (*shudders, thinking about coffee-drinking vagrant, but that's another story). So I had a little walk up the road after swimming. I don't often just walk, enjoying the Village ambience, taking note of the other gardens, watching the school children hard at work, the nursery school with heads bent over creative tasks. When I walk I usually have the Boxers with me, and they quite frankly are not interested in sentimentality. I noticed that the bulbs are up in the School garden, a cheerful welcome; I noticed the sunny primulas outside the Village Hall. I saw Kai waiting patiently for his walk. I had time to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Churchyard, and read the visitor's book. I noticed the earthmoving equipment in the garden of the big house - getting ready for the National Gardens Scheme weekend already?

It promises to be a good week in Shackleford. I posted my Monday mood board here. Off to the garden now, dog walking later.

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