At 1:30, it didn’t look good. Well to me, at least. I opened the door to show my dogs the hooning rain that was pouring in sheets past the threshold but Winston just trotted out into it and looked hopeful. Fortunately, in this country strong weather doesn’t tend to last very long. By 2 pm I was in position and a small but keen group of dogs had formed. We ranged from the giant to the tiny, from my nearly 12 year-old, to an only 15 week-old.

A good time was had by all in their own way. Some chased furiously, some hunted for treats, and the odd ones had a grumble at each other but the fields are large enough for everyone to find a bit of space to do what they want. Certainly there were some beans used up that were best exercised outdoors.

I came back and felt a bit sad that I didn’t get to see all my friends, both human and canine, but it is entirely understandable. If you had the slightest doubt, you weren’t going to risk it given the unpredictable conditions overhead. Underfoot it was pretty damp too.

After feeding the hounds we went back to cuddle mode and I streamed some content, as the kids probably don’t say.

As I am typing this, I feel like I could start to feel a bit lower if I thought about “stuff”. But is that low mood, or just a natural consequence of getting into your own head too much. I have no cause to think about life and its deep meanings right now. I have eaten, albeit in a calorie-intake rather than pleasant-food manner, I am about to settle in to a gentle evening of falling asleep, and my next thing isn’t until tomorrow morning. So I can really just keep my mind in a low power mode and leave the introspection for days when I am bang up for it.