I should know better

                         WET  CHRISTMAS

As the festive day nears, I am sitting listening to the wind and rain beating on the windows and trying not to think about the flood running past the door (the field drain has failed again and I am not going out in that to shovel silt out of it.)

Even the puppies are a bit subdued by the weather, but always willing to prove the old saying that there is nothing more friendly than a really wet dog.   They feel that their real vocation is sitting on me, especially if they have some mud to spread.

Nevertheless, they have been to their first Really Big Show at the NEC no less, and did really well.   A huge hall full of strange dogs, many of them large, can be scary for a puppy and I had my doubts.    No need.   Cupcake and Belle were enchanted by the noise and people and different dogs.  And in the ring they behaved perfectly, with the result that Cupcake is now going to Crufts with Angel.  

He is very self-assured and laid back in the ring, but Belle is much more serious and never takes her eyes off me.   "Am I doing it right, Mum?"  Being placed on the table to be inspected, she gazed intently at the judge with big black eyes - "I expect you are a nice person - my Mum wouldn`t let you touch me otherwise."

 Really, the puppies don`t offer much to write about.   They don`t misbehave, don`t get into trouble, aren`t even very destructive.   (I wonder if they are really Papillons?).  Quietest litter I`ve had for years.

It has been a mixed year for me, with far too many hospital visits, and the puppies have been a highlight.  (I`m trying hard to think of another!)

What`s on the horizon?   Well,perhaps a home for Gracie.  I have no worries about her settling well.

And in the New Year the intense excitement of the chainsaw men.   All my electricity comes in on overhead wires,and the company hires contractors to prune any trees which have grown too near to the cables.   What actually arrives is a group of young chainsaw maniacs straight out of a Tarantino film, with glazed eyes and an unnerving habit of revving up their saws.  "We`ve come to fell the trees!"  And so they would, if I didn`t follow them about shouting "No!".  The one who assessed the situation said they would only deal with "the willows and crab apples".   I have no crab apples, and the only willow is at the front of the house.   Trouble ahead.

Apart from that, a rest until the show season starts - which is not long.

And then off we go again!

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas, everyone!