I would like to continue my run down of our year 2024. Lenny and I had so many fun things to do and see. Here are some of them and I apologise if I have left any out.
July
Lenny and I ensured that people behaved themselves whilst performing their civic duty at the polls. We managed not to mess about for around five to ten minutes.
We went for a climb up onto the hill at Flounders Folly and welcomed our friend River to our house. Griff came along to join in the fun too, which is always good.
Our fruit trees were starting to produce fruit which needed to grow further. We helped water them.
We were so tired after all our July exertions, we needed a lie down to recuperate.
August
The weather was warm and trips were planned. We went for a walk up to Wart Hill and we went almost into Wales when we visited Clun.
The Victoria Plums ripened on our tree and they were devoured greedily by our assistants.
We finished our month with a polite and quiet stroll around Town Brook on the Long Mynd which was great fun, if somewhat tiring for me.
September
The month started with Lenny needing to go to the vet for a blood test. They wanted to make sure he didn’t have a nasty disease so he had a blood sample taken. I felt sad for him but there was a lull in bitey face games for around 30 minutes.
We went to Llangollen to meet up with Sasha, Griff, Smudgey and Ted in the hope of going for an interesting walk across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Unfortunately Lenny kept on trying to get through the railings when we were high up so we turned around and strolled along the canal itself. It was lovely, despite being somewhat soggy under paws.
Lenny and I decided we would take the assistants for a walk from Bromfield to Ludlow but we had planned it badly as the cinnamon bun cafe wasn’t open. There was much disappointment all around.
It rained, rained some more and then poured down. The flood plain did its job thankfully and the river took the flood waters away.
October
The days became cooler and the mists began to rise more often, shrouding our area in a cloak of secrecy. Lenny needed the Fingerposts to be able to navigate some days.
It rained even more than it had done in September so the flood plain and river were called into action once more. It was like a giant duck pond.
The fields in the valley stretching away toward Bromfield and Ludlow became misty and mysterious. And muddy, very muddy.
November
We decided on a trip to Carding Mill Valley in early November, just to stretch our legs and explore a new place. It was great fun.
My ear trouble flared again so I was forced to go and see the nice vet ladies who looked after me admirably. They still made me wear the Cone of Shame though.
The sun was lowering in the sky but it still managed to shine over Norton Camp whilst I was out on my walk.
And then if rain wasn’t enough it decided to snow, turning our meadow into a snow filled playground for Lenny and I. We love the snow albeit it disappeared within a few days.
December
Just to prove our assistants wrong, we proved that we could snooze together without antagonising one another. Maybe it was a brief lull in shenanigans but it was a lull. We were being watched as my time in the Cone of Shame continued.
We met with Griff for a pre-Christmas stroll from Bromfield to Ludlow and this time the cinnamon bun cafe was open. We returned via a slightly longer and different route which gave us some lovely views over the hills.
Lenny got the chance to explore slightly off-piste on Christmas Eve and he dragged his handler up onto the top of the hill so he could survey all that we would like to wander across.
And to finish we had a Christmas morning walk up onto the top of the Long Mynd. It was a wonderful quiet stroll and we enjoyed ourselves very much.
To sum up then. Wow, what a year it has been for us. Moving home again (apparently it is the last time we are moving) and having some lovely places on our doorstep is a huge bonus. We are closer to one of our best buddies who is happy to show us the places we don’t yet know about, as well as accompany us to the places we do know of. We will explore further to see what else lies beyond our current horizons. One thing is for sure though, we will try our best to enjoy ourselves.
Dexter 