One down already.

Months that is. Last day of January already and how did that happen? It was just Xmas I know it was. then all of a sudden it was Burn's Night. We celebrated late, on 28th due to silly work schedules and I confess the Ogress overindulged in the haggis and mash department. Did feel unwell on the Sunday but SWIAR decided that the best thing for that would be a three hour walk in the forest. Turned out she was right, came back weary but feeling so much better in the tummy department. Furchildren had the best time and were uncharacteristically subdued on Monday!

The Ogress is still alledgedly excersising the Trekpaard, at least until Friday. Unfortunately today the Trekpaard did the excersising of the Ogress. He is out in what is known as the Moor; 20 plus acres (Scottish acres too, which are bigger!) of what I would describe as rough high ground and because the sun is shining on the righteous, he decided that today was not a day for trundling around the arena on a long line. Today he decided was the day to see how determined I was to find him. As I said there is 20 acres, there are trees, there is mud, quite a lot of rather deep mud. Vast as Trekpaard is, he is all but invisible in all that space. After half an hour I gave up and went back to the gate; at which point he sidled out from a copse of beech saplings at the far end of his playroom and pretended that he had only just noticed me. I wasn't fooled, horses have great hearing and I had been bellowing 'STRUAN' for 20 minutes and had walked right past his hiding place. I know when I'm being made a fool of!

Oh and remember the cactus? Yes they are thriving, all merrily growing in their pots, plotting the next phase of 'Operation Spine'. Stealth gifting will be inevitable I think, for my own safety. Plants are lovely but they can be as demanding as furchildren. Which leads me to the Sprouts: We bought them, planted them, cooed over their efforts to grow and congratulated each other on our first year of serious vegetable growing. Nothing though prepared me for the final phase; the harvesting. 'She Who' dug up all the overwinter veg on Sunday. I have sprouts. In the fridge, for supper last night and still more in a bucket awaiting my attention. Lots of them. Pounds of them. Sigh, I suppose they better find their way into the freezer if I don't want a steady diet of sprouts for the whole of next month! We are still trying to find room in the freezer around the kale, courgettes and leeks!  I can see us becoming a three freezer household soon. Yes we have two already. A large one for human food and a small one for canine. Somehow I just don't fancy bread that has spent even a week snuggled up with 2kg of minced green tripe. There are some things even a strong stomach wont tolerate!