The Missing Slipper and Midnight Cravings

I got very excited just now when I found my missing slipper.  Trouble is, where did I hide the one that I had?  Or have I just found that one having forgotten where I put it?  I can't blame River for running off with it - Talulah has long since been a thief of things like that - but it was last seen being tugged between them.  However, River IS responsible for the missing hair gel - I last saw the little tub in her mouth and that was about 2 weeks ago.  So now I am sitting here looking a dreadful mess with one cosy foot and one cold one.  And more and more things are being put away in ever higher places out of reach including my knitting.  Still, good old Tussock is under the desk so I can tuck my unslippered foot underneath her.

This is the last time I saw my slipper alive.  Note that the girls are learning to knit.....

We've had a busy few days this week.  More excitingly, we have had a couple of days of nice weather.  We actually saw the sun.  We spent one whole day outside, building a new log store.  It was a day of learning for River -

The first job for me was to dismantle my pile of reclaimed wood whilst Talulah taught River how to hunt for the mice that were obviously living in there - they didn't catch any.  Then she learned that you can't chase the saw when it is moving backwards and forwards.  Once she had heard the word "no" several times, she sat back to watch, but downwind of the sawdust - she ended up a delicate shade of sneezing beige before she realised if she moved slightly, it wouldn't go up her nose.  Then there was the bang, bang, bang of me hammering in the nails - that should have help with the fireworks, especially as I added the occasional "whoooooooeee" when I hit my fingers......

Sadly I took no photos of the day's activities - having limited resources, limited skill, limited time and only two hands meant that the camera was somewhat forgotten.

Another lesson she learned was that bird feeders usually have dropped food underneath them, and she remembered this lesson at 3.00 this morning......  I got up to go to the loo, and she followed me downstairs.  I let her out so she could go too.  Normally she comes straight back in, but not this time.  I called.  No response.  Called a little louder (not wanting to shout due to the time) and still no answer.  So there was I in t-shirt and wellies wandering round the garden with the torch.  I was just beginning to get worried when I caught movement in the torchlight - she was digging in the pot of carrots underneath the bird feeder for the dropped morsels.  I think her love of food might even exceed that of Sisko.  One day I might tell you the tale of his midnight raid on my parents' compost heap.....

The other day, after working in the morning, we managed a walk up to see the horses in the sunshine, and spent a bit longer up there than we have done of late.  The dogs spent quite some time playing in a little stream - this game got wilder and wilder until Talulah could no longer resist a swim and leaped into a deeper part - closely followed by River who had no idea what she was letting herself in for.  She got out again pretty quickly, looking at and licking herself as if not really understanding what had just happened and what was this wet stuff!

Come here! I can't reach you when you are in there!

Note the wild eyes.

Spladoosh!

You can do it!

Yeay!

I'm wet.....

The other thing that always makes me laugh is the way she goes head over heels.  She watches Talulah bounding and bouncing through the dead bracken and the rushes, and tries to do the same - I don't know if any of you have watched Total Wipeout with the huge red bouncy balls that contestants have to negotiate.  They generally make the first one, just manage the second, then they totally mess up the third and in the water they go.  River bounces the first step, stumbles on the second bound, then total looses it on the third, splatting down on the ground and somersaulting with the momentum.  She obviously isn't hurt, nor embarrassed, as she goes off and does the same again!

Now, that raises a question - do dogs get embarrassed?  Or am I being anthropomorphic?  I remember years ago my Dad refused to believe that dogs got embarrassed, until Leroy stumbled going up some steps and jabbed his nose.  My dad laughed at him telling him to be more careful, and when they got in the car, Leroy turned his back on my Dad and refused to look at him whilst ever my Dad was laughing.  I do believe that dogs have a sense of humour, too.  I know many will disagree with me, but......

She has developed a healthy respect for the horses, especially as they are jostling around at bucket time.  Their normal placid characters are replaced by mean, nasty and greedy ones.  No one is happy with the bucket they are given - the ponies always believe that the bigger ones have much nicer stuff in their buckets - actually, they're right!!  It doesn't help that they are still all sorting themselves out into some kind of hierarchy, although even when that is sorted, they'll still be unruly at feed time.  Jinty is probably the worst offender.  Toffee seems to be able to raid anyone's bucket on account of she does it so subtly.  She kind of eases her way in without seeming to even move.

Jinty heading off to be mean to Ullises

Just look at that body language.

Ulli now thinking about standing up for himself

And doing just that.

It's been lovely to have something other than rain this last few days - today, I even managed to come home with clean and dry dogs - that is definitely unusual.  Sadly, the winds we have had seem to have stripped many of the leaves off the tress without giving us the autumnal colour schemes.  I had hoped to have some lovely photographs of colourful trees, but there are none!  This is my best offering:

Well, another day goes by and I still haven't finished this post - back to rain this morning, sadly, but a good opportunity for a rest day for little one.  She's had a few busy days so it will do her good to just sleep.  Oh! She did a brief session as a Therapy Pet yesterday - we called on some neighbours.  He would like a dog, she is scared of them, though she wants to not be scared!  The innocence of a puppy, plus the eyes, the soft coat, the nurturing instinct in brings out in so many of us, plus her endearing way of laying on her back with her legs in the air - well, it all helped to get this particular lady along on her journey!

And finally - the promised video of River coming down the stairs.  Now that she is getting bigger, she wants to go up and down, but I am trying to limit the journeys to one up and one down per day.  Trouble is, they find they can do things, they get more adventurous, then they go hurt themselves! Anyway, the video isn't that great, but..... it's also on it's side as I forgot to rotate the original and I'm too technologically challenged to work out how to do that now I have loaded it.

And definitely finally, here's a video of Talulah and River playing - I apologise for the wind which was a bit brisk on that particular day, but I like this particular video which shows River ambushing from the safety of a clump of rushes!

And no, the slipper still hasn't turned up.....