Poor Paxo! Locals and Cats

Paxo on a happier day.

My sweet little doghound pup, Paxo, had a bad day. While out for a walk with Pastime, "the girls" (L & K) and I, Paxo decided it would be a good idea to slip through that metal gate and go down the field. Pastime apparently thought it was a good idea, too, and slid through after him. A moment later as I was calling them to come back through and continue down the hedge-lined lane with the girls and I there was the most horrible screaming hound sound, like it had been run over by a car. Since there were no motor vehicles about I realized that one of my pups had an unfortunate encounter with...an electric fence.

I haven't been back on the farm for long so was unaware there was an electric line along the far side of the hedge, but never mind. Paxo went from being very Welsh and independent to following along with the girls, Pastime and I quite nicely. It's a shame that happened to him, but he seems to be okay. I know I wouldn't want to put my wet nose on an electric line! Ouch, especially in the UK - I reckon the jolt is a bit heftier than that in the USA!

There are several local pubs which have come back to life these last months and it's nice to stop in and visit with the neighbors now and then. Friday night was a really fine fillet with peppercorn sauce and nice fresh veg at the Red Lion; Thursday night was gammon, pineapple and chips at the Crown, and last night steak & ale pie and veg at the Ox. Mmmmm...I'm treating myself for working so hard on that article the last couple of weeks.

Pastime...1/2 of my exercise program.

Of course for every treat there's a lot of extra exercise to be found somewhere, so this week I'm gonna have to pay.

We had a lovely day exercising the hounds on one of my favorite hills yesterday. Most days here in Wales are very changeable and yesterday was no exception. Though many days feature at least one rainbow, I don't recall one of those yesterday. But we had a nice breakfast meet in a nearby village then we were all off on the hill, up on some common ground. It started out as a beautiful sunny day, then went cloudy, the wind picked up and it began raining like...well, you know. Sun comes back out, then some more rain. Of course while this is inconvenient at best for the mounted folks, it makes both challenging and delightful lighting situations for a photographer. So yesterday I managed to capture a few decent shots...and I had a great time along the way.

This week, thanks to all those nice meals I've enjoyed at local pubs and the realization that I have FAR too much sugar in my diet, I'm going to get out and get more exercise and eat more carefully. Oh, and have a riding lesson with Billy; it has been several months since I've worked on learning to ride a horse. I'm looking forward to it.

These cats think that dog food is better than their grub, and they eat it every chance they get (like when the hounds are out for a walk with me). About four years ago all the farm cats had died off so I got a couple from another farm and...well, the rest is history. There are plenty of lovely cats about now, and they're all well-fed. Most of them are even tame. Anyone need a cat?

Christmas time's a-comin' and I'm listening to some fine bluegrass music at the moment...it's free over the internet and is 24/7, some of the best bluegrass music anywhere, so click on and check it out.... http://www.bluegrasscountry.org/