Litter Louts

In between all the jobs, looking after Tristan, developing a foster agency (which has really started to take off, see link in margin) and paid work, I am out on the Bonsai Mountain training for the BBMC. This has taken on a bit more urgency as my erstwhile walking buddy has pulled the eject handle and wont be joining the fun day. Instead my reserve team member has stepped into the breach and now I find that I am doing the challenge with an uber fit infantry officer 22 years my junior who is already talking of doing the whole 30 miles across the mountains in under 8.5 hours. I was thinking of timing myself with a calendar this year, my fastest time has been just a shade under 8 hours, but I was four stone lighter and 15 years younger. Lucky for me my back yard has a certain challenge to it, the angle of the pic above shows the slope of North Face Gully. While Bonsai Mountain isn't a real mountain, its well under the required 600 metres, 200 metres of a slope like this does raise the pulse somewhat.

The pic above shows WooZah looking toward Fiveways Crossing whereas Montana is stood next to a new addition to the landscape. The stone cairn must have taken some constructing, and its covering a couple of plastic bags, a sandwich wrapper and two 2 litre empty pop bottles. Presumably whoever it was that left this mess carried the contents of the packaging up the hill for a picnic, but felt incapable of carrying the lighter empties back. The energy expended trying to bury the offending articles must have been more than carrying it away to be disposed of.

Or perhaps they thought it was a time capsule, in a thousand years a keen amateur archaeologist will uncover the secrets of their prawn wholemeal and thousand island dressing, or maybe its an offering to the small gods of Bonsai Mountain, or a signal to a alien race who scour the universe for discarded packaging, or maybe they were just lazy gits who deserve a kick in the farmers. (Somewhere that gives them two little acres)

Behind you!

I went for a quick trip around the Bonsai Mountain after dropping the Technohermits dinner off. It had been another busy day at Rock HQ and a walk always helps put thoughts in order. Its going to be a very busy but fun weekend. Paul and Anne are coming over to stay, the first time we will have seen them since their daughters wedding last summer. It will be good to catch up with them and Paul is a lot better than last time he was mentioned on these pages. Then we have the butchers wedding do, now that will be a good do, a ten piece Soul band will be there as will a pig roast and as its Stuart, a proper butcher, its bound to be good pork. Not as good as ours, but good enough. And free.

As the dogs and I turned down Sheep Skull Lane from Five Ways Crossing it became clear we were not alone. Geisha often joins us on a quite stroll but this bunch of maniacs above were last seen in the yard. No idea whats got into them but as you can see they are chasing each other around like dogs.

Sheep! Who'd have them?

View from the hill

Back towards five ways crossing on last nights training walk for The Great To Do!

Walking with William

I have just got in from walking with William, who it appears is the biggest fly magnet in the history of the world. Without resorting to hyperbole there were at least a million buzzing around us, some as big as flip flops and all intent on exploring and taking chunks out of this tasty equine feast and his human companion.

However having this annoying cloud of biting insects accompanying us as we circumnavigated the hill failed to detract from the simple pleasure of plodding along with a fantastic horse. He sees me as herd leader and so dutifully walked either alongside or one half pace behind.

Had he walked a full pace behind he might have saved painfully treading on my heels every other step, but at least he has given up trying to push me off the track and into the gorse bushes. He accepts I am boss, unless Tracey is around and then he sees her as boss.

Obviously.

Hes a smart cookie this one.

We had a brief stop at Five Ways Crossing, pictured here, it really is a wonderful view across the Herefordshire countryside, before turning off and heading back into Wales. We caught sight of Mad Keith, but he didn't want to talk today and hid, not very well as we could see him but we didnt let on in case he got upset and put us in one of his spare pits. We also found our two mental Suffolk sheep, Molly and April who galloped off down sheep skull lane the second they recognised me. Poor beasts must be suffering from the heat as they have evaded capture and shearing, therefore they still have a years worth of fleece on their backs. It should start to drop off soon.

Bill is still missing, there are very few sheep on the hills at the moment so he might be pie now, poor Bill.

Back at the ranch William was turned out in the field to cool off and refresh himself.

I returned to the cottage for my own refreshments. A nice supper of new potatoes, Rock HQ quiche and a bean salad. And a very cold cider. I am a lucky man.

The only fly in the ointment, its now pouring with rain and William is still outside.

Quiet evenings, who needs them!