The beat of a different drum

This afternoon after being taunted by the sounds of happy children in the pool next door & being hotter than I remember in a long time, & being fed up with my own company, herself being away on baby sitting duties, I decided to load myself & Mr Dog into Sherman (my nickname for the Mu because it rattles & clanks like a tank) & head up the valley to get both of us wet in the river. Unfortunately, I forgot that it had bucketed down last night & that the river was up quite a bit, very brown & flowing quite swiftly.

Mr Dog got nicely wet & had the compulsory roll in the grass that is an essential part of being a wet dog I guess. On an impulse, I decided to carry on up the valley to visit an old family friend that I havent seen in a while. I have known Sam since I was about 12 years old. So I get up there. There is a horse tied to the front gate & the farm dog comes out witth a worried look to make certain that I parked in the right place.

Sam has a lovely seat under the grape vines in the front yard & as the vines are in fruit, it was nicely shaded. The vines, sadly, arent the original ones his Dalmatian parents planted in the 1920's, but are still mature enough to be absolutely groaning with fruit. I remember as a lad drinking sherry that was grown , fermented, bottled & marketed from the property. Anyway, we passed a very pleasant hour or so sitting in the shade & talking about life in general. I had an idea that I might load Sam into Sherman & take him for a drive up the farm to the tops, where the airstrip is. You see, Sam is in his mid 80's now, & slowing down a touch, but it seems that the offer isnt needed. You see, Sam still catches, saddles & rides his horse round the property to pull ragwort & thistles.

We all had a lovely time. Sam's farm dogs have that gentleness that comes of being loved & well treated, so Mr Dog had a wonderful time playing under the vines with them, although he did steer well clear of the horse. Even old Boof, who is pushing 15, deaf as a post & starting to slow down a touch joined in the fun. So anyway, now its 10.00 pm, 26 degrees C & God only knows what the humidity is. Hopefully it will cool down enough soon to sleep..