
On my buggy with Murphy at my feet
The dog in question is Murphy, a veritable cocktail of a dog. He is a L.B.J. -
a little brown job, or to be more specific a cross between a dachshund and a chocolate
labrador! Murphy has a beautiful deep glossy brown coat which really gleams in
the sunlight.
The driver of the buggy is me, a very large (fat) bearded bloke with a dose of
M.S., which tends to cramp my style somewhat. I can't walk very well and have
bladder problems which would embarrass most, but not me - when a man's got to
go, he's got to go!
It would be prudent now to introduce the buggy, this would be difficult as I tend
to get through buggies at a great rate and never keep one very long, but a man
can live in hope.
I'm not a naturalist or ornithologist or even a botanist, I'm just nosy and like
to know what smells good, looks nice or is good to eat and what's it's name.
At this stage, I prefer to be in the green outdoors, but town has it's own attractions...
knocking pedestrians over, upsetting displays in supermarkets and getting stuck,
are all town-based pleasures regularly available and at little cost - and a great
pleasure.
The dog can't come to town with me, so I restrict this pastime to just once a
week. It takes forward planning to get out without him, but on return a joyous
reception is always guaranteed.
I've just returned from an evening jaunt, a beautiful evening, the sun setting
is a red orb. I paused on an old stone bridge and watched trout taking their supper.
They seemed to roll and display their butter yellow bellies to the world as they
caught the flies. Whilst watching the fishy display I became aware of a smell,
not an unpleasant one, heady in fact. Eventually I realised it was the elder bushes,
they had lots of creamy flowers with almost a grapey smell, I seem to recall elderflower
and gooseberry jam - sounds a bit grand for me.
Murphy was in the undergrowth doing whatever turns him on, when there was an explosion
of dog, grass and blackberry briars and a very shocked fox cub doing 200mph as
it left the scene. Murphy had to sit down to recover his composure!
Just a 100 yards further there was a pair of ducks, mallards I think, swimming
along with a brood of four ducklings. Last week they started out with around a
dozen, they must qualify as very bad parents or at least really careless.
A pair of swans were on the pond, they had four cygnets, two of them were having
a maternal piggyback ride and looked as if they were enjoying themselves.
Just wondered if the fox cub and the missing ducklings had any connection.
On the return journey to home, I noticed there were no bats out, but perhaps its
was a bit early for them, perhaps tomorrow.
Buggy Man