Sunday 5th February 2006

12 weeks old today and yet again no party! I had a celebratory acorn when I went out first thing this morning, but until I can bring back more of the stash I have found in the forest I don’t want to eat too many at once.

I spent last night and this morning moving 2 tonnes of wood. When I say moving, more worrying, while my owners did the moving. I sort of barked at it occasionally and got under their feet. After staying up late last night with my Master I now understand a bit more about what my Mistress has been trying to get me to do when she kicks a ball around the garden. She is clearly expecting me to join in. What is all that about? What is the point of chasing a little ball all around some grass, let alone watching 22 men doing it? I still think it is more fun to try and bite her shoes when she goes to kick the ball. At least she hasn’t tried to introduce the offside rule to playing in the garden…..,yet! Just in case, perhaps I need to pay a bit more attention. Did it mean I can’t go the other side of her when the ball is near the house or near the footpath?

I’ve been thinking about how I am going to get one of those pheasants for tea. They are clearly not going to issue a shotgun to a 12 week old puppy. Even I recognise that 12 weeks old may be a little young. When we were out for our walk yesterday we saw a very big bird of prey, my owners said it was a Buzzard. I was wondering if I did a deal with him, whether he might go 50:50 on a pheasant? Perhaps if I offered to do the cooking!

Oh but what a walk today. It is raining and the temperature is above freezing. Add to that the fact that some off road bikes went up the track earlier and there was such glorious mud to roll in, thick, black, squelchy sort of mud. I am covered from head to toe and I am sooo happy! I’m just off to lie in front of the fire whilst the master watches a game where a load of men run round picking up a ball and throwing it to each other between kicks. I really fail to understand why they don’t just get it in their mouths and shake it, surely that’s the obvious thing to do with a ball!

Alfie with a little help from Rosemary J Kind