Ark the 'erald angels sing

Well a wet welcome to you all for my third December blog. All that is needed is a few more planks of wood, another week or two of this weather and then, two by two, we can start loading the ark. Himself spent a merry few days recently siphoning water away that was coming UP the rain water soak-aways, while even I decided that it was too wet to be out in the garden and the weather – but I did let him use my "garage" towel to dry off when he came in, the one that is so muddy that herself won't let him put it in her new washing machine! Well (boom-boom as Basil Brush used to say) that's enough about water.

So what else have I been up to? November has been a busy social month for me on top of my regular field checking duties. Early on we met Roger the Number (as in numb, not counting, he worked as an anaesthetist with himself) for a run about on the hills at Bickerton. It is the pheasant chasing season so himself got plenty of practice blowing his whistle. Then I had a few days at Auntie Audrey's, she runs the holiday camp I stay at when themselves skive off somewhere. When you check in Audrey asks a few questions, then it's goodbye to themselves and off for a romp with the other residents. Well the fuss some people make checking in their dogs; "Fido likes to have cold water with his gravy for breakfast then a bit of hot milk with his special food three times later in the day and so on, he won't play with lady dogs but just with spotted ones, and only in the afternoon and so on." Auntie Audrey just rolls her eyes at it while I plan to sort Fido out – a quick sniff then chase Fido round the field is the order of the day. If he's a fussy eater then he'll learn to man up or go hungry when the Labrador contingent is around. Next up my pal Finn (looks after the Revs of Audlem) took me to Sheffield for a day trip with his people: I think I was invited as the star attraction for Helen's daughter, who lives there. Finn's mum, the Rev Helen is married to Finn's dad Rev Peter, who really does rev the car, so that's why Rev Helen was driving – or so Finn told me. So we can't see what's going on in the front seats we travel in the boot of the car where we pull faces at the drivers behind to distract them from the Rev's revving. After Sheffield I got back to discover that themselves had gone away again (!) so another sleep-over to be enjoyed.

Well I better get my strength up for the coming month: there's an invasion of the little people in the diary. Himself thought you might enjoy this picture of herself at Halloween, with two of the leprechauns. I'd just like to make clear that publishing this picture was entirely his idea and had nothing to do with me!

I hope you have a Happy Christmas and I'll write to you all again in January 2020

Madai, your rovering reporter

PS: as nobody guessed where the picture of my friend Tess, in last month's blog, was taken (Little Budworth Country Park) I ate the dog treat prize myself
PPS: why not waste time over Christmas by revisiting my previous Christmas blogs? Just follow the links from About us – Blogs – Madai's section at the top of the page, or click here. What could be simpler? Well, a lot of things to be honest!