Spineless

The little boy slept in my room last night. I'm not sure how it happened, but he was still following me around closely at bedtime, unusually. When I said goodnight to him in the kitchen, he immediately tried to open the door, and when I opened it properly to check, he darted out and rushed up the stairs. He was wearing his new Elizabethan collar, an extra 5cms long, and wider too, because his long beak enabled him to reach his wound and lick it - very gently, but nevertheless. We popped into the vet and got it changed. This new one is at least see-through, but it doesn't stop him bumping into everything still, especially me. And so up the stairs he went, trying to lift his head but inevitably snagging the collar on a couple of steps. "What do you think you're doing up here?" I asked him, and he lowered his head and wagged his tail. "You know," he said. "I've come. S'my room too." And so I fetched his bed and we settled down for the night. But the sound of his collar bashing against the wall every time he turned round, plus the nightmares - or vivid dreams he has - meant only one of us slept well. Once when I went to the loo in the night, and put the little light on to check he was OK, he got up and padded over to me. "No," I ordered quickly, "Bed!" and he obeyed. But at 6.30 he was beside my bed, delighted with himself, and so I dragged myself up and we started the day. It's definitely not happening again. Definitely not.

While I worked in the garden today in a desultory sort of way I was treated to a spectacular display of aerobatics. The pilot is a local man with his own runway, and boy can he fly his small plane. For over an hour he made my heart stand still as he soared up in the air, dived straight down, soared again and did a series of spins and loops. I couldn't believe he didn't crash. Gardening has been a gentle exercise in this heat, but still I've got a lot done. Wearing a hat makes all the difference, even if it is a torn straw one that makes me look like Wurzel Gummidge. Earlier in the day I made a lightning trip into Waitrose, and left Hugo behind. I knew he wouldn't be able to get on the work surfaces with his collar on, and he was quite calm when I got back less than an hour later, though excited to see me. I might carry on using the collar when he is better. It could be a useful tool, though it feels a bit like The Handmaid's Tale. But if it works .....