Stymied

It's been a frustrating week. Hugo hurt his dew pads, one of them very badly, in a mad dash after a hare last Sunday. Usually these things heal quite quickly, but not this time. Again and again I've thought they were nicely scabbed over, but the mischievous little devil has managed to get his tongue on the worst one a few times and undone all the good. He's had the collar on pretty solidly for several days now, and when I got back from Snape at lunchtime I felt so sorry for him that I decided to let him run free in the garden. First I strapped up both legs with thick soft padding after checking the state of them, and then I let him go. He went crazy, all that energy pent up after a week of walking sedately on the lead. Round and round he charged, twisting and turning at top speed, flinging himself all over the place and always ending up at my side. I swear he was grinning with delight; I know that I was. Then, horrors, I saw a big dark red stain spreading across the dressing on the worst leg. I took the cover off carefully, and then gambled that if I left it open to sun and the air it would heal quicker. And so it has. But the future is looking grim. I think that leg in particular will always be vulnerable now. I've ordered a pair of protectors for his skinny legs, but I fear that even with these on the friction could cause the skin to break again. He's sick of the Elizabethan collar, and so am I. But we have to be patient, and hopefully we'll get there. Letting him off the lead at the Woodland Trust feels like a distant dream.

It's funny how the wind drops in the evening. Nothing is moving out there now, and it's still and quiet indoors too, no radio or television to distract. I gazed out over the barley field beyond the garden and realised that in just a week it has gone from green to gold. I dread the moment when the combines come and lay it all to waste again. I'm also feeling slightly sick. Yesterday, in a really unaccustomed craving for chocolate, I went into Fram and bought two different ice creams and a chocolate cake. I'm not sure why I needed to sample all three this afternoon, but all I can say is that it was worth it at the time. I've also made some elderflower cordial, and we all know how sweet that is. Sometimes I can't get enough sugar, and then thankfully the urge passes again for a long time. But it's on me at the moment, and despite my queasiness I'm wondering if some chocolate cake would help.