Posting day: Sunday, and, sometimes, maybe, extra bits in between.

Sunday March 1st 2020

I have just published an acknowledgement of today’s post appearing with merely a title – a working title at that.

This will only annoy those who access the blog through e-mail, as I do the Facebook post manually.

As has just been demonstrated, Human has not improved since last week: fortunately, Isis, after a busy day, is deeply asleep so unavailable for comment.

Until Thursday, Isis does not wish to return to the area where she was ambushed by a bicycle last week. Each day when we leave the big fallen tree by the vehicular entrance, I put her on her lead and ‘casually’ walk across the area. On Thursday, when we reach our tree, she pops round and plays there herself.

This is good, but now, even this area has muddy patches in it.

A few weeks ago Isis discovered another reasonably non-submerged playground. It’s a large bramble patch. As we know, she likes nothing better than a bramble patch for her base.

She begins by prancing gleefully up and down one side. Unfortunately, as I soon realise, people and dogs have been using this strip as a short cut down to the path, and Hairy is already well spattered with black mud.

Hastily, I usher her round the corner to a cleaner side of the patch. Usually, she’s most indignant if I move her away from a space she has chosen, but today I’m in luck.

Before she can return to the quagmire, the heavens open (as they say) and hail bombs down on us. Isis, of course, is absolutely thrilled.

Note her filthy back legs, bottom and undercarriage.

Sigh.

While she has the time of her life, I creep beneath a nearby pine tree and watch her.

It is while I shiver beneath the pine that I make a very unwelcome discovery. My glasses are no longer hanging round my neck on their foolproof cord.

My thoughts and feelings at this second are unprintable. This is the third time I’ve lost glasses in Highbury since the summer.

By now we’ve been in the park for almost two hours. I feel Hairy One’s stomach. Her skin is cold, and I walk her back to the car before setting out to retrace our foot/paw steps in the hope of finding my glasses.

I am cold, tired and fed up to the back teeth before I begin to search. And my feet are wet.

I stomp irritably along the tarmac and up the bank at the far end of the park by the allotments. Earlier on, Isis had been playing here very contentedly until a small dog yapped at her and frightened her off.

I walk up and down, to and fro, staring intently at the wet grass. Some more hail falls on me, then a steady sleet sets in.

Great.

SQHELCH, GLURP. SCHLERGE.

I no longer care about the mud as I slide and skid down the slope to the walled garden, tramp past the big pond, and climb up towards the bramble patch.

I gloop back towards the car, spectacleless. Luckily, I have a battered but serviceable pair in the glove box, so at least we will be able to drive home.

The search has taken almost an hour. I do not recommend three hours in Highbury during the wettest February on record.

When I reach the car, I find Isis fast asleep. As I expected, she is her usual warm little self again.

As I drop into the driving seat, my friend Y appears with her dog  Blitzi. Like all of the dogs whose owners bring them to the park these days, he is plastered with slimy mud.

Y is very insistent that we both go and have another look for the glasses. This is extremely kind of her as she, too, is obviously cold and tired after a long walk. Finally, I manage to convince her that there is no way I’m getting out of the car again.

Today is much brighter. Before I  free Isis to play, I walk up to the notice board near the allotment entrance, up at the High Street end of the park. I have no hope at all that the glasses will be there.

But they are. Some kind person has taken the trouble to hang them over the notice board post.

Tomorrow I will pin up a thank you note.

I’m buzzing with delight. It’s not raining. The sun is out, and Isis spends an hour racing around in the only mud free slice of the park.

Lucky us!

*Isis came from the Aeza cat and dog rescue and adoption centre in Aljezur, Portugal. For information about adopting an animal from the centre, contact kerry@aeza.org or www.dogwatchuk.co.uk