Mrs Down's Diary - October 7 2009

We had a large crop of walnuts two years ago but very few last year. His ambition this autumn is to again have a huge net of walnuts hanging up in the meal shed. Luckily for the squirrels he is spending much of the day and evening down the fields getting drilled up. They are harvesting as many of the nuts as they can from the walnut tree whilst he is away.

Holly our Springer spaniel had a great day at the duck shoot. She is so enthusiastic. Her tail never stops wagging from break of day till bedtime. She was exhausted though and very pleased to curl up under her pig lamp for the night. Although the weather is still mild, she has been in and out of water all day and we do not want her to get stiff and chilled. To go with John to pick up is seventh heaven for Holly and he was pleased with how she worked.

Looking ahead as to how Pip our Labrador puppy will retrieve may be problematical. The yard is regularly filled with the stuffing that has leaked from Pip's vast range of soft toys. Pheasants, ducks, hippos, fleas, tigers and dollies are tugged, pulled and disputed over between Holly and Pip. Feathers will certainly fly when they both want the same pheasant.

As the field work draws to an end, the stubble areas that our friends pointers have trained on are diminishing in size. "Can't you persuade John to work more slowly" Joan their owner said. Sorry. It is a race against time. I want to go away for a few days in late October and we need to get drilled up by then.

He will however have to break again next weekend when he goes up to the Borders to shoot over these same pointers. Then the dogs will be working in earnest to mark where the grouse are.. I tell you. He does his best to convince me his life is all work.

Meanwhile at the shoot dinner last night I was chatting to one of the guns who had just returned from fishing in Ireland. I appear to mix with the leisured classes. He told me that at the end of one his days on the river he was in a bar enjoying several pints of the black stuff with a fellow angler.

The evening progressed and the decision was made not to attempt to attempt to drive back to their rented cottage and to have a pizza for supper. Staggering into the local pizza takeaway they placed their order.

Pepperoni and ham and pineapple toppings. Then the added request. "Do you do a home delivery service?" Yes. "Well then, here's the address and we'll go with the pizzas".