Time flies

Feeding the family

Getting ready to go

Adventures completed, Andromeda's piglets run home for tea

Victoria's "Famous Five" back 'home'

Summer has been happening for several months. It's been a little strange because we'd all got used to the horrendous cold wet conditions which prevailed for months & months and I don't think we really believed good weather existed... so we kept expecting it to turn cold & wet again - but it didn't. So summer crept up on us and stayed. As I write, the farmers are completing their harvest in ideal conditions..... combining mostly done, bales carted in, hedges largely flailed and ploughs already hard at work.
Similarly the swallows; they suddenly arrived at the end of April and quickly started breeding and feeding madly. Their chittering cries and swooping antics as they taught the fledgelings to fly have provoked many of summer's smiles.....but now they're lining up to leave. Soon there'll be silence in the skies.... they'll all have flown...
It's always the youngsters who remind us how time fies. Andromeda's stripey brood have been faster off on their adventures than any other - within less than a week they were merrily out and about: "They're going to be trouble" announced Linda one evening - and she's probably right! They're 2 weeks old on Monday but are well ahead of themselves - boosted by the sunshine they've enjoyed since birth. They've been nibbling at Mum's feed more than a week ahead of time so at this rate we'll be weaning them at 6 weeks!
Speaking of weanlings, Victoria's have been indoors for two weeks and were getting itchy trotters so we put them back out again on Friday - and, lucky for them, they went back to the pen they'd been born in...... 'deja vu' they all said - 'weren't we here just a few hours ago?' Anyway, whether they thought like that or not, they loaded into and out of the trailer pretty quickly..... but when darkness came they were crying out pitifully - either were hungry or they wanted to come back in for the night. Whichever, they were ignored and this morning they'd settled down and were fast asleep at breakfast time...... they'd probably been awake reminiscing all night...... Well?

You never know....  
Meahwhile,  other young things growing fast are making us aware how time flies..... Gunner's son Bugler is now 17 weeks old and, at first glance, is almost as big as Jaunty......

That boy Bugler - he grow so fast

He's been here two months and firmly established his place in the pecking order - which is not at the bottom. There's no allowance for age when the two play together - it gets very raucous in the kitchen from time to time...... and it's definitely the older of the two who is the more gentle..... in fact, Jaunty is an out and out nice chap...... the  little one can learn a lot from him.....  As he can from his dad who, unbekownst to him, will soon be starting work in his 6th shooting season.............. and what will the little one learn from him then.......
Where does the time go?
Probably in little dogs' dreams......

Gunner dreaming of being hard at work.....