I had to get up to sit with the dog last night – it was thundering and lightening. Poor old Bill is terrified of it. So we sat in the front room with the telly on for a while. Half an hour later and I’d fallen asleep on the sofa with my one arm bent over hugging him. Oh, the pain when I woke up. I couldn’t move my neck.

It seemed to have stopped at that point, but I decided to take him upstairs with me in case it started again. Didn’t we have some fun? As I’ve already said, he’s old. The stairs caused a bit of a problem and he just couldn’t get up them. And I can tell you now, he’s no light weight. Eventually, gasping for breath – I’m so unfit – we made it to the top. I then put my dressing grown on the floor by my side of the bed and he cuddled up into it.

I woke this morning to find him sat up staring at me. I can also confirm that it’s even harder getting down the stairs with a dog in your arms than it is getting up them.

++++

George the duck is one of life’s macho males. Well at least he is when he’s standing behind you. Any other time he’s a coward.

He’s absolutely scared stiff of Baby Duck, the other drake we have. They need their wing feathers cutting at the moment. They can’t fly very far; just enough to get over the fence. Himself keeps threatening to put all the ducks in together, but I won’t let him. Baby bullies George whenever he gets the chance and I honestly don’t care that farmyard ducks don’t have a problem and are all in the same pen. I keep telling him George is special – it’s not his fault he thinks he’s a dog.

Anyway all we heard last night was this very loud quacking, the next thing George waddles in though the back door shouting his head off with Baby in hot pursuit. Baby stopped just inside the back doorway and then turned around. George carried on in. Through the utility room, into the kitchen and then the living room. He came straight up to me quacking like mad.

Himself did a great impersonation of: ‘Mummy, mummy, Baby is picking on me’. I was in fits. George followed me outside and stood in the doorway watching until I put Baby back in his pen. He then waddled back up the garden and told Ozzy all about how brave he was. Ozzy will stick up for him if he gets picked on but unfortunately she can't fly, so she was no help what-so-ever stuck on the other side of the fence.