Flying high on Friday

Friday started normally enough as Fridays often do with the children chivvied off to school slightly happier than usual with the weekend looming and then into puzzling over who ordered which breakfast and how many don't want sausages etc etc. I ignored the ringing phone as is my wont as it would be 1. the quarry 2. the woollen Mill 3. someone silly cold calling. In all three of these scenarios it is by far preferable if Garret picks up the call. Once breakfasts were on the table I delivered the usual cuppa to Mr C. lying in state upstairs to find that after all the call was for me. The offer of a trip out in Howard and Mynra's plane if I could get myself to Oban. Hmm difficult choice, doing the rooms and then running 7-8 miles with Liz or going flying on a gorgeous day. An hour later I was on my way to Oban with cold box in the boot so I could shop before hand. With typical Fee like behaviour I started my worrying when approaching the airport, no, not about the flight but about where to park, where to meet H and M and what if I could not find them.....worry worry worry...However as I drew into the neat and small car park there they were leaning on the railings outside a toy sized modern terminal building. It was so lovely to see them and they gave me the treat of a lifetime and a memory to treasure for ever. that sounds such as easy thing to say but it was a sliver of time that will always remain special. We flew from Oban over Loch Awe and onto Inveraray, in miniature Dun Na Cuiche does not look so high as it does from sea level! Over Inveraray we went and then over our house (I spotted a few new tracks for running.....) and then down Loch Fyne to Lochgilphead. The return journey up the coast was magical, and I was resistant to an offer to take the controls in case I missed something! Man may have done some terrible things to the landscape but the wee sails in all colours racing along below and the wind farms lazily turning on the hillside were all part of the day's tremendous beauty. Down again safely we headed to Benderloch to round off a perfect day with a perfect coffee and a perfect scone. By the time I got home Garret had taken off on an offer to go riding and so it was back into family life and teatime. I tried to sneak out for a quick run, just 5 flattish miles or so but got caught by Garret returning so the five flattish turned into 7 challenging.....Only problem now is which photos to publish out of so many perfect ones. If you can bear to look at more the full album is on facebook.
In the usual way i have managed to upload the pictures all in the wrong order and my tummy is grumbling for it's lunch now so no re jogging today.
1. Coast going North to Oban
2. Our House with Loch Fyne in the background
3. Our House
4. Inveraray
5. Loch awe
6. Coming in to land
7. plane and passengers
8. Howard and Myrna
9. Parking the plane without the benefit of parking sensors.

One man and his Hoss

Another hard day at work for man and horse. Well, brushing Lewis, chatting with the stable girls, then ambling along the forest track can be really tough and riding him on such a horrid day really unpleasant for all concerned. Lewis knows his way to our back door but was not too pleased to be given a couple of parsnips in with his carrots.

Piggy Freedom!

The second escape in as many days and the future is suddenly not looking quite so good for the Three Little Pigs and Mrs Pig. Toby and Rosie were met yesterday on their way up the track home from the bus by a bold little pig trotting along on her way down to make her fortune....Rosie was dispatched to get the bucket to shake and foil her Fairy Tale dreams and hence discovered the other escapees standing in the food bin (or what was left of it) munching away. Today I was alerted by a humongous and angry squealing that one piglet had this time tunnelled out in solo bid for food and was attaching the poor decrepit pig nut bin again. Unable to bear the sight of this the others were going mad with jealously and successfully sniped on her. Fifteen frantic bucket shaking, bread roll trail making minutes later and the prisoner is now in with Mr Pig as his was the easiest field to get her into....He's a Happy Mr Pig, especially as we had to bribe him away from the gate by lobbing stale bread buns past him into the field. All very entertaining, especially as I was just back from a very sneezy, itchy (am allergic) riding session and so had on old faded pink dressing gown in preparation for a bath....stunning teamed with long riding boots, the first "appropriate" footwear that came to hand (to foot?).

Fun and Games with the horses

After managing to tempt Toby out of bed with a) a warm tasty Hot Cross Bun and b) imminent haircuts..it is vital to him that his hair maintains a no nonsense streamlined look we managed to get down riding this morning. After a short sharp stand off about exactly who was riding who and whose body armour was whose they managed to get mounted and after a whirl wind warm up session led by Toby they got some jumping done and had FUN!