Morning walk time !

It's my turn to be alone in the house while the font of all knowledge goes back to London for a few days. Being incapable of making anything more demanding than a bacon sandwich I can just about survive two nights on my own. Long ago it was discovered that I could turn even the most foolproof of recipes into a culinary disaster. Pasta takes on the consistency of soup, meat becomes leather and fish becomes simply unrecognizable. I was finally banished forever from the kitchen when my pork roast was incorrectly identified as well done beef. As a result of my severe culinary ineptitude a variety of dinners are cooked ahead of time and all I have to do is slip them into the oven to warm up. It would have worked perfectly last night had it not been for a phone call from an old friend in Chicago who rang two minutes after I put the tray in the oven. After chatting for the better part of an hour I belatedly remembered that there was only one thing I had to remember to do - take dinner out of the range after twenty minutes. Plus ca change...

Come five o'clock this morning the two boyz were raring to get started . In the absence of human company to complain about a lack of sartorial elegance I can throw on a sweat shirt and shorts and be out of the house and on the walk within two minutes. Today is just perfect, sunny but with the mildest and most refreshing of breezes. The porcupines have been snuffling around the house during the night so there were plenty of exciting scents for the two troubadors to follow. They have dutifully escorted me around the grounds ( clearly sharing the opinion that I can't be left unattended for long), watching as I watered the new olive trees and putting the sprinkler on the lavender beds. After three hours of constant activity they are played out and ready for a sleep . I'm ready for a long shower and a dip in the pool.