Two posts ago I talked about the vegetable cage I was building to keep the chickens off my veg and I mentioned that I was in the process of building another one. Well, it’s been so long since I last wrote a post that since that post I built the second cage, planted courgettes and peas in it, eaten the peas which have now died off, and eaten pretty much all of the courgettes – the plant is looking a bit ropey now. My other cage was a storming success and a month or two back I harvested my garlic (50 bulbs is a conservative estimate) and my shallots (probably about 40 shallots) which we’ve been munching our way through since.

As usual, I’ve been working on all sorts of things in the day and the evenings, only one of which I’ve been paid for, but hopefully there is more to come soon. It means I’ve been able to save up more than usual, particularly as I’m saving nigh on £100 a month simply by working at home most of the time. I tend to only visit university on Thursdays now when I have a regular meeting.

In June Daisy joined me for a week’s holiday in a small city in Italy called Figline. I was having a meeting there and so we extended the stay to enjoy the beauty of Tuscany. Unforunately on the first day, Daisy slipped over and hurt her leg, so we didn’t see a great deal of Tuscany as it turned out. But it was still nice. Her leg was never quite right, so she started physio sessions after seeing her doctor.

Then. about 6 weeks ago now, at the end of July, we went to a mate’s birthday do, in a local village hall and had a fun game of skittles. In the middle of the following night Daisy’s ankle swelled up and was causing her some pain. She spent all Sunday with her foot up, not walking anywhere. We thought it may have been some sort of after-shock from her slipping over but, Sunday evening, we sensibly decided to go to the out-of-hours GP service which is hosted at Poole Hospital. After a long wait, the GP non-committally uhm’d and ah’d before deciding to keep her in overnight. In fact, they didn’t let her leave until 4 days later having poked and prodded her and given her all manner of x-rays and blood tests. Her ankle had swollen due to a flare-up of arthritis caused by a genetic disorder she’s got (and has always had) that means all her joints are malformed. This is why she’s always had a bit of trouble walking (and never since her teens has been able to run). The disorder is called something like Multiple Epiphyseal Displaysia. Daisy would be interested in hearing from anyone else with it.

So, it was decided that if her joints are all mucked up, the best action would be to minimise the strain on them. Her physiotherapist suggests doing non-weight-bearing exercise, like riding a bike and swimming. All good advice, but we’ve also decided to go back on the diet we were on 3 years ago and lose some weight again. Weightwatchers worked very well for us back then and we still have all the books from that last time, so it’s a perfect excuse. I’m going on the diet too; partly to be supportive, but mostly because of my ample belly which uncomfortably inhibits my breathing when I need to do up my shoe laces!

We started the diet 3 weeks ago and I’ve lost 2.5 pounds. Daisy’s lost 1.5lb. At last I’m down below 13stone once again! This week’s been more of a struggle, I think because we haven’t done much exercise. We did our regular ballroom class (yes, weight-bearing!) but haven’t done much else. Last week, though, I was busy chopping the hedges the hard way using hand-shears. I found it much more rewarding that using a noisy hedge-trimmer (if taking somewhat longer — but not a great deal).

And so we’re back up to date. The summer’s been and is already beginning to wane, despite being a lovely day today, and I’m feeling more environmental than ever these days having had some recognition for some of my wildlife photography, even if it’s only from the chairman of a local nature reserve support group. I think Daisy and I might try to go on more wildlife walks and talks, although it will depend on whether Daisy’s joints can cope with the walking!

Other than Figline, I’ve not been travelling too much over the summer, thankfully. However, I have another busy period approaching with three trips in the three months before Christmas – Barcelona in September, Edinburgh in October and Leuven (in Belgium) in November. I’m not looking forward to it, to be honest.