The axe forgets, the tree remembers.

The 'bad' farmer is busily harvesting the last of the sunflowers . Flocks of thrushes and starlings following in the combines wake. He stops, gets out of the cab and wanders over to make small talk. While we chat Bob and Sophie settle down amid the wildflowers for a nap. Stupidly, oh so stupidly, I tell him that life along the lane is quiet without the two cows in the field opposite. '' I'll make sure I bring a couple more along to keep you company " he says jovially. Having watched , and become increasingly angry about the maltreatment of his herd, this is not a response I'd expected. Nor welcome. Maybe he'll forget.

The grande dame of stage and screen coming on her annual visit this weekend. Angus buys champagne ( " I only drink good champagne " ) while ' the font ' gets the guest room ready. Caroline , the new cleaning lady, washes some sheets and hangs them out to dry. At lunchtime ' the font ' wonders why Bob and Sophie are so quiet. Silence, as all puppy owners know, is bad. Very bad. The answer is soon apparent. Sophie can be found in the middle of the cherry orchard. She has somehow managed to pull the sheets down from the washing line and then constructed a cosy nest out of them . She exudes happiness. This is not an emotion exuded by 'the font'.