New Friends

After posting my last film here, I got an email telling me that my films are gross and my correspondent says that I should be I should be shooting them with fly spray and not a camera. While I was tempted to allow an edited version to be posted I decided to just reject it as I really don't have time to edit out profanity. I am fully aware that some folks dislike insects, but this is predominantly a nature web log and while some people may like all the cute and cuddly ones, we share the planet with all life. Now it may be that that comment, sent anonymously, was intended as a joke, but it just made me question the sanity of the person posting it.

However, as I don't just want to “gross out” my reader, I am including a posting of some film of a Swan today.

Also following my posting of the film of the flooding at Blackhall Mill, I got a rather strange email from a woman who said that she thought she knew me. While I did not recognise the name, I asked how she thought that? Well it turns out that she worked with my ex-wife when we first moved to the North East. She thought that she recognised my voice from the commentary.

I realised who she was as the first person from work that my ex had made friends with, had lived at Hamsterley Mill, not far from here. I had met her a couple of times too, but she had been a friend of my ex wives and not mine. So I was not sure what to do when she asked to meet me, while I have no problem with meeting someone from my past, or my wives past, that part of my life is over.

Anyway, she told me that she wanted to apologise as when she had met me then she knew she had been a bit off with me because of some of the things my ex had told her. Some of these she now knew not to be totality accurate, her words. Even so, I was not sure why she had wanted to meet me. Well it turned out that she and my ex are still in contact and a couple of years ago, my Ex had told her that, she (my Ex), wished that there was some way for us to get back together.

Well I have given the matter some thought and I really do not want to even met my ex, or know where she is or anything like that. For reasons of both our dignity I don't want to go into detail, but that was a different life and a different time. Both our lives have evolved from there. My exs friend said that she understood. But she also asked if I was not curious about my Ex, I told her that yes I was but sometimes its better not to know and that I was more concerned with now and the future than the past.

Personally I suspect that past baggage would always have been there had we met again.

Talking of new friends, when I first came to the village I started to get to know some of the various dog owners. Most of whom I only know as Mrs Rover or Red Setter woman, but the majority I get on well with. There was one woman whose dog, a Heinz variety, I got on very well with. In fact her dog took more notice of me than it did his owner. Well I had not seen her or her dog for ages, until today. I bumped into her as I was returning from my meeting with my ex-wife's friend. It turns out that the woman has not been well, and for the last eight months the poor dog has been in Kennels. Well when she saw just how her dog had not been getting the human interaction he needed she has taken the dog out early. While taking the dog walking is boosting her own recovery, I have agreed to occasionally take the dog for a walk myself.

Had I know of her illness I would have been to see her, but unfortunately I did not. At least by taking her dog for a few walks I can keep a check on how she is at least. While at times I have thought of getting a dog from a rescue shelter, while I still have my cat who is at least 12 years old, I don't know her exact age as she was a rescue Cat, I don't think it would be fair on her. She doesn't like dogs and would bully any dog given half a chance. I just hope that the poor dog can keep up with me.