The farmer and his dogs

Meet J, one of our local farmers. I saw he was busy in the field beside Heavenfield Church (end of St Oswald's Way) so I stopped to take a photo. J was busy checking his mole traps. This field is one he uses for silage. If the mole hills are left unchecked, then the silage contains listeria. J wouldn't mind moles if it wasn't for the infection which is bad for his sheep.

Here he is with his dogs. The young one is just 2 years old but the old girl is 13. She likes to ride on the back of the quad bike throughout the working day. Molly, don't read the next bit. I'm so glad he is not one of the farmers who shoots his collies when they are too old to work.

I went to see the orthopaedic surgeon. Apparently my knee is recovering more slowly than average. I now have to stop walking for a week to see if that helps. He also told me that the arthritis he found behind the patella is pretty bad with exposed bone. Arth and I crept home to read a book in bed so that Arth could rest properly. We are disappointed to say the least but determined to recover. After all I had not symptoms of arthritis before the operation.