Six years...

..since this this blip marked the arrival of Gus in our lives. I've been absent from here for 6 months, but I couldn't not mark his anniversary with a photo of him at the top of the Knott on our morning walk. The light at dawn was poor and the conditions murky.

He's slowed down a lot in the last year, but his enthusiasm each morning for the walk over the hill is undiminished. His pace doesn't rise much above a gentle trot, and he leads me up the steepest sections at a slow but deliberate pace. We do the same route every morning, we haven't missed a day this year when we have been at home, whatever the weather, and as we approach the end of the year, we will have completed 400 ascents of the hill from the house. He's not really up for walks of more than two miles, but he still insists on going out at lunchtime and in the evening.

What a gift Gus has been for us this last six years, the best Christmas present we've ever had. We've been so lucky that he's graced our lives with his gentle, loving presence. 

A belated Merry Christmas to everyone who has followed this journal for all or part of the last nine years or so. I don't know whether to carry on with it or not. I have a few ideas for 2019 that may or may not materialise. I have enjoyed the time out from blipping, it had become a bit of a chore, and I had lost the sense of joy that I had once had. I've had time to concentrate on other things this last year as my health has improved after illness in 2016 and 2017. But I have missed my contact with so many people that I have got to know through this unique and extraordinary website. So I probably shall carry on, albeit on a fairly occasional basis. I may get back to frequent blipping when I have more time away from the demands of a working life. Thank you to everyone who has dropped in on this journal in the last 6 months, and for all your supportive comments. Happy New Year!

Posted on 28 December 2018.