Riding through hullaballoo

Comparatively mild weather has arrived and is forecast to continue. I've removed Max's hoody (well chewed by his friend Smoky) and later in the week will probably move him down a notch to his lightweight rug, as the low temperatures are hovering around +7. He's moulting already, which is a good sign that the medium weight is a little too warm, and the itchy, loose hairs will soon irk him.

We had a good grooming session today, and then a walk out with the Ent to see the pigs in their new field, up close and personal. This means turning off the lane and up a track in the middle of a stubble field.

The seven pigs are enclosed by an electric fence not a great distance from the track. It's hard for me to distinguish where the electric fence lies, so I'm sure as far as Max is concerned, there is no fence, just a herd of feral pigs lined up looking at him and making piggy noises.

I could feel Max tense up, but he was good as gold. Stopped a couple of times to stare in disbelief, one snort of horror and indignation, but nothing more. He and I shall try again tomorrow on our own, without the protection of the Ent between us and them.

Spring must indeed be in the air as it was a busy day out in the countryside. We ran into walkers with sticks, saw little patches of snowdrops flowering prettily, and ran into several other hackers out on the bridleways. Most of them were known to us, but Max always seems surprised to see them out of context.

"What you doing here?!"

"I don't know! What you doing here?"

We passed a pair on the road, one dancing gracefully sideways, then saw another pair heading down a track ahead of us... then we passed the piglets. Max likes piglets even less than pigs. all wriggly and fast and mad!

Finally a convention of hackers, gathered in a group discussing the ground ahead, which bits to avoid and how to get round them.

I wonder what a suitable collective noun for a group of hackers might be? A jaunt of hackers? An escapade of hackers? I need to think about this...

The point is, it was busy out in them thar hills and Max, for the most part, remained composed. I may have to readjust my expectations accordingly, because my boy is growing up!