Castor is a big boisterous adolescent with a dodgy off-switch, living his best life in Oxfordshire.
13/01/2025
Happy burfday to me, happy burpday to me, hoppy birdies to meeeee, happy barfies to me!
Dear Jackson,
Apparently it is my burpday, which means that today I am much older and more mature than I was yesterday. Uncle Reefing says I'm 3 and will soon be catching him up, but I'm not really sure how that will happen 'cos he's older than everything except maybe for Dad. I'm not sure it's really my burfday, but he says that what's in the little book that came with me from the other hot place, so I suppose it is as good a day as any. I do feel really grown up now though, and got my own special cake for dinner that Mum made for me. It was yummy but as I'm a big dog now, I waited until I was invited before getting stuck in. It had lovely mush with
Grandad Bones and TWO types of cheese! My tummy's very full now.
Did you get Grandad Bones? At Kiss-miss when the big tree was in the house, he sent them to me from oop north. They're crunchy and come in a big box and look like bones but taste like biscuits. They're yummy. He still calls me Jackson sometimes but that's ok.
An awful lot has happened since I last wrote so I might get tired and have to stop halfway through, but if I do I'll finish it later.
Lets see, where will I start?
Rosie is well and on her holidays right now. She was very, very poorly a while ago and spent a long time at the V.E.T. but she seems all better now. She ate something that got stuck inside and hurt her tummy so they had to take it out. She was very sick and I was scared she might go away, but she says she's a tough old bird and it will take a bit more than that to see her off. I went to her house the other night and we played while our people drank fizzy water and ate stuff that would be very bad for us dogs. That's what we were told anyway, but I'd be prepared to give it a go. I was quite well behaved (for me) and only had to go on my lead and sit beside Dad twice when I got a bit carried away. In the end though, Rosie and I lay down together and had a little snooze. She says she'll have a surprise to show me soon, after she gets back from her holidays.
Rosie will always be your Rosie, so I've now found a Rosie of my own. She lives nearby with the Very Important Visitor who came to see you after you first arrived. My Rosie is a pointer like us and came from the same hot place as us. She's very beautiful and I think she was impressed by all the bouncing I did in the big field where we met. She pretended not to be, of course and even took my ball away, but I could tell. In the end we had a very nice time playing together and I learned about something called "boundaries". We both went for a walk with Dad and were very good and listened to what he said, so I think he was proud of me.
Another Kiss-Miss has come and gone and the big tree had lots of sparkly stuff in it with our names on. HedgePig was in there too, but I wasn't allowed to touch him as he's far too precious. I have lots of toys of my own to play with anyway. I'm particularly fond of Brown Dog. He's a dog, you see, and he's brown. All his insides are gone, but I still like to carry him around and keep him in my bed.
Well, when I say "my bed" I suppose I mean "one of my beds". A little while ago I decided that I would like some options at bedtime so most nights I go up the wooden hill and sleep on top of Dad. He doesn't move around as much as Mum does so I get a better night's sleep that way, although I do grumble a bit if he pulls at the blankets. I leave him plenty of room, though. If he lies on his side. And keeps his legs straight. In the morning, I usually stick my paw in his face, which he loves, and off we go for another day.
Sometimes I spend the day with our friend Flicka. She had puppies a while ago and one of them - Widgeon - stayed to live with her in her house. Uncle Reefing says Widgeon is a typical Gen Zee or something but I don't know what that is. I like Widgeon very much though, and when I'm staying at her house I usually snuggle into her bed. She's brown, like Brown Dog. Maybe that's why I like her so much.
When it was hot and the days were long, I met your old friend Milo! We got into the car and drove to a place where there were these big old stones standing up and when we got out, Milo got out of his car too. We went for a long walk together all around the stones, where we saw some cows, and the our Mums and Dads sat down to have food and that scummy brown water Dad likes so much. Milo was very nice and I can see why he was your friend. I was nice and polite and on my best behavior when I met him, because he's very important and I wanted you to be proud of me.
We went on holiday oop north again to see Granny and Grandad. This time we met lots of other people who sound like Mum and look a bit like her too. I think they're all part of our family, so it's a bit bigger than I realised. As well as the huuuuuge sandy bit, we went to a lovely big field there, where I climbed on stuff and made a picture. I'm very handsome so the picture is brilliant.
I can't remember anything else now, but I'll keep thinking and write again soon.
Thanks for looking after us.
Your little brother
Castor.
