It was lovely and warm this morning so I asked Pepper if she wanted to go swimming in the  loch next to the Minions’ field.

I didn’t have much to throw in to entice Pepper in, but I walked into the loch in my wellies, hoping she would follow while coaxing her in with bits of dried horse-poo or dried moss, which all floats very nicely.

And Pepper bravely went in genuinely thinking about retrieving them, but she would turn back just before she was out of her depth.

I tried a few times.

And then Pepper noticed her Nemeses (pl. Nemesis) – greylag geese.

She hates them.

Her aim on any walk is to make them take flight, and if she sees any, she deliberately runs after them to achieve this.

I urged her to “get them” and that spurred her forward to the deeper part of the loch.

But then Pepper chickened out and turned for the bank.

So close, so very close to actual swimming. Next time I might just go further into the loch wearing some old boots to see if I can get her to follow me.  It is warm all week and I want to get her swimming.