1. The firmness of the still frozen earth. The horses’ field has been boggy of late but today, the cold holds the hoof prints in the mud until mid-afternoon.

2. A sudden burst of productivity.

3. The sky is clear except for the wispy clouds, like floating wool roving, pulled across the moon.

4. Seeing familiar streets in a different context.

1. The chickens peck a face into the side of the apple. It’s a rather gruesome grimace but it makes me smile all the same.

2. From flat navy to warm butter, a full spectrum of blues in between.

3. Carla snuggles next to me while I eat my soup. She is wonderfully fluffy and the picture of health, all bright eyes and happy chirps: such a lovely change from her flu days earlier in the month.

1. The stark contrast between the orange-red leaves and the deep green grass hurts my eyes. It looks unbalanced, the grass seeming bluer than it should be.

2. “Oh!” I exclaim when a little black dog suddenly appears at my side. It jumps up at my leg and I pat its head before it runs off back to its owners. I look around for Lily, who usually flees at the sight of other dogs, and am surprised to see her relatively close by, tootling along by the wall. It takes me perhaps twenty seconds to realise it’s actually another fat springer, and our stink hound is actually 100m away, on the other side of the field.

3. The puddle covers nearly half the near side of the road, and most of the pavement too, for the length of the bridge. We have no choice. I hang up my phone call and tell Lily to run. We run along together as the cars send spray after spray in our direction. The last car stops short of the puddle but Lily wants to keep running. She, and we, like running together. Forget those other dogs, we’re her pack now.

1. “You’re here!” The man in the hi-vis jacket exclaims cheerfully as he enters the reading area. An old man looks up. “You’ve been missing the last few weeks.”

“I’ve been here. You’ve been missing as far as I’ve been concerned,” the old man replies in a mumble. “I thought you had gone on one of your long holidays.”

“No, I’ve been here, you’ve not been here. I thought you’d died. I almost went by your place to see if you were alright.” The hi-vis man sits down. “Have I told you about my £7 pint?”

2. I don’t crowd the mushrooms. Fried in a little of my favourite butter and a smidge of garlic puree, they’re divine.

3. Being someone else for a while – someone who is confident to the point of cockiness, takes nothing seriously and is also, ahem, a green goblin with blue hair.

1. I always hate the thought of doing my company account and tax return but when I actually come to do it, I always enjoy it a whole lot more than I should.

2. To pop on to do a chore then get pulled into a story with someone. Our narrative will continue to unfold a little bit at a time.

3. Boron is spooning Carla with her back leg wrapped around her chest. It’s super cute and not only because I often do the same to John (it surprisingly comfortable).

1. In the woods, the leaves are a murky brown but in the horses’ field, the beech trees provide the glorious reds and oranges more stereotypical of autumn. The fallen tree drops its leaves for a final time and the dying balsam scents the air with its fading musk.

2. Lily barking in her dreams.

3. Silliness involving a photo of some kippers and a block of cheddar.