Many years ago, we bought a kid. No, not a small child, as that would be ridiculous, but a baby goat. Jamie was just charmed by the creature at a farmer's market, and I couldn't say no. We brought it home and called it Petal.

And it cried, and cried, and cried.

We didn't know much about goats.

In the end, we realised a baby goat was not what we needed, and it was a bit irresponsible of us to even think we could.

So Petal went back to it's owners.

And I cried, and cried.

For years we've wanted a dog. We've had dogs before, but because of the pain of saying goodbye to Rosie, the dog we had in England who ended up being lovingly raised on a narrowboat, we decided that until we could truly, truly be present for a dog, we wouldn't get one.

And this week, busy building a polytunnel, we decided that now is a great time for a puppy. We're home, and present. And we really, really wanted a puppie. So we found these beautiful kelpie pups on Gumtree, and decided it was time. I'd had kelpies as a kid - they're loyal, highly energetic and intelligent working dogs, and I love them. They've always been the only breed for me.

And then at 4 am this morning, a few hours before we were meant to go pick her up, I woke up thinking about the polytunnel. There was so much work to be done to get it operational in time for Spring. In fact, I wanted it done last week. We've made a great start - the hoops are up - but there's the plastic to go on and the beds to be put in, seedlings to plant and the irrigation and all.

It's part of a whole list of things we wanted to do before we went back to work. Plant more trees. Build a perfect chicken coop. Fabricate a perfect roofrack for the Landrover. Sort out the front garden, the eaves, the olive grove. Paint the ceiling, tile the splashback in the bathroom.

And how does one get all this done with an energetic puppy?

Jamie also woke up, and was thinking the same thing. Kelpies take a lot of work. A lot. And if we go back to work next year - when we do - we're just not going to be around as much as we should be, for a kelpie.

Adulting is tough.

We're going to have to babysit the puppy my son is picking up on Sunday instead. That's a good substitute, we think. Better than doing wrong by a dog. They're a gift to the world. We'll always be dog people, but for now, that has to be sans dog.

Back to the polytunnel, then.