Day 283 - In the Doghouse

erm...hello?

This is possibly one of the worst photo's I've used on my blog, but I quite like it all the same.

We are really missing having dogs around the house, and for some weeks now we have been getting increasingly desperate to find a new dog. 

However, our requirements are quite stringent, so finding the right dog is proving to be something of a challenge.

Our high level plan is to get a dog of medium size and middle age as soon as we can.  We need it to be safe with cats, have a calm and gentle energy, and not be an escape artist.  It needs to be fairly comfortable with being left at home during the day, and of course it needs to be fundamentally house trained...any further training or reconditioning, we're happy to undertake as necessary.

Something like a golden retriever would be perfect, although we'd also be interested in labs, flat-coat retrievers, spinone or similar...maybe even a bearded collie or a rotty or something like that...

Next we'd like a bigger, younger dog, and finally maybe a small dog with a big character...some sort of terrier, most likely. 

Of course all these plans are subject to immediate change with no prior notice, upon finding the right dog of any age, size or breed!

Anyway, we had some time today so decided to pop to the Dogs Trust and have a look.  We weren't too confident that we'd find the kind of dog we're looking for but wanted to see for ourselves. 

It was sad to see how many of the dogs in there have issues...some just lie in their crates, clearly depressed...others spin round in circles, frustrated and stir crazy...yet others still just bark and bark at passers by...a few are friendly, and one or two have lovely soft energy and a nice slow wag, but often even these seem somewhat cowed by their circumstance.

The saddest thing of all is that we feel like we can't help any of them.  We think we have the knowledge, the calm energy, and the patience to bring them back from the dark psychological places they're floundering in...but with full time jobs, we just don't have the time and attention that they'd need to turn them around. 

Maybe one day, when we have a calm, stable pack, we could think about taking one of these poor mutts home...but for now, we're going to have to look elsewhere.

We're in touch with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (whose breeding centre is just nearby), and we've had a good word put in for us by our (and their) vets...so we're hoping to get on the list for a failed guide dog of whatever breed...

We're also looking for any adult dogs for sale that fit our specification.

So it's all a bit of a waiting game...

In the meantime, it was nice to have a moment's connection to this dog at the shelter today...he and his little Jack Russell buddy had been dashing frantically between their indoor and outdoor rooms, over-excited about all the activity in the centre, and no idea what else to do with it...

But he stopped long enough to briefly enquire of me what I thought I was doing...it was kind of painful not to get skin on fur - it's such a natural way to communicate with a dog - but lovely to get the momentary psychological connection, at least.

In other news, check out this impressive website that my daughter has just launched...if you know of anyone getting married soon, do point them in the direction of Pingle Pie...they won't be disappointed!

I'm so proud!

:-)

Day 252 - Walking Dead

it's alive!

Over at my brother's house this afternoon I thought I'd stumbled into some dystopian nightmare when this lumbering zombie shuffled, moaning, into the room.

Turns out it was just the BirdZombie, reanimated after a miraculous display of self-healing, defying all the doctor's predictions, and back in the land of the living.

I recommended getting into cosplay immediately and heading for the nearest ComicCon...he looked at me blankly, and for a moment I was concerned that he is actually zombified...but no, he was just being a teenager!

Anyway it was fantastic to see him up and about, and I hear he's enjoying daily visits from the nurse, so you know, I reckon he's living the teenage dream! 

;-)

Following that we visited Kim to see how she's getting on setting up her new business.  Roob had built this elaborate light stage to get professional quality photo's for their website. 

light show

I'm really impressed at the quality of the work they're producing between them, and I'm sure they can make a go of their business...can't wait to see them progress!

Meanwhile, our local sparrows seem to be joining forces to make a lovely big flock that flit around the gardens and hedgerows...it seems as though several families are enjoying the safety in numbers, and the flock is now around 50 individuals.

superfly

This morning, they all appeared in the hedgerows outside my lounge window, and before long a clutch of them were in this loose, fine soil, where drainpipes have just been laid.  Some were grazing on the grass seed that's been sprinkled on the disturbed lawn, whilst others were taking the opportunity for a dust bath!

There are around 30 sparrows in this photo...whilst the flock includes two or three tree sparrows, I can't spot any in this picture...

(update - Anna spotted a tree sparrow, on the far left, just below the centre line of the photo) 

Anyway, to end this rambling weekend post, for those (hopefully few) of you who are still with me, here's a rare treat...

fro

This is Kim and I, around 1990, give or take...Kim just gave me this photo today, so I felt obliged to post it here for posterity...

I'm not proud...

:-/

Day 194 - Rogue's Gallery

We had a family gathering this evening, and my mum asked me to get a selection of photo's, much to everyone's annoyance...

It's late and I'm tired, so it's going to be primarily pics, tonight...

First up...Mum presides over the proceedings...

...with her minions at her feet: 

And of course, not far away is Mike, waiting for mum to tell him to do something: 

Kim was there too, looking cool, calm and collected:

Even Roob manages to not look too distracted by having a camera shoved in his face:

Jools and Siobhan were there...here's a rare shot of Jools not pulling a face at the camera: 

Ollie is quite a challenge, being perhaps the most annoyed at being photographed, but I luck into this peach of a shot of the kid: 

Tembie is so photogenic, she's no problem at all: 

Harry and Chris vie for the I'm taller than you crown...Chris's hair is winning, but in actual height I think Harry still has him: 

James, Brad, Bird and 'Arry - the Grandma Crew:

Rosie offers a sweet smile, presumably making a play for the cake:

Of course Riz' wants in on everything:
  

Even yours truly gets a sneaky look in:

And once more with feeling:

That's all, folks!

B-)

Day 183 - Halfway House

tada

June 15th - exactly equidistant between my 50th, and 51st birthday...my 6 month blogaversary!

183 days in, and I have still to miss a day - it feels like a milestone, and I'm really chuffed to have made it this far.

To celebrate, we spent a couple of hours messing around in the garden...can you guess what we're all doing?

directing traffic?

Kim looks very focussed...

thunderbirds are stop

Whilst Christina looks like a puppet on a string...

holding his tongue right

Roob seems to be getting down and funky...

don't shoot

Anna gives herself up...

gimme five up high

Whilst I solicit an optimistic high five...

ba-doom tish

And Kim finishes with a flourish...


Those of you who have been paying attention will of course have realised by now that we've been slacklining...and great fun it's been.  

It's quite hard but we all made some progress...and it's notable how stable you can appear in a still shot!

poise

Kim looking graceful...

ease

Christina asking what all the fuss is about...

radical, dude

Roob casually surfs the line... 

the tao of anna

Anna demonstrates her perfect balance... 

halfway there!

Whilst I seem to be heavier than everyone else...

Those pictures belie how difficult it is, though...these action shots are more representative, and more fun!

touchdown imminent

Kim's controlled dismount...

tai chi feet

Anna's ninja pose...

still waiting on that five

Am I getting on, falling off, what?!

banzai

Anna attempts an extravagant french dismount...

And so, a good time was had by all...I expect we'll feel it in the morning!


And there it is, the halfway mark...

6 months down, 6 months to go...I can do this!

:-)

Day 174 - Freedy Neet

big tree

I actually had a photo related to the D-Day Anniversary that's all over everything today (for reasons that aren't clear to me...).

But I couldn't bring myself to post it, knowing full well that I'd struggle to avoid a lengthy diatribe on the senselessness of war, and how hypocritical we are when we claim to be civilised, whilst maintaining large stocks of troops and weapons, used primarily on those our government (or their corporate paymasters) disagree with, whilst also serving as a handy means of diverting large amounts of public money into private coffers...

You see, I'm off down that road already!

Changing the subject...this beautiful big tree looked resplendent in the evening sunshine, tall and majestic.  Even though I didn't have our decent camera, I took a snapshot on my phone, to complement the growing range of trees I've featured.  

I think this one is a Scots Pine, but that's only because Anna said it was...so if I'm wrong, it's her fault, mmkay?

Finally, in an effort to keep today's post short and sweet (I'm tired and I really want to get my freedy neet on), here's a photo of our starters from when we went out for a meal in an Italian restaurant early this evening.

what's in the bowl?

I know Kim was interested in previous food pictures, and I figure she and Roob might enjoy trying to work out what we had...or get frustrated, maybe - doesn't look that obvious to me!

Still, you know, food, or whatever...yay!

:-)

Day 173 - Li'l White Tiger

evil eye

Apparently Kim really enjoyed the photo of the cat from the other day...so today we have a reprise!

She's obviously found a spot she likes, and is going to use it....presumably a good vantage point from which to hunt.   Once again, she's checking me out as I take photo's, before apparently deciding that I'm no threat.

Here is a wider shot, where you can see how she's sheltering under the leafy, overhanging branches, whilst surveying the long grass for signs of prey...of which there is plenty.  

queen of her domain

The field is left to grow for a few weeks at this time of year, before being harvested for hay.  If you walk through it, you can hear voles and field mice squeaking all around.

A few years ago, a local barn owl (who I shall refer to as Barnie) was hunting the field every afternoon.  He would hover silently a few feet over the grass, listening for rodents.

Barn Owls hunt mainly by hearing, and their flat, round face acts as a great ear, gathering sound and channelling it into their face and head...they have super sensitive hearing.

So they hover, face down, and listen...once they hear prey, they simply drop from the skies and take it in their talons. 

That summer, Barnie was catching something every few minutes, and flying back with it, across the lane to his home tree, where he had at least three hungry young. 

I'd love such an opportunity to try to get a photo of Barnie now...he's been around for years, but we've not seen him lately and haven't visited his tree to check, as it's away across the wheat field. 

If I find that he's around, you can be sure I will be making every effort to get a shot of him, which of course I will share. 

In the meantime, I might just keep posting photo's of cats...everyone knows the internet loves cats!

:-)

PS Just to let you know, I discovered I could change the commenting rules, so sign-in is no longer required...you should now be able to comment with both impunity and anonymity!

Day 166 - Alsatian Wolf Dog

doggystyle

Sitting at my desk at home, whilst working, my eye fell upon this block of dog-themed post-it notes that I was given at Christmas.

It's one of those things that has been sitting on my desk for months and I've never really looked at it...funny how the mind tunes out things that are always there, only really noticing when something changes. 

For some reason, today it snuck into my attention zone, and I noticed that it has different dogs on each side, and on one side, curiously, it has the three breeds with which I'm most familiar.  

huge lab, or miniature alsatian and westie?

Of course Jazz and Bluez are Black Labrador Retrievers, all around brilliant dogs...although not quite as gigantic as pictured here - I think this is a Black Lab crossed with an elephant, judging by the size of the other two! 

Earlier in Jazz' and Bluez' lives, we often dog-sat for a couple of West Highland Terriers, Luci and Bear.  Luci (short for Lucifer!) was small, and reminiscent of the little westie in the photo.

Luci and Bluez were good friends...at least, he put up with her quite patiently, given she was such a little ball of high-octane energy...Bear was a very handsome, confident little chap, and he used to escape from Chez Balogne often.   They were great fun, very different from the labs.

I've known a few German Shepherd Dogs (GSDs) in my time.  Most notably, my hairdresser (back in the days when I both had hair, and got it cut) had a huge, brilliant GSD called Zack...and my friend Jezz was surrogate master of an equally brilliant GSD named Tarot, a few years ago.

See, they always have cool names, too!

Jezz is looking to get one soon, and I've long had my eye on them too. 

Apparently they used to be known as the Alsatian Wolf Dog, which is a great name.

I really like the white ones, I think they're just gorgeous, and the black ones are super-cool too, beautiful animals.

All-white and all-black, whilst not exactly common, are by no means rare...but in the UK any such pups get killed because they don't meet the breed standard...

(don't even get me started on the Kennel Club...they have a lot to answer for!)

Anyway, Kim would like a white one too, tho' I'm not sure it's an ideal breed for a first time dog owner. 

All that said, Anna has issues with GSDs, and they're not necessarily that reliable with cats, so I'm not seriously considering one...but if I had my druthers, a white (or black!) GSD would be high on my list.

I reckon we could do some kind of deal....

Maybe if Anna can have a donkey one day, then I could have, let's say, an Alsatian Wolf Dog?

;-)

Day 146 - Oh What a Night

pin snot

I was going to open this post with a hearty TFIF!...but as I started to type I realised I've missed the boat by about 20 minutes.

I've never been that punctual.  I'm not late all the time, but in general if I need to be somewhere at a certain time, I'm more likely to be late than early. 

For instance, today I was a little late:

• leaving for work...
• getting to work...
• leaving work...
• getting home...
• leaving for Kim's...
• getting to Kim's...

I suppose the leavings don't really count, even though they lead directly to the gettings...but still, you get the idea, I'm sure. 

I was due to be born on Friday the 13th, but I was two days late, eventually arriving on Sunday the 15th December, 1963.

50 years later, and I still haven't quite caught up. 

The point of all that is...it's late - I'm late...so I'll try to keep this brief (although perhaps it's already too late for that...QED!).

This is my first attempt to take a decent portrait photo.  I think it turned out pretty well!

To be fair, I took loads of photo's, and cropped this out of one of them.  

This is my lovely daughter Kim.  We spent the evening with Kim and Roob, to celebrate Kim's birthday.  Although mostly we just nattered, and ate doughnuts.

Being an arty couple, their house is full of all sorts of interesting things, and here's one of them (two,if you count Kim, natch):

or, you know, don't

I can't agree with the sentiment on the side of this gorgeous drinks cooler, but it is a lovely shade of red!

I'm not suggesting drinking coca cola out of a can - it's much better from a bottle, I agree on that front...what I'm suggesting is 

Don't drink Coca Cola...  

You know it's wrong...on pretty much every level...

To bastardise the tagline of another corporate behemoth that you should probably avoid at all costs...

Just don't do it.

B-/

Day 145 - Diversionary Tactics

who picked the paper?

The realisation that your offspring are older than you were when they were born makes for a sobering moment...

My lovely daughter Kim is 26 today, and I'm still 50...she's catching me up!

She's more than half my age for the first time...that's weird and scary...I could be a grandpa!

No...that makes no sense...does not compute...LALALALA NOT LISTENING LALALA...

Moving on swiftly...deploy diversionary tactics...

As I was saying, Kim and partner Roob are in the final throes of purchasing their first house.  It's the usual stressful nightmare, some of the details of which can be found on Roob's blog, Escaping the Grind.  There's some amazing stuff about how cheaply they're managing to furnish the house too.  Impressive what you can do if you have the drive and motivation. 

Kim was out with her mum tonight, so we're heading on over tomorrow evening for dinner.  In the meantime I thought I'd tease Kim a little with this photo of her card and pressies, which are really cool - I got her a...

haha you didn't think I'd fall for that one, did you?!

Seriously though, they are cool, and I did get her....damn, stop making me do that!

Back on topic, I got this card because it's quite pink and glamorous, which Kim often is too...check out how colourful she looked when we went canoeing on the Wye River last summer:

eyup me'duck

Ok perhaps not so glamorous in this shot, but we had been canoeing through a deluge for a couple of hours, and conditions really weren't conducive to glam.

I think she's really cool, although I'm her dad, so I guess there's a hint of bias there...maybe she's not cool at all?!  I'm not sure I can be objective...but then cool is subjective, surely?  So I must be right.  

My daughter is way cool! 

(can't think where she gets it from...)

;-)

Day 113 - Risky Business

friendly neighbourhood spiderboy

We had a surprise birthday party/BBQ for Roobs, Kim's boyfriend, today at Coombe Abbey near Coventry.   

The weather was against us, but in the end it held out, only spitting with rain a little here and there.   For my part, it was a good excuse to wear a few of the outdoor clothes I've been addictively buying, or I've received as presents but not worn yet.    From this perspective it was a great success - I was warm and comfortable at all times, despite standing around on a chilly afternoon for several hours. 

I'd also taken Anna's camera, and was hoping to get some good practise in.  There was a squirrel scampering about near us, so I wandered over to a nearby vacant picnic table, and waited for a good shot.  Almost felt like a proper wildlife photographer, patiently sitting in wait...

The squirrel never came back...didn't see hide nor hair of him again!

Sigh...

Then, as I sat there experimenting, taking random shots of tree stumps, my nephew Chris ran over and pointed out that his younger sibling Ollie was up in a nearby tree.   Ollie had bravely walked along a low, dead branch, with nothing for hands but small branches hanging down from above.

As I focussed in on the scene, I saw that Jools was remonstrating with Ollie to get down, so time was of the essence!

Luckily, I already had the zoom lens on, so I quickly framed him before he climbed out of sight, and grabbed a couple of shots... 

I was strongly tempted to join Ollie and a couple of others who'd climbed the tree - it is on my challenge list after all!   However I had big walking boots on, which didn't seem entirely appropriate, and I figured that falling out of a tree in front of several generations of extended family might not be the best example to set... 

In some ways, it might be a great, if controversial example to set - if I had fun and didn't hurt myself.   If I slipped due to it being a green, greasy tree, or because of the inadequate feel or grip from big clumpy boots, it may set entirely the wrong example.

In any case, it seemed sensible not to try it today...although on one level I'm annoyed with myself for missing an opportunity. 

I was super-impressed with the kids though, especially Ollie, Tembie and Marnie.

I know Tembie and Marnie have done a variety of high rope and similar assault courses, and they seem to have no fear.  I love their adventurous spirits, and their casual confidence in their own abilities.  I must make a plan to take them climbing - at least half the battle in climbing is having the confidence to get on and do it and these three really seem to have what it takes.

So many people these days live under a black cloud of fear and insecurity, apparently unable to distinguish between perceived and actual risk, and thus missing out on invigorating experiences because they're too afraid to do anything out of the ordinary. 

I find it refreshing, then, to see these kids apparently managing risk very well.  Rather than using perceived risk as an excuse to never try anything, they use actual risk (albeit their perception of it (I know, this is beginning to boggle the mind!)) as justification for doing whatever they feel capable of doing.  And as they are comfortable with the risk, and confident of the outcome, they are much more relaxed, which means that they are much less likely to get hurt. 

Wins all around, it seems to me...

Go, kids!

B-)

Day 99 - Car Crash

yep that'll do it

Over the last week or so, I've on several occasions flippantly referred to a metaphorical car crash.   Today, the Universe decided to repay my flippancy by involving me peripherally with an actual car crash...and as if to close the loop, this led directly to the rest of my day becoming a metaphorical car crash!

Hence me sitting here at 00.45am just starting my blog, whilst knowing that I have to be in work early in the morning too...like I said, bit of a car crash!

We'd been out for most of the day.

In the morning we visited Kim and Roob.  It was good to see them, catch up with the latest news on their house, share hints and tips on photography, which we're all dabbling in to one degree or another, it seems. 

Anna and I then drove up to Loughborough to spend the afternoon at our favourite bouldering centre.  We climbed quite well overall, but found ourselves tiring quickly, and generally running out of steam after around 3 hours, which is an hour or two less than we usually manage.   But still, it was good to get a session in, having not had a hard climb since we were in Spain a couple of weeks ago. 

We arrived home around 5ish and took Jazz for a stroll down the lane more or less straight away.   His limping has been less pronounced for the last few days, which is quite a relief after the state he was in last weekend.   But still, we didn't take him too far, wary of exacerbating whatever condition he has. 

As we arrived back at the house, we heard a mild screeching of tyres up the road, followed by a low thud.  I looked at Anna questioningly...did that sound a bit like a car crash?!   They're not uncommon on the little winding stretch of road that passes our house...

I went up to the main road to have a look, but couldn't see anything round the bend 50m away.  Looking for a better vantage point, I thought I could see stationary tail lights just around the bend, so ran up to see if I could assist.

Sure enough, rounding the bend I came across a car on its side, and several cars parked up and down the road around it, having stopped to help.

The drivers door was open, up in the air, and three men were gathered around the car, looking into the passenger compartment.   It was clear that someone was in the car. 

My climbing skills (and the fact that I was warmed up from an afternoons climbing) came in very handy over the next few minutes.

I quickly climbed the underside of the car and looked down into the passenger compartment.   A middle aged couple (perhaps a bit older than me) were in a bit of a heap on the floor...or more accurately, on the broken passenger side window.   The man was struggling to his feet and starting to climb out of the top, so I helped him up onto the outside of the rear door.   

It was immediately clear that as well as being fairly large (around my height but heavier) he was also, in fact, very drunk.    I managed to help him into a sitting position on the side of the car, and I stepped down to the ground, gently pulling him with me, until he started to slide off the side.   As his weight started to fall I basically caught him and lowered him to the ground, none the worse for wear. 

I hopped back up to find the woman now standing inside the car, also inebriated.

Conveniently, all afternoon I'd been carefully down-climbing all the problems I did at the bouldering centre. Most people don't bother, but I've been quite diligent about it for a while now, and I'm starting to become fairly proficient.  

So it seemed oddly karmic (or something), when I manoeuvred higher so I could lean down and support the woman as she clambered inelegantly out of the top of the car, and was then faced with one final down-climb of the day...without hesitation, I simply picked her up and easily descended the couple of steps down to the floor, where I gently put her down.

It was immensely satisfying to discover that my recent efforts to get into shape through (and for) climbing hasn't been in vain, as it was remarkably easy to help these two unfortunate, silly, uncoordinated - and by no means small - people out of the mess they'd gotten themselves into.  

I felt completely strong and controlled (and thus, confident), and I'd like to think this helped make the situation less traumatic for those directly involved. 

Yay climbing and the functional strength it brings!

Also, here's another large pheasant, this time strutting his stuff confidently through our garden, and again much less skittish than usual. 

What is going on with these birds?!

cocky cock pheasant