Sinking into the Swamp

A couple more nice snowy pics, the first just a bike in the boat yard which we liked the look of, the second taken a few seconds before yesterday's 'miserable Haggis' one. You can see the H trotting off to stage-right (picture left) to check out the iron paling fence. More snow is forecast for tonight.

Meanwhile, those interested in Project Erroll may be wondering what's going on and why you have had no updates. This is bacause at least one aspect of the possible future is sinking into the swamp, and all the moves and official notices have been put on hold. Dad is therefore carrying on regardless and battling through the normal Christmas peak in business, uncertain when the top bananas will make a move and firm up on any arrangements. Watch this space - there's not a lot any of us can do.....

Having worked both days at the weekend he is, though, able to skank and early finish this afternoon and gets home in time to walk us in the daylight round the Rec where we can have a run around in the snow with old friends Patch and Bindy, and 2 black labs who we see a lot but Dad can't recall the names of.

Deefs

New Kids - watch out Ragworth

It's a warm Spring day, and Dad can walk us, for the first time, in his shirt-sleeves. We head for the Rec, where it seems that everyone is out and about, and there are a few new faces.

Little tiny "Sue", all-black Patterdale Terrier pup at only 11 weeks and enjoying only her 4th walk out in the big wide world. Her owner is cool with this and has her off the lead, where she tears about in that semi-co-ordinated way tiny pups have. She's no bigger than one of Dad's feet, and feet are a theme with her. She chases over to any new passer by and launches an attack on their shoe-laces, flopping over as she grabs them till she's lying on her back on the person's feet to cries of "Ahhh- isn't she cuuuuuute!" etc.

I chase her about at one stage, but it's easy to catch her up and the smallest nudge sends her cart-wheeling, tripping over her own feet, so Dad tells me to be less rough. This, he says, is another baby Ragworth, who will grow up remembering your bullying, and come back to get you, with her mate Rags, and then there will be two of them!

Also out there is an 8 month old very glossy black and tan terrier (doberman colours, terrier size and shape) called Sonny, out romping with her much oklder companion, black terrier Lucy. Sonny's good fun for a while, too. Patch is there too.

We're done in by the time we head back for the main path, and there we come across Mum coming home from work.

Deefer

Mugging Old Ladies

Our much loved Rec walking companion, rather portly JR "Patch" has a "mum" who always carries dog sweeties in her pocket. I have latched onto this and as soon as I spot her I race over and start bouncing around pleadingly on my hind legs. Dad calls this "Mugging old ladies" but the old girl doesn't seem to mind, and keeps giving them to me. It's called "positive reinforcement", I think.

We also meet black greyhound cross, owned by two of Dad's allotment-ish mates, who we think is called Finnsey, or possibly Finzi. Named after a composer, anyway, as the man is a musician and music lecturer, and if you Google "Finnsey" that, at least, is one composer who comes up. We will have to ask the guy.

As usual, too, we meet the Bichon pair, Bugsy (7) and Billy (1). They're never let off the lead, but their man has these enormous extending leads - must be 15m at least, so while Bugsy shouts almost continuously at his Dad to get a move on, Billy races in great arcs with me, chasing round and round to the limits of the leads, and frequently trying to bolas either me, a lamp-post, a human or two, Megan or Haggis, or occasionally himself, running and running till we are all breathing hard.

And finally, a new one to us - a smooth coated brown Patterdale Terrier. We didn't know they came smooth - the only Lakeland/Patterdales we know are, of course, our own "Rags" and his sister, the red allotment dog, "Fern". They are anything but smooth - real old shaggy wiry dogs, with great Denis Healey eyebrows, wispy chins and rock-and-roll haircuts. This dog, Judy (4) is dark brown with golder patches, and three white fronts-of-feet (just the toes really), plus a white blaze across her chest. She was lovely - very sociable and enjoyed a bit of a chat with we three, Bugsy and Billy.

It must be the lighter evenings - more dogs are conglomerating in the Rec now between end-of-work, and when it gets dark.

Deefski

Killer Queen

The dog-owners have reclaimed the Rec after the snow-man builders retreated in the thaw, so we've had a good walk tonight in which we meet old friends Alfie the young Cav, and Patch, the rather portly JR. I also run away screaming from bouncy young new-kid-on-the-block brown-bear of a Newfoundland "Ava". She may not have got within 4 feet of me but I was outta there screaming like a stuck pig.

But the fun started when we got home and I dive straight under the kitchen sink and start squeaking like I'm in prey mode. I never go under there, so Dad suspects we either have a mouse or a rat. He starts removing cleaning materials and searches with a torch but to no avail. Eventually it all goes quiet, we all relax and off he goes to chop wood.

This is my cunning plan! If he'd known there was a squirrel there and what I was about to do to it, he'd have spoiled my fun - all that nonsense about humane traps and re-releasing them.... pah! While he's down the shed chopping the kindling I drag the little varmint out and by the time he gets back I have it despatched and on display on the hall floor.

Our running scores are now

Haggis: 1 slug and half a squirrel (joint kill with Meggie)

Megan: 40-odd rats during the chicken residence plus half a squirrel

Deefer: 2 squirrels

I may not yet be in the premiership, but Meg's hunting days are over and I am still a young dog....... Bring it on

Deefer

White Stuff

We wake up to about an inch (at most) of snow. Not having been paying attention to the forecasts, this is a pleasant surprise, and I race up and down the garden as soon as Dad's alarm gets him up to let me out. Megan and Haggis stay put on the bed.

As is normal for Kent, most of it has gone by evening, so there are no photo-opportunities, and the Rec has just enough for a dog to roll on her back and play snow-angels. Were you worried that in our new short clipped fur, this snow and cold would be unwelcome? Fear not. We are a ruffty tuffty Scottish breed. Och Aye!

The Rec was full of like-minded strollers, enjoying the snow, such as it was - old faithful, rather portly Jack Russell "Patch" was there (whose Mum I always remember as being a source of dog-sweeties from those cavernous pockets), and Spinone "Tosca", beagle Molly and a small black terrier (Scottie? - we're not sure, some sort of cross, we think).

Meg, though, seems to be suffering a bit from lameness in the front left. She's OK on dry tarmac, but does not like the frosty earth and grass, or icy patches on the paths. We are taking it gently and we'll keep an eye on her. Poor aul' love.

Deefski

Bindy's Back

Now that we are all back home, it's been good to get back into some of the old walking routines. We've been to the Rec, where there's been a funfair over the weekend, but out of no-where we came across old friend (and adversary!) little Jack Russell "Bindy" and JR of more senior years and portly stature, "Patch".

Always after a long gap Bindy and I, who are roughly the same size, speed, nippiness and strength, have to have a "set-to" just to re-establish who is top dog, (for some reason I won this one), but after that we're greatest mates again, and run around together chasing Bindy's plastic frisbee.

I mentionned that Mum and Dad had been to the Mark Knopfler concert. This was at the Albert Hall and was a birthday present from Mum to Dad. They came back bubbling (well, Dad did.... Mum was fairly enthusiastic about that, but bowled over by the guest appearance of Joe Brown for a couple of numbers ("Picture of You" being, inevitably, one of them).

Mark K was brilliant, says Dad, and played a goodly range of stuff from the early Dire Straits days right up to the most recent album. Dad hasn't got that, so I daresay there'll be some Googling towards WWW.Amazon.co.uk imminently.

More soon - probably even some more tonight

Look after yourself

Deefer

Shamrock

Belly ache? Moi? Nothing of the sort. Half an hour after refusing my supper so definitely, I am coming in from outdoors to receive the traditional "sweetie" (dog treat) snapping at which in my usual eagerness I take 4 of Dad's fingers off at the wrist (ok - slight exaggeration). Mum puts my bowl back down and, fending off the M and H marauders (who are wondering how come i got a "2nd bowl") I wolf it down at normal speed.

Now I have Mum and Dad confused (but relieved). They put it down to the "1st bowl" being offered on coming indoors instead of a sweetie, which threw me out somehow. Ah well, got my supper in the end.

No such confusion tonight, and a good frisbee-throwing walk on the Rec, in which we meet close-clipped Wheaten terrier "Shamrock" (She's really a people-person and not interested in dogs at all), plus the usual suspects Patch and Trixie (Jack Russells almost as old and shuffle-along as Meggie)

Have a great weekend
Deefs

Long Throw

Excellent time at the Rec this evening - our arrival coincided with those of our good friends Bindy (young female Jack Russell), Patch (old stout male JR) and Luca (extremely speedy lurcher whose Mum uses one of those 2 foot long spoon shaped launchers to fire day-glo orange balls great distances.

Dad had a try with it and could nearly launch them the full diagonal of the Rec, which had Luca looking up at him admiringly. Meanwhile Luca's mum used her ordinary arms to launch treats in the direction of us terriers which caused us to look up at her admiringly! Ever seen a motley line of 5 terriers all sitting in perfect obedience.

Well, Haggis did till he realised the treats were "dog-chocolate". The H does not "do plants" and chocolate counts as a plant. He is only interested if the treats are meat-based, so he soon wandered off and started killing the 2nd orange ball while Luca was distracted with Dad's 200 yard trajectories.

Go Dad! Go Luca!

Deefer

Terrier Heaven

Heaven! We were just setting off on our walk tonight, headed for the allotments when, coming down the side of the house, we were hailed by Ellie, (my sis) and her Mum, and all four of us immediately decided to head for the Rec where we sisters could have a long overdue run-around together. It's been ages.

We are still similar in size, even though Ellie's a bit shaggier, so she looks a bit bigger. No sooner were we off the leads than we were tearing round in small circles bowling each other over, with Haggis piling in occasionally to unbalance anyone who was still standing up.

We were joined by a lady who knew Ellie's Mum, and her young Jack Russell, Bindy. Next arrived another lady out with a black collie cross, Ben, and then the young jack Russell Mac, who we met the other day. Last came another JR, Patch and a young spaniel, Molly. 4 westies, 3 JR's and 3 other dogs all variously running about, chasing each other, or mooching round the humans. It was great fun - best gas for ages!

Bindy had appeared with a soft, hollow-centred luminous green frizbee, and we soon started chasing that, with Dad lobbing it huge distances, so that we young ones all got really tired

It was dark by the time we were done, and we met Mum walking back across the Rec towards the house.

Terrier Heaven!

Guy Fawkes night coming up, so fireworks to shout at. Not sure I'll have the energy!

Deefer