Lovely sunny sunday

I travelled down to Brighton along with the rest of the south of England!!.....so much traffic...so glad I know the back roads!! Hee hee!!

Where my lovely daughters had made me a scrummy lunch.....smoked salmon and salad......champagne........and a birthday cake with candles.....a bit early but as close as we could get it!!

Then a bracing walk along the prom.... The Darling girl forging on ahead.....she ran the 'Heroes' 10k charity run along here last week and so there was no chance of keeping up with her!!!
Miss Magpie and the Lovely Dutchman bringing up the rear with The Lodger who of course had to stop at every available spot to sniff and say 'hello' to lots of people....straight back into being an urban dog......

If you want to know what I was up to before my trip to Brighton go across to Nancy's Garden!!

Being Grateful for.....

...........being grateful for.....

..seeing the beauty of small things....

.....a friendly kiss......
...living in the countryside......

....the patch of blue in the grey......

What are you grateful for today?

The Hyena and other men

Somebody brought this book to work today.....it has the most amazing photographs in it....the book is called 'The Hyena & Other Men' by Pieter Hugo..I was totally blown away by it......
Basically there are a group of men in Lagos , Nigeria who tame wild animals.....and then perform in the street for money......just like bear baiting I suppose.....some have hyenas, some monkeys or snakes but these animals appear to be part of the family with some of the photos taken with children ......I don't know what I feel about them..I had no love of hyenas before these pictures.....the combination of the wild animal and the men is mesmerizing..... the photos are arresting...provocotive.....scary....exciting.....they give a 'looking through the fingers' fascination to a world that is so totally far removed from anything I have ever seen......take a look at.. michael stevensons' website to see them all....I hope Mr Hugo doesn't mind that I told you about this but I am off to Amazon to buy his book!!!

Gentle horse

When I was younger....much younger !! I used to ride horses every weekend..I would spend hours at the stables just to get the chance of turning the horses out at the end of the day .....to ride them bareback to the field was the treat for mucking out, cleaning tack and grooming....

..the desire to use the fence as a mounting block and hop onto one of these lovelies was almost overbearing.......

..the most noble of creatures......

Spring Snow!

I was cooking for most of today so was in need of a good walk to blow away the cobwebs.....of course the faithful Scottie was not going to refuse... although it was raining pretty hard.....and I was so glad I took the long route....what a treat for the tired cook!!!


A spring spectacular of wild garlic....looking for all it was worth like a covering of snow......

The smell was ....well...garlicky!!

..Rain still falling by the time we reached the lake.....


..and very wet boots with garlic flower decoration!!

Walking with spirits

This morning I walked The Lodger as I do every morning......even if I'm a
few minutes late I'd get told off.....so demanding!!!!

But today was different....today I walked with the spirits of all the dogs (and cats) I've lost.....Bumble....Baggins...Hope....Jem....Dizzy.....Tiggy......

Meg...Ross...Connie....Bessie...Phill....Bill.....Scamp....

..but out in front was my best friend for 13 years...he made me laugh..and cry...he was loyal and a complete nutcase...aka.. The Joker...aka..Dante Double Digger..in life.....my Louis......there he goes the shackles of old age gone..... running with his head and tail held high and a stick in his mouth........

This England

Can there be anything to compare with the English countryside in May?.......

The view from above Ludwell on a summers evening was just breathtaking......

I am a dog slave!!!

.....Woof, woof....I say...excuse me ....do you think that you could get me a cushion?.......


.......a couple more inches up and I could see out of the window.....



'WILL YOU GET OFF THE SOFA!!!!!!!'

Bluebell Beauty 2

The bluebells are in their final magnificent burst of colour.......


...stunning in every way......

the perfume as you walk through them is divine...

.....just dreamy....

..what a fabulous colour combination....luck or design I wonder??.....

Doggie Tales

I love old books and have lots..I find it really difficult to pass by a secondhand book shop or flea market without having a browse....I especially love dog books from the 1930's and 40's and nearly always buy them...can you believe that I found this lovely children's book telling the daily life of three dogs from 1944 for £1!! it is one of the Home Security books printed in the War on inferior paper....it is very funny and has the ever present Scottish terrier ( they were a very popular breed in the 30'& 40's)..I have to say that the one in this book has all the traits of The Lodger so he is obviously true to his breed!!

.....But my favourite author and illustrator has to be Cecil Aldin, his drawings of a bull terrier were one of the reasons I had to get a EBT!!! But he captures the essence of dog in all his wonderful dog pictures....he did lots of hunting paintings as well.....all out of my price range for an original or even a signed print, so I make do with original book prints......

......of which I have many.....not all Aldins......this one is by K.Barker....
..but mostly his....his bull terrier was called Cracker and the Irish wolfhound that he is often pictured with was Micky...they grew up together as puppies and adored each other...Micky died quite young but Cracker survived Cecil Aldin himself...and I think that when he did die he is the only dog to have an obituary printed in the Times newspaper!!!

This has both 'my' boys in it, the bully relaxing on Micky and the Scottie as well..in this picture he is called an Aberdeenshire Terrier..the old fashioned name....

Worn and chipped....old books...I just love them!!!

Note the title!!!!