We had a great long walk exploring different parts of the Nature Reserve this morning but then Mum decided to give me a Haircut!

Not my idea of a birthday party! We were finished by the afternoon though

and I’m feeling much cooler.Then Mum baked some more biscuits for us … with marrowbone in them … yumm!!!!

After our dinner Nelly and I had a little Birthday play

and this evening she curled up with Mum in her Office.

I think she had a lovely day … watching me have an Airedo!

Headrubs

Finni

When we got up this morning it was pretty wet and rainy. However this does not deter us from our Morning Walkie. Nelly had a particularly marvelous time … digging … her nose was in EVERY mousehole! Mum had to put her on the lead three times to get her to come with us. Then we met our friends Stella and Molly with their Mum and Dad, and, after the obligatory Snakky-exchange with me and Nelly sitting in front of Stella and Molly’s mum and those two in front of ours (Stella’s mum brings great colourful sticks! and Stella & Molly can’t get enough of the Frankfurter sausage that Mum brings ) Mum had to put Nelly on the lead yet again because she wasn’t listening to ‘This Way Nelly‘ because her nose and paws were down another hole … she was filthy!

The lead always does the trick and we continued on our way along the side of the lake. This is where we play our current favourite game … Rocky Fishing! Up until now Nelly didn’t like to get her paws wet but today … she went in … she dipped her head in (up over her eyes!) … and she pulled the stone out! Well Done little Nell! Mum throws the stone in the water and we fish it (or another one … doesn’t really matter) out. I’m not afraid to dip my entire head into the water to get that Rock. It’s easy, all you have to do is blow bubbles.

Back home after we had our rub-a-dub and Mum had hers we decided to do some baking.

We’re going to send the recipe to Wyatt for his birthday competition. We decided to make some Lucky Puppy Dog Biscuits!

Naturally we were a great help … testing the ingredients

Mmmmmmmhh! …… Lard! Easily my most favourite ingredient!

… and licking the utensils clean

Nelly is particularly good at that one.

Later on Mum’s little helper, Amelie, arrived to help with the cutting out and we must say she did a very good job of it too.

These are the ones she did for us.

Not bad for Two and a half , ey? Well done Amelie! They look delicious!

Mmmmmmmmmh, all that’s left now is the crunch test ….

Oh yes!!!! They’re good! Hope Wyatt likes the recipe!

Headrubs

Finni

The usual veggiemush with DE and Kelp

Some left-over chicken with cream cheese!

Peas and carrots

Potatoes in cheese sauce

all mixed with a generous helping of …

Minced green Tripe!!!!! our total favourite!!!!! It’s such a pity we haven’t got ‘Smelly Vision’. You’d LOVE it!

Notice how Miss Fussy isn’t lying on her back because she doesn’t want to finish her dinner? Well, she got it all over her nose.

Later on I helped dad do the washing up.

It’s been a fairly busy week this week. On Wednesday I went exploring!

Mum’s clients came 20 minutes too early and she hurriedly put us in the kitchen behind the babygate with access to the side garden (You know … it used to be my puppy garden)  This is all ok and the usual routine and while Mum started to work I had a little look around what’s new in the side garden … and what should I find …

… What Luck! … she left the gate open for me!  Through I went to have a sniff around her clients car … and what do I find?

She’d left the garden gate open for me too! GREAT! I’ll have a little look around. I met a lady with one of those two-wheeled things that Mum sometimes rides around on … ‘Hey, my Mum’s got one of those!’ and as she had one of those little people on the back of her’s I decided to follow her – I rather like little people.

So we crossed the road together into her estate just opposite our house where I met three more people who stroked me and kept hold of me and one of them had one of those ‘hold-to-your-ear’ things which she talked into and then Mum came with Nelly who’d also found the open gates but didn’t get as far as me.

It was great … so many pee-mails to sniff …

And yesterday I got into the toybox in Mum’s office.

This is now MINE!

Headrubs

Finni

So I had a look at it for her.

I got right in there like proper IT people

and with Nelly’s help I managed to fix it for her. Mum was very happy – nothing worse than having a computer beeping at you, especially when Binary is NOT your first language.

As a special surprise and a sort of ‘Thank you’ she ordered a little something from the internet and gave it to us (actually ME, as I’m the best unwrapper) as soon as it arrived.

I chose the orange DinoCuz and left the green one for Nelly but she wanted to swap, and I agreed but then she changed her mind, … and changed it back again …

You just don’t know where you are with that girl. Well, I pretended not to care …

She has been REALLY capricious lately, especially with her meals!

She’d do anything except finish her dinner. Sometimes Mum leaves it standing there with a lid on to get Nelly more interested …

I could have eaten that for her! Nut NO! I’m not allowed.

I’m also not allowed any of the things she finds at the Lakes. Nelly has been making a bid for Self Sufficiency – she disappears in the Willows and comes out with things to eat. She comes out with some pretty good stuff:

Swan neck (complete with feathers!)

Mouse nests – she eats the wriggling pinkies. I managed to get one of her once (she didn’t like that tho’)

But today she got the peace de resistance … a goose! The wings were intact but the rest was bones. Mum just said ‘What the B(eeeep!) Hell is that?’.  Scooby was there too but she wasn’t allowed any of it either. Nelly was pretty pleased with herself … ran about with it … rolled about with it … crunched a bit of it, until it was time to go home.

All in all it was a pretty exciting morning walk – we were a pack of nine dogs! Pity Mum forgot the camera

So for the rest of the day I stayed in the Den keeping cool.

Headrubs

Finni

Wanna see a Hotdog?

Here it is / I am! It’s 28.6 degree C today and Nelly and I are trying to stay cool …

… the paving’s nice and cool …

… and this arrangement makes just the perfect pillow to rest my head on …

… smells good too … sage …

… ‘ think I’ll stay here for a while … ’till it cools down again.

Headrubs

Finni