Doggy Post

As requested by Mike and Mildred,

here is Paddy peering through the flowers.

Anyway,

how could I not resist posting these today

when I couldn't include them in yesterday's post?

I think I would like to take more photos of Paddy amongst the white flowers.

White on white is rather nice.

I'm not sure he would stay still long enough though.

So following on from those photos,

I thought I would make todays post a doggy one.

Especially as Mike is missing his pups!

This morning after our walk,

I went to a small piece of land that we rent

amongst the vineyards.

We got it specially for the hounds!

Being greyhounds, they love to run,

but we can't trust them off the lead.

Well,

we have sometimes

let Rufus and Paddy off for a run along the river.

And if we have treats in our pocket,

Paddy is very well behaved

and comes back first time when called.

But there is no way

that we can let Arthur and Jewel off for a run.

Although we have on an odd occasion tried it.

Arthur tends to get himself lost in the undergrowth chasing interesting smells

and doesn't hear us when we call.

But Jewel.

She is willfull.

She stands and looks at us,

then looks at the open spaces,

and runs off,

into the distance!

The last time this happened was earlier this year.

She ran around to begin with,

then spotted some interesting looking trees and bushes,

and ran into them.

I can tell you it was a thicket,

well near to impenetrable.

She was lost for the next two hours!

Mike and I searched,

and searched.

calling her,

but to no avail.

I even scared

a wild boar

from it's hiding place

in the undergrowth

shouting for her!

Eventually,

Mike came across our friend

with her dog,

(Brenda),

with Jewel!

Brenda and Jewel are good friends.

Apparently,

Jewel had wandered to the next village.

Completely away from our village,

and not somewhere we take her.

Where,

someone had spotted her

looking through his window at him and his family eating.

So he invited her in.

And gave her a drink!

Can you imagine it?

So he phoned our friends

and asked if they knew anyone with greyhounds!

And of course they did.

So we were reunited,

eventually!

And we said,

we would never,

ever,

let Jewel off again.

So we asked around to see if there was any land going spare

that we could use for the hounds to have a run round.

Some other friends heard about this piece of land,

in fact it's next to some they own.

So we fenced it in,

and made it Jewel proof.

It was during some of the hottest weather we've had this year,

that we put in fence posts,

and attached the wire fence.

Something neither of us had done before.

It was so hot,

my shoulders got burnt,

and I rarely burn.

It was quite exhausting work.

And do the hounds appreciate it?

Well yes, I think they do.

Do they run around a lot?

Well,

no,

not really....

Rufus doing acrobatics,

Or is it gentle stretching exercises?

Jewel will often make her way to the far end,

away from all the lads.

Except that this morning,

Paddy joined her.

Arthur sometimes likes to stay close

and whine in my ear if I don't stroke him.

Looks like Jewel has moved away from Paddy.

She looks happy enough,

relaxing in the sunshine.

Who would think she was such a little minx?