Decision making 101

 Do you ever have one of those days...

...when you really can't decide whether you want to be in or out?

OK, time to commit!

Turns out it was a good decision 'cos I scored treats by posing handsomely in the front of the orange potentilla.  

And then enjoyed a lengthy session of barking at my next door neighbours Stroma the cocker spaniel on one side and Ruby the Briard on the other.  

Have you made any good decisions lately? 

Oh no, not again...

Just hours after my post on Wednesday came the most unwelcome news that my home city Aberdeen has gone into a local coronavirus lockdown. All bars and restaurants are closed again (so no cheeseburger for me any time soon), no visits to other households, and travel is limited to a five mile radius of one's place of residence. 

Gosh there were a lot of glum faces today among the normally cheerful early morning Duthie Park dog walkers. 

What to do? Perhaps if I posed nicely in front of the park's flower borders, which are looking their most colourful just now, that would help brighten things up? After all, it is Nature Friday, and my friends will want to see something other than the grey granite of our plague-struck city. 

On Thursdays Gail normally abandons me to go cycling after our early walk. This week, I noticed a rather curious WhatsApp message on her phone which seemed to indicate that her cycling friends were struggling with the concept of the five mile limit. 

But it seems they met up anyway, and I leave you to guess how far out of town these ladies actually rode before settling down to a socially distanced and sunny picnic.

Happy Nature Friday friends! I hope you are enjoying more freedom in your part of the world than we are here right now...

Rishi's dishes - dogs invited?

On passing by the 'Inn at the Park' on my morning walk, I couldn't help but notice that the board which usually says "dogs welcome in the bar and garden" now has new wording. 

It announces that the restaurant is taking part in 'Eat Out to Help Out', a novel scheme announced last month by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, aiming to get people back in the habit of dining out again now that lockdown restrictions are being eased*. The government will subsidise meals by up to £10 per head on any Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday in August. 

So I carefully scanned the menu and decided a cheeseburger would suit me nicely (you can forget the salad), and if Gail ordered fish and chips I would be prepared to help her out with the batter.

I am confident that Mr Sunak, who as you can see in the picture below seems comfortable in the company of canines, will allow the meal discount to be claimed by pets as well as humans. Of course he will! I mean, us pups are always ready to make sacrifices for the sake of our country's economy, aren't we.....?

*Gail says: whether 'Eat Out to Help Out' is a good idea or not at this moment, especially with a cluster of new Covid cases in Aberdeen linked to a pub less than a mile up the road, is whole different subject, and not one for this blog.  

Hot day, cool place

With much of Europe sizzling in the summer heat, and sun seekers on beaches in the south of England packed together like sardines, can Gail and I be forgiven for feeling a touch of Schadenfreude as we enjoy a refreshing ramble along the empty coastline in the northeast corner of Aberdeenshire? 

It matters not to me that there are no palm trees here, that our camera angles are carefully selected to exclude the St Fergus gas terminal complex to the south, and that the 25 mph wind makes the claim of 21ºC seem optimistic...

After exploring the dunes, I look across to the seashore and ascertain that social distancing will not be an issue hereabouts.

So I boldly venture onto the beach, where I soon discover that it is best to stand on the wet sand below the high tide mark, to avoid the grains of sand blowing in one's eyes. (Gail is tall enough not to have this problem), 

Who needs a holiday in the Caribbean?