Monday 29 November 2021
Still in fashion
Friday 26 November 2021
Ahead of the storm
Wednesday 24 November 2021
Too bedraggled?
Please note - the map is 'upside down' with south at the top |
A round trip of not much more than two miles. Easy peasy, right?
Monday 22 November 2021
Challenging decisions in Torridon
So we're over at the Torridon cottage for a few days.
While the weather can't decide whether to rain or snow...
... I am struggling to choose between comfy bed and cosy fireside.
Are you facing any difficult dilemmas this week?
Friday 19 November 2021
Never mind the pink skies..
Wednesday 17 November 2021
One's role in calming one's human...
For a while I couldn't work out the purpose of this installation, which appeared about six months ago at a road junction near our house. I also wondered why Gail wanted me to pose beside it earlier this week.
It seems that Aberdeen City Council have put in these bicycle racks and maintenance stations equipped with tools for simple bike repairs at various locations around the town.
You might think Gail, who as we know is an enthusiastic cyclist (too enthusiastic, some might say), would approve, but apparently not.
I now realise that the 'photo opportunity' is simply an excuse for my owner to have a rant about how clueless the Council are about cyclists' needs, how if they'd ever talked to anyone who rode a bicycle they would realise it is pointless sticking a parking facility beside a busy junction but not near any shops or anywhere else where a cyclist might conceivably want to lock up their machine, and moreover why did the Council waste money on tools which are rusty already and which surely any cyclist prepared to do their own maintenance would already possess...
Gail says she can quite understand why I didn't know what to make of the installation as she hasn't once seen a bicycle anywhere near it since she first spotted it back in March or April.
You will be relieved to know that once home I jumped on Gail's lap and allowed myself to be stroked, as this is a proven means of reducing blood pressure in humans....
Monday 15 November 2021
Teaching terrier ways
Friday 12 November 2021
Going, going, gone...
During our morning walk in Duthie Park, over the past month Gail and I have been monitoring the leaves on our favourite sycamore tree.
OK, strictly speaking, she has been doing the monitoring and I have mostly been busy sniffing around in the bushes, only briefly emerging to appear in the photos.
If I feel like it.
'Cos I'm a terrier and that's how I roll.
10 October 2021 |
30 October 2021 |
10 November 2021 |
Wednesday 10 November 2021
Monday 8 November 2021
Analogies
Then there was the occasional puddle appearing on the carpet, and Gail started thinking I was reverting to my puppyhood.
A trip to the vet in July 2020, and then another two months later. Blood and urine tests and an ultrasound scan, and afterwards, between the tears, Gail declares I have a ticking time bomb inside my bladder.
A new routine of tablets wrapped in yummy cheese commences, and over winter I'm almost as good as new, although what formerly came out gushing like a Highland burn in spate has dwindled to a slow and time consuming trickle.
I'm still full of bounce, enjoying my food, my walks, my cuddles.
Gail is now thinking the time bomb clock might be running slow. But then peeing becomes yet more difficult, accidents are happening again in the house and more tablets are added to the daily regime.
My bladder action is now likened to a tap with a worn washer. One can still turn it on and off, but between times it drips a little.
Gail searches the internet for "male dog incontinence products" and the belly band is purchased for night time wear. I think of it as my Championship Belt.
Peeing and now also pooping increasingly demand acts worthy of a contortionist.
But in all other respects, I'm still going strong.
Gail says I have reached the Cristiano Ronaldo phase of my career*. An analogy which I think suits me rather well.
*Gail says: the reference to Mr Ronaldo in no way is meant to imply that the ageing but still super-fit (and, er, ever so slightly vain) footballer recently re-hired by Manchester United has incontinence problems, rather to draw attention to the fact that dear Bertie retains an amazing level of physical stamina given his advancing years!