looking back down to the finger post
Mo stops for a drink before continuing
lone(some) pine at the top of the pathFriday, 14 November 2008
Ironing and pups.
A favourite time for both pups as there are always so many dangly bits and that old ironing board (previous owner--Noah!) is great to chew."I'll soon be through this spar" says George, getting to work on it, yet again.
The tablecover is also very tasty, or so it would appear!
Spencer looks on disdainfully from his favourite place, his bed,in his unlocked crate. He would never do such a thing!
The tablecover is also very tasty, or so it would appear!
Spencer looks on disdainfully from his favourite place, his bed,in his unlocked crate. He would never do such a thing!
Thursday, 13 November 2008
The Ploughing Match
At first glance, the aim of ploughing would seem to be to get the ground turned over but to the aficionado there is much more to it and the match is the place to show off your expertise in setting your plough and achieving near perfection. It becomes an obsession with some tractormen, who will plough for hours, looking backwards over their shoulder and never seeming to tire of it. There are classes for tractors and classes for horses, for differing types of ploughs (aren't they all similar?) and prizes for the most uniform ploughing, best feering (initial furrow), the straightest, best finish, best "outs and ins", first finished, first on the field and best decorations,to mention a few. Our local Young Farmers Club, of which I was secretary for a time, held such a match but we had included a prize for Best Looking Competitor and my friend and I were the judges.....should I have attended a seminar, sat an exam and been approved by the breed council before attempting this?
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
A Farmer's Hobby
When he left school, aged 15, my elder brother, Ross, had one ambition and that was to work the farm Clydesdales. We had 2 pairs and 1 single "orra" horse on the farm at that time. His first attempt at ploughing was caught on camera, a Kodak Brownie, by me but unfortunately I took some other photo, completely unrelated, on top of him and the horses. It was easy to do that with those old cameras, which had no safeguard to prevent an amateur like me from doing so. To say he was furious was an understatement, especially in view of the fact that that was the last time he ploughed with the horses. My father invested in a tractor and the rest, as they say, is history.
Since he retired, and I use the term loosely, he has rekindled his interest in the great beasts. and has now acquired 2, both of whom are still young and still under training in many of the old farm skills. His aim is, after completing their training, to compete with them at ploughing matches in various parts of the country. I remember these in my youth with our young ploughman,Bob, setting out at the crack of dawn with his pair, with the harness gleaming and adorned with white, blue and red pompoms. It was a truly impressive sight. This was a very popular hobby among all the ploughmen and farm folk from far and wide would congregate at the field to watch the competition.
There still are ploughing matches, but mainly with tractors, which personally, I find rather boring. However, some of the older "boys" are making a comeback with the horses and I may be persuaded to visit a match..........if I can find a weekend without a dog show!
Since he retired, and I use the term loosely, he has rekindled his interest in the great beasts. and has now acquired 2, both of whom are still young and still under training in many of the old farm skills. His aim is, after completing their training, to compete with them at ploughing matches in various parts of the country. I remember these in my youth with our young ploughman,Bob, setting out at the crack of dawn with his pair, with the harness gleaming and adorned with white, blue and red pompoms. It was a truly impressive sight. This was a very popular hobby among all the ploughmen and farm folk from far and wide would congregate at the field to watch the competition.
There still are ploughing matches, but mainly with tractors, which personally, I find rather boring. However, some of the older "boys" are making a comeback with the horses and I may be persuaded to visit a match..........if I can find a weekend without a dog show!
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Now you know!
Puppy Solo had her first (well, second if you count her entry into the world) visit to the vet this afternoon for the first of her two injections. Normally I take my puppies for first injections at 8 weeks of age but, due to family commitments down south, this puppy is now almost 12 weeks and now he tells me I have to wait for another 3 weeks for the second injection as a new vaccine is being used which pups can have at 7 weeks and then 10 weeks. This is fine if you start at the 7 week stage but not so good in our case as it will be much later before I can take her out into the big wide world.
The only other client in the waiting room was a lady with ..........a papillon......and what a specimen he was! He must have been 14 inches high and he had a coat which put a young Shirley Temple's locks to shame! It was evident that food was high on his list of priorities.
We got talking and I asked where she had bought her dog and got the expected answer. She said they came in 3 sizes (I hope he was the biggest!) and "you don't get many with this type of curly coat. People can't believe he is 10" she added, proudly! (I summoned up, mentally, a picture of my own agile, slim, 11year old Spencer).I think she felt quite sorry for me with my normal puppy and waved goodbye as they waddled in for their appointment.
How I wish I'd had my camera!
The only other client in the waiting room was a lady with ..........a papillon......and what a specimen he was! He must have been 14 inches high and he had a coat which put a young Shirley Temple's locks to shame! It was evident that food was high on his list of priorities.
We got talking and I asked where she had bought her dog and got the expected answer. She said they came in 3 sizes (I hope he was the biggest!) and "you don't get many with this type of curly coat. People can't believe he is 10" she added, proudly! (I summoned up, mentally, a picture of my own agile, slim, 11year old Spencer).I think she felt quite sorry for me with my normal puppy and waved goodbye as they waddled in for their appointment.
How I wish I'd had my camera!
Monday, 10 November 2008
Remembrance Sunday???
My friend Carole and I have just returned from a round trip of over 600 miles to compete at a papillon championship show. What did we achieve?.........a fourth place each for our two entrants! So we didn't exactly set the heather on fire and although we observed the two minutes silence for our fallen heroes of many wars it turned out to be a weekend best remembered for things other than dog showing, like the lovely meal we had on the way down at the beautiful garden centre near Morpeth and chatting to friends at the show.
The following photo is of the River Tay and the Tay Road Bridge, with Dundee in the background, over which we have to travel before reaching Carole's house. Because of the high winds today it was open to cars only and I certainly felt the force of it as I drove over.
Ever the optomists, we'll do it all again in search of these elusive "firsts".
The following photo is of the River Tay and the Tay Road Bridge, with Dundee in the background, over which we have to travel before reaching Carole's house. Because of the high winds today it was open to cars only and I certainly felt the force of it as I drove over.
Ever the optomists, we'll do it all again in search of these elusive "firsts".
What's wrong with us?
The bitches who, for the past few months and for some more to come, have been and will be, left at home due to maternal duties, welcome me home. Tass (left) and Holly (right) have now stopped dropping coat and are at the woolly stage of it growing back, while Tina (middle) has still to lose hers. For the past few months we seem to have had a perpetual, moving layer of hair over the floor and rolls of it round every object. The vacuum just seemed to blow it up in the air after which it finally settled on higher surfaces. Nothing was consumed that didn't contain a hair or two! One of the attachments on the vacuum cleaner stopped working properly due to the longer stuff being wound round the little axles.
Once they are all fully furnished again I shall re-start showing the girls , but I bet I'll then be thinking about another litter. For the moment though, I've had enough of mopping up and clearing chewed up paper, not to mention replacing, twice, the speaker flex for the kitchen radio!
Once they are all fully furnished again I shall re-start showing the girls , but I bet I'll then be thinking about another litter. For the moment though, I've had enough of mopping up and clearing chewed up paper, not to mention replacing, twice, the speaker flex for the kitchen radio!
Friday, 7 November 2008
Guising and Hallowe'en
Guising takes place on 31st October but I heard it described this year (when I was down in Berkshire) as "trick or treating"...another Americanisation? All the costumes I saw were shop bought with pumpkins being very popular for the tinies, and I saw a few when I attended my daughter's toddlers' group party. At night our pumpkin and Frankenstein went with mum and dad to visit a few friends nearby. I was in the house in charge of the sweet bowl to supply our visitors. They didn't come in (a sign of the times?) but merely stood there, took some of the proffered sweets and went. Years ago all the children would come inside and perform something or other, be it a song, dance or joke and all wore homemade costumes, witches being favourites. I remember once when my children were small I made a pantomime horse costume from a roll of white cotton cloth that my father had bought in a sale (he bought lots of weird stuff at auctions) . The head was fashioned from a shoebox which had green foam rubber ears (only colour I had) and brown looped knitting wool for the forelock and mane. We daubed it with paint from the kids' paintbox to make a pinto pony and were soon ready for the fitting. Billy had trouble pushing his legs down the forelegs. I had stitched them up without measuring anything and although he hardly had the legs of Chris Hoy he had more than I had given him credit for. The rear part fitted Julie not too badly and, somehow or other , both parts were joined together. They returned from the party rather disgruntled as they had fallen into the tub of water ready for the "dookin' for apples".I hadn't managed to get the eye holes in the correct position for Billy to see! I do a lot by guesswork!
Another year he went off to the village dressed as a turnip (no pumpkins then). I think he wore the "horse legs" stuck through a big old sheet gathered above his head , adorned with more green foam rubber (shaws!) and stuffed with cushions which seemingly kept slipping down through the rather generous legholes (over reaction to the previous legs affair?) as he walked.
When I was a child we always had a Hallowe'en party in the house with dookin' for apples, treacle scones, mashed neeps and tatties and always lots of soot in evidence. The place was lit with turnip lanterns which eventually gave off an appalling smell. All my aunts and cousins came and we had a great night and mother never complained about the mess in the kitchen, to be cleared the following morning.
Another year he went off to the village dressed as a turnip (no pumpkins then). I think he wore the "horse legs" stuck through a big old sheet gathered above his head , adorned with more green foam rubber (shaws!) and stuffed with cushions which seemingly kept slipping down through the rather generous legholes (over reaction to the previous legs affair?) as he walked.
When I was a child we always had a Hallowe'en party in the house with dookin' for apples, treacle scones, mashed neeps and tatties and always lots of soot in evidence. The place was lit with turnip lanterns which eventually gave off an appalling smell. All my aunts and cousins came and we had a great night and mother never complained about the mess in the kitchen, to be cleared the following morning.
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Fully signed-up househusband!
While I was away I had a phone call from Chic. "How do you work the washing machine, I've run out of socks?"
Well, he managed to wash the socks and retrieve them from the machine, dry them on a radiator but then had to call on another daughter to pair them up as he is colourblind!
When I came home I put on a big washing of dog bedding and on pulling it out of the machine at the end of the cycle I found what had been a pair of navy underpants but now embellished with a thick coating of papillon hair. A light coloured checked shirt had also been included in the wash and was set aside for me to iron. It'll be in the same condition, only not so noticeable.
"Yes", he said, "I managed fine!"
Well, he managed to wash the socks and retrieve them from the machine, dry them on a radiator but then had to call on another daughter to pair them up as he is colourblind!
When I came home I put on a big washing of dog bedding and on pulling it out of the machine at the end of the cycle I found what had been a pair of navy underpants but now embellished with a thick coating of papillon hair. A light coloured checked shirt had also been included in the wash and was set aside for me to iron. It'll be in the same condition, only not so noticeable.
"Yes", he said, "I managed fine!"
Megan's other livestock
Also in the bedroom I was sharing with my grandson whilst away was his hamster. Most boring of pets, in my view, as the only time I was aware of him was the scratching around in his "space station" in the middle of the night. Once, previously,he had escaped from his little ball while his home was being cleaned and only after an extensive search was he found in a mound of toys under the bed. "Please don't let that happen while I'm here", I pleaded, as I have a terrible phobia of all things mouse-like with little beady eyes.
The fish were only visiting while their owners were on holiday but after the first week the water was a little cloudy looking so my daughter, totally inexperienced with the live version, decided to clean them out. The photo shows their temporary accommodation and the mode of transfer while the cleaning took place.
The fish were only visiting while their owners were on holiday but after the first week the water was a little cloudy looking so my daughter, totally inexperienced with the live version, decided to clean them out. The photo shows their temporary accommodation and the mode of transfer while the cleaning took place.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Home, Sweet Home!
The house is still standing and all the dogs are happy and well. This "away" visit was not intended to last this long.
After two re-scheduled return flights for me, little Megan, 13 days overdue, made her entry into the world, but not before she had set up a couple of little hoaxes in the previous week. She and her mother were home from hospital about 10 hours later and next morning accompanied her mother and elder sister, not 2 yet, on the way to school with big brother, 5 next May.
Changed days from when my children were born in the little cottage hospital in Grantown on Spey and I was told to stay as long as I liked. They were glad to have some "customers"!
After two re-scheduled return flights for me, little Megan, 13 days overdue, made her entry into the world, but not before she had set up a couple of little hoaxes in the previous week. She and her mother were home from hospital about 10 hours later and next morning accompanied her mother and elder sister, not 2 yet, on the way to school with big brother, 5 next May.
Changed days from when my children were born in the little cottage hospital in Grantown on Spey and I was told to stay as long as I liked. They were glad to have some "customers"!
Monday, 27 October 2008
Out of the mouths of babes..
As this grandchild has still made no indication again that she would be appearing soon, big brother, aged 4, said, "Why can't we just get one at the shops?"
Sunday, 26 October 2008
The Reluctant Grandchild!
I've been "down south" for almost a fortnight now and still no sign of junior. There was a false alarm last Saturday night and the maternity unit was phoned, I went to bed about 11pm, got up about 6.30 the following morning, collecting two grandchildren on the way down to the kitchen, made a cup of coffee and made my way to the living room and immediately was suspicious. What should be lying on the floor but the "hospital"bag! Just then mother-to-be appeared and said that "everything" had stopped just after midnight and she had fallen asleep till 3am on the settee. Father-to-be suggested she phone the hospital again and explain what had/had not happened!
A routine visit to the ante natal clinic followed on the Tuesday and words like "examination" and "sweep" were mentioned. Husband suspects this appointment might be at the council cleansing department.
So, I'm still here and, like everybody in this house, am still waiting.
A routine visit to the ante natal clinic followed on the Tuesday and words like "examination" and "sweep" were mentioned. Husband suspects this appointment might be at the council cleansing department.
So, I'm still here and, like everybody in this house, am still waiting.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
He who has always been obeyed!
I thought I would let you see who will be in charge of the household while I am away south. He assures me everything will be fine and not to worry.
I'll leave little notes for him telling him how to work the various appliances, like the kettle etc. and how many sugars he takes in his coffee!
......good job he doesn't know how to switch this machine on!
If you happen to see him, and you'll be able to recognize him from the following photographs, give him a few words of encouragement.
I'll leave little notes for him telling him how to work the various appliances, like the kettle etc. and how many sugars he takes in his coffee!
......good job he doesn't know how to switch this machine on!
If you happen to see him, and you'll be able to recognize him from the following photographs, give him a few words of encouragement.
Monday, 13 October 2008
Busy weekend with great food!
I did it again!.........2 shows in the same weekend, something I always say I will never do again.........till the next time. (I'm a "show-junkie").
The Saturday show was in Lanark, a drive of one and a half hours away, where we didn't exactly set the heather on fire, although Mo had a first in Open dog. The food was provided by the commercially run restaurant on the venue premises and was very good....just as well as I had a long wait till the papillons were judged, by a rather slow judge.
The Sunday show was in Bonnybridge, almost an hour's drive off. It was the Scottish Toydog Open Show and this year the hall was buzzing with an excellent entry in most of the breeds. Again, we were scheduled near the end of the judging, so again , a long wait, which was fine as the company was good (had a good old blether with all the papillon folk, and some others as well(!)) but the very best bit was the EXCELLENT buffet provided by the committee. It was the best I'd ever tasted, and I do appreciate good baking and cooking and know the work that it entails. We even had strawberry tarts, freshly made that morning on the premises!......AND, the prices were so low . What a pleasant change from the overpriced stodge we are often served in the motorway services.
Well done to all concerned.
As to the actual showing, we had a reasonable day. Spencer was again Best Veteran in Show. His younger half brother, Pyatshaw Murphy's Law,now also a veteran and belonging to Sue Gray, (Gennasus), has also been winning a few such awards, so "LOOK OUT, Spencer". His father, Northlyte Adonis Blue was also a specialist in the veteran classes so if you're looking for a good veteran...............
Mo again had a first in Open dog and Swallow had a third in the graduate class.
That will be my last outing with the dogs for a few weeks as I will shortly be taking off (literally) for the far south, near Windsor, to be more precise, where my sixth grandchild is expected very soon.
The Saturday show was in Lanark, a drive of one and a half hours away, where we didn't exactly set the heather on fire, although Mo had a first in Open dog. The food was provided by the commercially run restaurant on the venue premises and was very good....just as well as I had a long wait till the papillons were judged, by a rather slow judge.
The Sunday show was in Bonnybridge, almost an hour's drive off. It was the Scottish Toydog Open Show and this year the hall was buzzing with an excellent entry in most of the breeds. Again, we were scheduled near the end of the judging, so again , a long wait, which was fine as the company was good (had a good old blether with all the papillon folk, and some others as well(!)) but the very best bit was the EXCELLENT buffet provided by the committee. It was the best I'd ever tasted, and I do appreciate good baking and cooking and know the work that it entails. We even had strawberry tarts, freshly made that morning on the premises!......AND, the prices were so low . What a pleasant change from the overpriced stodge we are often served in the motorway services.
Well done to all concerned.
As to the actual showing, we had a reasonable day. Spencer was again Best Veteran in Show. His younger half brother, Pyatshaw Murphy's Law,now also a veteran and belonging to Sue Gray, (Gennasus), has also been winning a few such awards, so "LOOK OUT, Spencer". His father, Northlyte Adonis Blue was also a specialist in the veteran classes so if you're looking for a good veteran...............
Mo again had a first in Open dog and Swallow had a third in the graduate class.
That will be my last outing with the dogs for a few weeks as I will shortly be taking off (literally) for the far south, near Windsor, to be more precise, where my sixth grandchild is expected very soon.
Friday, 10 October 2008
Walks around our village of Abernethy.
We are lucky living here in that we have a variety of types of walk, with our varied landscape around the village. To the south we have the glen and the Law and to the north we have the flat strath land of the rivers Earn and Tay. The following photographs show something of the walk up the steep Law. I had put off climbing up (thinking too much of my age) but was spurred on by one of my doggy visitors doing so before me! Once I got going it wasn't too bad and the views from the top were well worth the effort. I followed a narrow path from near the summit and it led to the forest track where the aroma from the firs and larches was intoxicating and it was so silent: not another person to be seen and only occasionally the sound of some animal, probably a deer, making off through the trees, or a bird taking flight.
I returned on the following 3 days but then discovered that the area was actually infested with ticks, judging by the amount of "livestock" I found on the dogs as I bathed them for a show. I haven't been back since then. I'll wait till we've had a few hard frosts then try again.
I returned on the following 3 days but then discovered that the area was actually infested with ticks, judging by the amount of "livestock" I found on the dogs as I bathed them for a show. I haven't been back since then. I'll wait till we've had a few hard frosts then try again.
Abernethy and Castle Law
This photo by kind permission of Alastair MuirheadCastle Law is back right.
Mo. (P. Ravel) aged 2. Best of Breed at Kirkcaldy, May 2008
another 2 photos from the lost disc!both by Sue Gray.
Tass' pups.
The missing photos have come to light at last. I thought I must have deleted them by mistake but found them on another disc! They show the difference in size between the pups.
Thursday, 9 October 2008
At Last..to Tass, a litter!
Tass (Pyatshaw Silver Tassie) produced a litter of 3 puppies, 2 dogs,1 bitch, on 19/06/08. The sire is Mo (Pyatshaw Ravel). They were small, weighing 3ozs, and 2 @ 1 1/2 ozs. Sadly the tiny bitch survived only 2 days. Little George (3ozs) and midget Geoff battled on and began to thrive, although Geoff was much, much smaller than his brother.
This was to be Tass' last attempt to produce a litter. At first we could not get her mated, then she didn't "take" and then she lost 2 litters, the puppies being minute and she showed no interest in them whatsoever. This time her interest grew after an initial disinterest, but she attended to the front end only of the puppies. I think she would have preferred to hire a nanny, if she could managed it.
Little Geoff is now living the life of Reilly with a lady who had lost her papillon earlier in the year after having him for 14 years.
George, whom I intended renaming but never got round to it, is now at the "electric shock" state with lots of long fluffy hair sticking up everywhere, but he is cute.
This was to be Tass' last attempt to produce a litter. At first we could not get her mated, then she didn't "take" and then she lost 2 litters, the puppies being minute and she showed no interest in them whatsoever. This time her interest grew after an initial disinterest, but she attended to the front end only of the puppies. I think she would have preferred to hire a nanny, if she could managed it.
Little Geoff is now living the life of Reilly with a lady who had lost her papillon earlier in the year after having him for 14 years.
George, whom I intended renaming but never got round to it, is now at the "electric shock" state with lots of long fluffy hair sticking up everywhere, but he is cute.
George's First Triumph.
In his very first competition, our local Ringcraft Match Night, George won Best Baby Puppy. Will future competition be as successful?
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