Once Dougal went home, the times walking were a little more comfortable and less frustrating. Dougal is a barker and tends to go gaga if he hears another bark or, indeed, any noise. It does not make for a really enjoyable walk with him dragging and pulling. Benji, on the other hand is sort of like a modern teenager – some other dog barks – ” meh whatever!”. Although we never had any concerns, because our fences are secure, I am told by other people that Dougal tends to be something of an escape artist and Sam has had to go searching for him more than once.
I took Benji to the Wetlands this afternoon and it really is starting to look quite sad. The birds have deserted the back pond where they generally hang out.
The four wild Geese have taken to wandering around the area of the main pond, the ducks and swans have gone and the back pond – what’s left of it – has become the haunt of seagulls. Thursday week – 9th May – I set off to Narracourte for the quarterly conference. There will be one overnight stay in Adelaide and a second overnight stay at Padthaway. The meeting does not begin until 12:30 so it is likely to last for most of the afternoon since each of the churches has to bring their Books for inspection, stamping and cleared by Presbytery. That wont take five minutes so it is unlikely that I will get much farther than back to Padthaway since I will not drive on the Riddoch Highway and the Dukes Highway at night. There has been several accidents recently on that stretch of the road recently. Apart from which, I like staying in Padthaway since it is one of the few places that are dog friendly.
The flood waters from Queensland continue to pour down the Diamantina River into South Australia and then drain into Lake Eyre. Having said that I have also to
say that it has been raining for a good part of the late evening and into the night. It was not the soft, silent rain that really doesn’t do much but a decent rainfall for several hours. I must try and get down to the Wetlands and see what difference – if any – it might have made. Wednesday: Never got out to the Wetlands, had a bit of a wetlands in the back garden. It’s chucking it down here again and I I was surprised to learn that despite the widespread rainstorms, some parts of the State missed out – bummer. Looks as if we wont be going out for our walk tonight again. Well, as it happens, the rain went off and we did get out for our walk. I went directly to the water catchment area at the end of the street and although there was a good amount of water in there, I did believe that there was less than I thought there would be.
I thought that I would be able to go to the Wetlands tomorrow (Thursday) after the 10 am Hospital appointment with Annabell, but as of this afternoon,(Wednesday) we have a further appointment on Thursday at 2:30pm. However, at this stage, Friday is looking good :o) Talk about ‘Things Fall Apart” – I take Annabell and another lady to the Tuesday coffee evening and she and the other lady get picked up on a Wednesday. This same lady picks up Annabell for visits and other meetings. Well, this lady now has a new car and guess what????? Annabell cannot get into this new car, so I have more driving around to do. Oh well, I do believe it’s part of the job description.
I think it comes under the heading of “Sickness and Health ” :o) And, since the Universe is not altogether finished with me for the moment, Dougal came back this afternoon – right after we came back from the dentist. Sam is heading off to Adelaide to be with Ina for a little while – then when he comes back he is going into hospital himself, so I have no idea how long we might have Dougal this time. He’s not a really concern, just the fact that he has never learned to ignore barking and other sounds without going gaga, I’ll have to put on the harness again if I take him out walking but we have had a fair belt of rain here the last few days, so we’ll see how things go. I didn’t expect to have Dougal back quite so quickly but at least Sam knows that he can go visit his wife in Adelaide safe in the knowledge that his dog is being looked after and taken care of. It’s Friday – no doctors, no hospital visits – FREE… Woo Hoo
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