Tag: Max – the Pug

Saltire, Birds and strange “gifts”

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
I came across this yesterday. Do you think the someone is trying to tell me something?

I took Max home on Thursday morning after special arrangements were made. I did say that we used the garage and I did not come into contact with anyone in the process. Of course we talked over a distance. I have to admit that I kind of miss him although, to be fair, Benji does not. Friday morning, nice day and Benji and I went out on our morning walk. First time in four weeks we have done so. In was good to be able to get out and be able to walk at a reasonable pace.. In the past weeks with, rain, sun, heat, cold, rain, rain and then sun again, the weeds at the church have grown something shocking. Thankfully the gardener, who has been kept very busy, will be with us this morning. I’ll go down presently and open the gates for him to get in.   The weeding will cover two days. Today he will spray weed killer on the area. In a day or so he will come back and check and  clear up.

Strange thing happened the other day. I took Benji to the wetlands and had a good walk – also  photographed the Black Swans and their young. Got back to the car and headed for home.  On the main road I noticed something red on the windscreen, I thought it was just the Remembrance Day Poppy that I keep there, but that’s on the inside not the outside of the windscreen so no idea what it was.

The Cockatoo at the Ada Ryan Aviary

Since it was not obstructing my view I didn’t bother with it until I got home. When I examined it I found that some unknown person had placed a large Kabana  (Polish Sausage) under the windscreen wiper. I took it inside and discussed the issue with Annabell – where and when I discovered it. We believed that it was meant for Benji but  with no indication from where and from whom it came, the safest course of action was simply to dump it in the bin – which we did. We also discovered that  the package had been slightly opened so that was a concern. It had to have been done at the Wetlands, not here since Benji would have been barking and I would have investigated. Anyway, it’s done now.

We had a telephone call from Jim yesterday and we will not be having Yogi to look after. Jim is still going to Western Australia but he is now going for three months and he will be taking Yogi with him. Actually I am  glad about that. Yogi is old, has medical problems, is deaf and partly blind. I hope to be proved wrong, but I don’t think Yogi will be with us for very much longer and I would hate for that to happen whilst he is in my care. Selfish – perhaps – but I have enough to do worrying about Annabell without also worrying about a visitor dog.  However, in March, after the Flinders Medical visit, we will have Dougal staying with us for 10 days. Dougal is a very lively Maltese Terrorist and we can go out on walks as normal.

The Black Swans at the Wetlands

In the morning I head off to Adelaide  for two days. This should be the AGM but with covid restrictions still in  place and some people still using Video Conferencing – particularly those from the South East –  it was decided to postpone the AGM until May when we hope all the restrictions will be lifted. At the moment we are meeting in two places, the south East people meeting in one location and the Adelaide and the North people meeting in another location, with the intention to re-join  sometime in the future..  Although in my view I don’t think it will make a difference in the long run. We were two separate bodies before and I think that’s the way we are heading again –   as the hymn says ” In this world of darkness, so we must shine, you in your small corner and I in mine”.  Our weather is now heading in the general direction of 45c. That’s ok just as long as we do not have a North Wind – like last week. At the moment it’s  37c with not a breath of wind. That’s  fairly tolerable.

 

Hospital, Fires and Dog Problems.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
Benji and Max walking – before the heatwave,

Friends, Jennifer and Milan,  have left to go to Western Australia (Perth)  Because of the covid-19 and border restrictions, they have not seen their children and grandchildren since Christmas 2019. They asked  me if we would look after Max – the Pug –  for a couple of weeks and I reluctantly agreed. Max is a lovely, calm and very placid dog, but last time Max was here  he and Benji did not get along too well. I was concerned for Max because all terriers can get very nasty if threatened, or think they are being threatened.  It’s only been a few days but Benji is older and wiser and the dog-door helps because Max spends much of time wandering in and out of the house and  just wandering around the back. I have been out walking with them and for the moment Max needs to stop and smell everything .That aside, they walk well together and  they are getting along fairly well. However, and here I delve into history. Many moons ago in the UK there was a Ballroom Orchestra led by a man called “Victor Silvester” –  you may remember (Galivanter) that he had a catch phrase associated to him – “slow, slow -quick, quick – slow”  Well being out with Max is like – “Slow, slow – slow, slow – slow. At night Benji and I generally go on a : Block Walk:  from the house to the end of town i.e. the end of the street. This distance takes Benji  and me about 8/ 10 minutes  about 20 mins there and back. With Max, it’s 20+ minutes just to get there- and that’s when  he’s not stopping every three feet. He is the most unflappable , placid dog you could imagine. He’s a Pug – a very overweight Pug – calm, quiet and peaceful. Sort of reminds me of me, really – except for the overweight bit!!  :o)

Annabell has not been too great this week and tiredness is only part of her problem but we are getting there. The Ultrasound should give us more information in what is happening. Annabell says it’s like being a teenager again only with the “Month” happening every few days. Poor thing!  The Ladies Coffee Group starts back tomorrow (Tuesday) so  she is quite looking forward to that.  I have to remember to remove the dog seat cover tomorrow since I will be picking up two other ladies. I’ll give the car a clean out and a spray so it will be nice and fresh for the ladies.

With South Australia in the midst of a heatwave (37 – 43C) the dogs and I are out only in the morning (05:40) and even then it’s only for a short walk, Yesterday the temperature was 38c and today it is expected to be around 42c and the same again tomorrow. The fire ban across the State came into effect at midnight last night. We have one large fire in Tasmania – contained but not

And it’s gone 8:30 already

controlled – and we had a fire at Salisbury. The Salisbury fire was believed to have been the work of an arsonist. Never mind, a severe look and a talking to by a Magistrate together with a good suspended sentence should sort things out – just like it did during the fire season last year. The favoured word by magistrates in South Australia is “naughty “, a term most  people would not use in reference to a 18/19 year old male. Well, a week of heat and back to  low to mid 20c for the next six days.

Annabell’s tests at the hospital here were  completed without any problem,  so that’s good. The results will be sent to  the  Clinic at Flinders Medical. At the moment  she is taking things fairly easy. My frustration is that I cannot go anywhere – no – not because of Annabell  – but because of having Max. Took a run out to the lighthouse on Sunday afternoon. Took four photographs and drove home.  I got Benji out and got his harness on, then lifted Max out.  I had foolishly left the front door open so Max moved to the door,  jumped in  plonked himself down in the seat well. and refused to move. I took a couple of photographs, got Benji back in the car and drove home, concerned about getting stopped by police and fined for having an unrestrained dog in the  car. As for other things – I have just about given up  making up the setps on my Fitbit and I don’t think I am going to get anywhere until Max goes home in two weeks.