Tag: The Beach

Arid Lands, Dog Friendly and Hospitals

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
Been a long day. Need rest!

The house these last few days has been very quiet. I have gotten so used to the WaWa , barking and running to greet me that I miss her. Benji is there but he is not the demonstrative  dog the WaWa was so his greeting – whilst no less loving – is a quiet affair.  Since the departure of the WaWa last  Thursday Benji and I have been out and about again – the Beach several times and the Wetlands several times. I would like to go to the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens for some new plants,  but dogs are banned from the area, so I could not take him with me – which is a pity. South Australia is largely behind everyone else and we have – to my knowledge – very few places that are dog friendly. Some places that are supposed to be “Dog Friendly”have so many restrictions  that it’s hardly worth while – unless you are towing a caravan or a driving a  motorhome. There are some places that are catching up, but it’s a slow process. However, I am heading off to Adelaide in ten days so if I get away from Conference at a reasonable time and make  thee Gardens before they close.

A lady – Samantha Grant – writes about her travels in Scotland with her husband,  her Westie and sometimes her daughter. In reading her posts I have been amazed at the number of places she has gone to that are “Dog Friendly” many of which I associate with my growing up in Scotland.  I think it’s great but I have to confess that such a concept  as dog friendly would never have been considered when I was growing up in Scotland. You were more likely to be shouted at “Get that +#$$%y animal out oImage result for no dogs allowed clipartf here ”  It’s certainly changed days – and changed for the better in some instances.

Still on the subject of dogs, Benji is much, much happier, and it shows, but he still stops and looks before he comes into the living room and jumps up on to my lap. I did put his extra bed back where it used to be but he hasn’t used it yet. Even today, when Annabell come in to my room, he grabbed one of his toys and started squeaking it at the open door – It may take him a while but he will get used to the WaWa not being here. Oh, and we will not be looking after Yogi after all, so Benji has the house to himself (apart from us humans)  for the foreseeable future.

It is now  eight years since Annabell was cleared of the Golden Staph Infection that put her in three hospitals for months.In the last hospital there was some concern that the amount of drugs she was being fed was starting to compromise her liver and kidney functions. So here we are, eight years on and I now have to take her to hospital for x-rays because her recent  blood test shows that there may be some problem with her kidney function.  She was about an hour or so in the clinic where she underwent an ultra-sound on both kidneys. We should get the results once the doctor gets the report – which will be posted directly to him. The following evening I had to take her to Physiotherapy, so both nights were take-away dinners – and my diet went out the window  :o) Anyway, at  least we have the weekend to wind down and relax and the  report

Hospital

should be with the doctor on Monday. However, she said herself that she feel fine so we are not expecting anything too drastic.

Swans, Beach and a Day Trip

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
There are now four pairs of Black Swans at the Wetlands

Up until fairly recently there were areas that were a sort of sanctuary – Benji went there and the WaWa stayed clear. One of these areas was my bed. Benji  curled himself up at the back of my legs and slept there. However, over the last week or so the WaWa has become my BFF and she now— gasp— sleeps with me. Thus my bed is no longer a Benji Sanctuary  and if he goes up on the bed she stands and barks at him.  Oddly enough, she is quite calm sleeping close to him at night –  although she is closer to me. She still walks quietly beside him when we go out walking in the morning and at night. I know it’s old hat but still no word about if or when Sooah is coming back and this Friday it will be a year since she left Kongsoon  (WaWa) with us.  It  could be months or it could be another year, or never, we just don’t know. However the WaWa is settling down and we can do a lot with her and the coffee ladies have sort of adopted her and when I

Just a little paddle in the water.

kept her in my room, they asked for her, so I let her out and they were happy with her running around them and letting them pet her . Everyone has noticed the difference in her this last while back.

For a while there was only one pair of black swans at the wetlands. Now there are four pair and we really do hope that we will get to see some little black swans in the not to distant future. Today at the beach much of the seagrass is back but there was more than enough clear sand to be able to  play in and we even got to go into the water for a bit, although Benji is not keen and I had to coax him. Next time we go down with the intention of going into the water, I’ll take some treats with me and see what we can do. Other than that it was a great afternoon and the dogs enjoyed playing and chasing in the sand.

The view toward Port Augusta
At Woolshed Flats off the Road.

Due to lack of  aged accommodation here one of the ladies from our church has been moved to Quorn – about 80 miles ( 130 klms)  away. One of her friends  wanted to go and see her before she went home to Adelaide tomorrow, so I decided to take her. Lovely day, good drive and a fun-filled conversation.It’s not something I can do every  few days or even every week, but I will encourage people to visit her as often as we can so that she does not get depressed by feeling isolated, particularly as she has no family here in Australia.  The drive from Stirling North to Quorn is not the easiest of drives for us “Townies” with the long winding country road through the Pichi Richi Pass, and the lower Flinders Ranges,  but it’s not too bad – bit tight in places, but not too bad. The lady we went to see was bright and cheerful and seems to have settled in fairly well. She has a room at the Quorn Country Hospital and she says she is well looked after and the staff are friendly and very nice. It is a typical, single level, country hospital. It was a good visit and the only  tears were when it was time for us to leave and make our way back home. When a bed is available here she will be moved back – but she understands that this could take a while. We did a bit of shopping in Port Augusta before heading back home.