Today was one of the tri-annual Street Markets, the gardening one. R had promised some hanging baskets to attractivise someone’s stall, so I took him in this morning and they unloaded the car. I went and re-parked along the Dam (in this neck of the woods, a dam is a road built over water meadows that sometimes get flooded) and walked back into town.
Although it was about ten o’clock, I hadn’t had breakfast, so I bought a sausage sandwich from John’s stall. I walked along the street eyeing up stalls as I munched, and on my way back again I bought various plants. I was particularly looking for tortoise fodder, but bought other things too. When I’d got five bags full, I went back to the car to unload. It seemed quite a long way. My feet aren’t quite sandal-ready yet and my feet felt a bit tender. But I went back and bought an icecream – well, I bought two, a cone for me and a tub for R, and went back to look for him. I couldn’t find him, though I looked ever so thoroughly. So I put the tub in my shopping bag and bought more plants, chatted to friends I met, plodded back to the car, drove home, unlocked the door and gave the icecream to Ben. He was thrilled. I’m sure you can imagine.
I had hardly done that when R phoned. I told him about the icecream – he’d been in a shop at the time and there was no phone signal – I had tried to ring him. What a pity. I said he should phone when he wanted to come home, it was too hot for him to walk. I went and fed the tortoises, then felt really thirsty, remembered I’d had nothing to drink all morning (it was about 12.30 by now) so went to have a glass of water, poured another, added ice, fetched the paper, sat in the porch – and R rang to say he was on his way home. I unpacked the car and fetched him home.
I have bought another sedum, some herbaceous geraniums, some nasturtiums and some marigolds for the tortoises, but I’ve made a silly mistake. I planted the marigolds and nasturtiums outside the run, for the latter to grow over into it and she eat them when they’re bigger, but I’ve realised that there are so many that Edweena might be able to climb out when they’re full grown. So I’ll have to take most of them out again and replant them somewhere else. I planted the sedum in her run, because it’s a big-leaved variety and the other two are small ones which she might chomp down to the root. I’ve also bought plants for the bed by the wall on the kitchen garden side, but I need to dig that first. I’ll do it, no problem. Well, none but a lack of muscle, idleness and a dodgy hip. It’ll be fine. I had a long nap this afternoon after my thirsty morning.
I bought a bag of B*k*r’s C*mpl*t* (Shite*) the other day, for no particular reason (except that it’s dog food and we have a dog). When Ben came to us, he ate dry food that he didn’t much like, so I’ve been giving him tinned meat and mixer. But when I tried the BCS mixed with meat, he went and nudged the bag afterwards, clearly asking for a second helping, and he’s never done that before. Since then, we’ve given it to him at every meal and he loves it. So, what with icecream and BCS, he was a happy dog. He lay on my lap, cuddling me with great pleasure and drawing up his upper lip into a happy smile. This isn’t a dog expression, it’s a human one and, for a dog to copy it, it’s an indication that he wants to be like us (some dogs want their beloved owners to be dogs). I’ve had a lot of dogs over the years and only a few have ever done it. Ben was determined, though it made him sneeze (all over me, we were a bit face to face at the time). So I rather feel that a sort of breakthrough in terms of him wanting to please has happened. I just have to work out how to take advantage of it.
*©Rog
I think to be fair it was (c)Mr Murph. A dog who knew how to train his biped- very much like Beb!
Ben is right, BCS tastes wonderful to canines. It is like a MacDonalds for dogs. If you look it up on http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/ you will see that it isn’t really good enough. Mind you, one of my two doesn’t like any of the “good for you” ones. I have to add sardines, egg or cottage cheese before Holly will eat it. They all have us trained!
Try Dodgsen & Horrel dry food with warm water, my Labradors loved it!! The food soaks the water up so it doesn’t swell in the stomach.
It’s all part of my cunning plan, Rog.
Thank you Paff – oh dear. Funnily enough, Chester never was very fond of it at all – but then he only really liked fresh meat. And he wasn’t too fussed about going without food for a few days, until I had to resort to hand-feeding him.
I do add water if I give a dog dry food, John. Not sure if that one is obtainable round here, I’ve never seen it.
What a lovely day.
It’s ages since I had to feed a dog. I do not know the names of the actual products. All I know is that your dog says if it’s good for him or not.
And if he smiles at you – even when it makes him sneeze – he is about to follow you, everywhere. Just teach him right.
Dogs of my father would accept me – as a toddler ! – to pull them on their ears, grab them, do things a dog normally would not accept ; they would have happily munched any intruder to bits, even without my father being there and giving the order, just defending. They are not human, we like to see similarities ; but they can be very very true. I hope you and Ben can find a good , well – symbiosis ? The basis is already there, love, the details will be found.