Looking back

Last weekend I just didn't have it in me to blog. Everything felt crappy. Blogging didn't feel worthwhile because I felt pressure to produce. Normally I regard my blog as a little record of whatever I fancy, for my family mainly. Suddenly it felt like a burden. But then today I had a look back at September last year and the year before. Just like this year, I was sick both years around now. And spring led to more and more colourful blog posts throughout the month. There is so much to look forward to right now, so it is time to record and celebrate the beauty of spring, just like I have in previous years. 

I'm pretty pleased with the Corner of Doom, which has been hideous for years, and is now neatly under control. I took this photo on a frosty morning recently. Look at that glorious sun!

 Mr Mouse likes to keep an eye out for his little brother. Fergus was naughty this morning and managed to get over into our neighbour's place, but couldn't get back over the tall fence. There was nothing to climb on over the other side, so I had to go on a retrieval mission.

 How could something so sweet be so naughty. Right now he's still enjoying tearing rolls of toilet paper into a million pieces, and he loves the "Little Shop" items from our supermarket. They are wee versions of supermarket items that you get when you spend a certain amount. Fergus has no intention of setting up his own little shop. He loves patting and chasing them around the house. He wasn't so pleased when we returned home with a tiny replica cheese and a wee bag of flour. They don't roll very well.

 The boys love prowling around in the garden.

 After all of that hard work playing Mr Mouse enjoys time relaxing.

 So does Miss Dog, on her bed.

 Fergus knows how to flatter his colouring when he is resting.

 Last weekend we had John's mum to stay. She had a busy time while she was here, and we went out for tea to The Flying Burrito Brothers - so good! On Sunday we went to the big market, and Johnny's mum bought us this beautiful chintz plate for our anniversary. We have been married for 20 years! Incredible! (Yes, I must have been a child bride).

 Look what else I got from Johnny's mum - this perfect wee birdie!

 I've popped it up on one of my special shelves and am hoping Mr Fergus never finds his way up to capture it. I can imagine he would be ruthless with his teeth and claws. On the bird theme, we did bird screen prints with my students at school this week. We have developed a simple technique which allows all of my students to screen print successfully. Every print is different and they look really effective.

 Miss Dog hasn't been feeling great recently. She has gone off her biscuits, and isn't even stealing the cat biscuits. We will have to get her mouth looked at. She was very pleased that I bought her some dog sausage. Fergus was also pleased, and mauled the packaging thoroughly before it had made its way to the fridge.

Miss Dog hasn't been getting out much lately, so I took her out for a quiet walk yesterday. She is really stiff in the hind quarters, but we managed a slow meander to the Nature Park where she made the most of the opportunity to sniff every bush and grassy clump.

 The pond is full and Miss Dog was quite keen on the idea of a swim. I was less keen on smelly, wet dog for the rest of the day, so we had to give that experience a miss.

She was exhausted when we got home, but I know she had a lovely time checking out interesting smells. It certainly isn't the same experience walking her as it was when she was younger. It is now quite a pleasure just wandering along slowly. She has never been a joy to walk because she was so strong and couldn't be trusted off the lead. She was prone to getting very excited at the sight or smell of anything interesting and suddenly dragging me in her wake, which did not help my poor decrepit back. Now my back is much better (riding regularly, without falling off, has been great therapy), Miss Dog is not a challenge to walk any more. 

It makes me so sad to think of her as being an old lady, and even worse to wonder how much pain she is in, but she is still a waggy, smiling doggy. 

Well, tomorrow is the first official day of spring. Zanny and I had a wonderful ride together today, and her dark brown coat was warm from the sun. There is a one day event in a couple of weeks that I'll be grooming at. Emily is building her team again following the birth of her dear little girl, so there are some exciting developments there. I'm working on the front garden as it has been bothering me for ages. It felt good to move some things around and make plans. There is a lot to look forward to and it is pretty good right now too.