Remembering Winnie - and her garden

The Lady Of The House here,  making a brief return to the blog to give you a gardening update.

Those of you who shared Winnie's adventures with us will remember that a zoom around the back garden was an essential part of her daily routine, resulting in this....

That blue pole thing the Man Of The House is standing beside is our rotary clothes drier, by the way.

Early attempts to dissuade her proved ineffective and we soon realised that the look of  pure joy on her face as she raced and cavorted meant that the lack of lawn seemed a small price to pay.

It's nearly ten months now since we lost her.

Monkey - who joined us in April - only makes one brief 7am trip into the garden each day to take care of business and can't wait to get back in the house. He loves his three walks a day but has no desire to spend any time in the garden at all. He also doesn't do zoomies. So the garden looks a bit different these days. The rotary clothes drier is wearing its autumn cover too.

Here's a funny thing......

There was just one particular spot, in the dirt track she created, where Winnie loved to dig. 

When she died we decide to plant a ballerina apple tree in it. But you can see that it's been joined by a few other items that we haven't planted.

The sunflower has probably grown from a seed put out for the birds on the nearby bird table. I've never seen one with so many heads on one single stem. I've counted 14 today.

Winnie left her mark on the garden - and on our hearts.  The grass has grown again but I think it's always going to be Winnie's garden. And she'll always be in our hearts too.

Wordless Wednesday - I am the guardian of the clothes dryer

Feeding the birds

Come rain, snow or shine the Man Of The House always makes sure the birds in our garden get well fed.

It's just that SOMETIMES I think they eat better than me.

What do you think?

In the garden with Winnie

Sometimes I do wonder if I am trying the Man Of The House's patience a bit too far with my digging in the back lawn. So I sneak up behind him to check if he's cross.

But he isn't - and he even throws my Winnie the Pooh toy for me (see picture below) and plays with me. He's the best.

I'm ready for my close-up

The Lady Of The House has been getting to grips with the video camera loaned to her by Pedigree as part of the trial of their new Joint Care+ treats.

Once she got the technology sussed, she thought it would be an easy matter to get me to gallop around the garden in my usual style. But, frankly, I felt this was a little undignified, and took a bit of persuading. Besides, I like squeaking my toys.... a lot.

I love the camera - but I thought maybe I should get the chance to gaze into the lens and pose a little.

A close-up would be nice, Mrs Director.

The Girl of the House thought she'd finally persuaded me to get involved. But I wasn't going to jump around for long.

Eventually I decided to co-operate and if you want to see the final version, you can see it on my Facebook Page. It's called A Mad Few Minutes in the Garden. You can probably guess why.

Did I get the wrong idea?

There was a brief bit of sunshine in Staffordshire this week. Blink and you would have missed it.

So when the LOTH opened the back door around lunchtime that day and ushered me outside I didn't hesitate, went straight outside and made myself comfortable like this.

I DID think it was a bit strange that she had her jacket on and was jingling the car keys a bit impatiently.

Then she starts calling at me from the doorway saying "Be quick, Winnie", "Come on", "Hurry up".

It seems she wanted me to make myself comfortable in a different way altogether before she left me and nipped into town in the car.

Well I didn't know.

Wordless Wednesday: Not much beats a good neck scratch

Wordless Wednesday - Anyone want to play?

Poodle Doodle Doo

Some people have fairies at the bottom of their garden, I'm told - we have poodles.

When I say at the bottom of the garden, I actually mean that they live in a house that is sideways on behind our back garden fence.

Three miniature poodles live there. They look like they should be in a cute picture book. One is black, one is white and one is brown.

I should really have talked about this on Mischief Monday because if I go into the back garden and I can tell that they are out in THEIR garden, sniffing and being quiet, I run straight to the fence between us and just give one really loud and deep "WOOF" to make them jump.

This kicks off the most amazing barking in three part harmony from the poodles who just go crazy barking back in wild excitement for ages and ages. I just turn and walk away as if nothing's happened. I look so casual as if it's nothing to do with me. I am almost whistling, I am so casual.

Who? Me? No, surely not.

Winnie's second Christmas carol

What? Who? Me?

Actually, that headline is ALL WRONG! Today's carol with new words is ALL the work of the Lady Of The House. Feel free to tell her it's rubbish.

(Sing to the tune of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night)

Oh, Winnie get some socks tonight

You've dug another crater

The house is full of grass and mud

I'll have to clean up later.

Long greyhound toes trap so much dirt

You've brought in half the garden

You never seem to look ashamed

Or say "I beg your pardon".

If Santa brought some Greyhound boots

The floors would stay much cleaner

And when I saw you digging

I would be a little keener.

 

I wonder if you want to get

To sunny warm Australia?

I don't think you can dig that far

I think you're doomed to failure.

I'd miss you if you went to Oz

I hope that you're not going

The good thing is that thanks to you

The lawn does not need mowing.

("That's because we have no lawn any more, really" - the LOTH)

Yes, yes. We get it. Fine.

Changing the subject, we have had a few requests for "Silent Night" so we are going to work on that next. 

Actually, I WILL. Because the LOTH is clearly not in the proper Christmas spirit.

There I was - digging this hole.....

Recently, one of my friends on Facebook asked me if I had any tips on how to stop her greyhound digging holes in the garden.

I did not understand this question.

Perhaps she mis-hit the keyboard and she meant how do you START a greyhound digging holes in the garden? Why would anyone want to stop a greyhound having THIS much fun?

I find that when you feel you have dug far enough for one day you should do a few laps of honour.....

And then stand back and admire your paw-work.

The only tip I have come across is that SOME people apparently create a sand pit as a special place for their greyhounds to dig in the garden if they don't think their garden and lawn would really benefit from our novel approach to gardening.

This week, the Lady Of The House is passing on some of my best gardening tips, I believe, while she is in a production of the Tony award-winning musical The Secret Garden with Little Theatre Company. She is very tired and lying on the sofa right now. Three more shows, LOTH!!! Get up and get on with it!!!

Here's the LOTH (all in black) - who plays Mrs Medlock - with Katie Ireland who plays Mary Lennox. Katie is the LOTH's cousin's daughter and we are all very proud of her.

Here's a scene from the happy ending at the end of the show. I don't know if there are any greyhounds in it or not, but if there are it would be a very very happy ending.

Work work work

I am sorry for those of you who have weather that's too hot, or too cold, or too wet or too dry. But hear in recent days it's been just right.

The Lady Of The House  brought her tiny teeny computer into the dining room to work so that I could lie just outside the doors into the garden and she could enjoy the fresh air and my company.

Sometimes I went a little bit further away from her to lie on the grass.

But I soon came right back inside - just in case she needed my help.

Just shout if you get stuck on writing anything, won't you?

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Who put that fence there?

My friends Biscuit, Revell and Fender have had some work done on their garden. They ran outside and were a bit surprised to see something there that wasn't there before.

The lone mouse-keteer

I love playing with my toys in the garden.

I especially like throwing them up in the air and catching them again. I am very good at it.

Sometimes my toys get to camp outside overnight.

They don't seem to mind.

This morning the Man Of The House let me out quite early - because he had got up to finish some work.

Imagine my delight when I found a new little furry toy outside! 

I pounced on it, and threw it up in the air and was having a nice, quiet little game with it when the MOTH came outside to look at what I was doing. 

He had looked out of the window and thought I might be preparing to dig a new hole under the pear tree.

He took my toy off me. 

He said it wasn't a toy - it was a field mouse.

By this point it was a dead field mouse.

I am QUITE A BIT sorry, because I didn't really mean it.

I thought it was a toy, really I did.

The Lady Of The House said cats are supposed to be 'mousers', not greyhounds.

I did not like being compared to a cat.

But I did shout at one I saw on my walk later - to let him know that I'd made a good catch.

The LOTH said she didn't think I was fast and nimble enough to catch a little tiny mouse.

CHEEK!

Wordless Wednesday - I can hear the grass grow

Wordless Wednesday - Sunflower power

Weekend walkies

I do think we are lucky to live in walking distance of some lovely open countryside and fields.

It's just great to get out and about - especially on a sunny day like today - and walk in companionable silence with the Man Of The House, the Lady Of The House - or if I'm REALLY lucky - both of them.

Silence that is until I see a cat and feel the need to let it know I'm here with what I hope is a slightly deep and threatening 'WUFF'.

But there's no cats out here in the fields. But I still don't get to run free in case I get the scent or sight of a rabbit or a squirrel because I'd be off in hot pursuit and maybe follow it through a hedge on to the road and get hurt.

There are some roads close by here although you can't see them. I don't mind walking on my lead and I like being with my family so it's all good. I can always have a crazy zoomy run in the garden when I get home and then soak up a bit more sun for as long as someone will stay outside with me. When they go inside, I go inside too. Well, you have to keep an eye on them. Who knows what would happen to them if I wasn't there. I don't know how they ever coped before I came along.

Before I head off for another sunny snooze, I'd like to wish ALL my American followers a really happy 4th July weekend. I'm going to try and stop by the Luau and Pool Party in Honorooroo being hosted by The Fiesty Three.Maybe I'll see you there?

Today we are again taking part in the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop which is a great way to make new friends and discover new blogs.

The hop is hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.

If you'd like to join in, please 'follow' the blogs of your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste this week's new Linky code into the html editor of your own blog. The list will automatically update on everyone's blogs as new sites add themselves over this weekend and we can all hop from blog to blog and find out everybody's news.

Thanks again to our three hosts for putting on the hop!

If you follow a new blog after finding them in the blog hop - please let them know that you found them on the Saturday Pet Blog Hop.