Seeing in 2011 with cake and noise

Hello - and Happy New Year.

We've had a lovely couple of days of quality family time at home and I hope your new year celebrations were happy too.

We greyhounds are known for being placid and easy-going - and I certainly proved that on New Year's Eve.

The Girl Of The House made it a very special day for the Lady of the House. She made her a giant cupcake birthday cake (nothing in it was suitable for dogs to eat so I just crashed out on my bed and ignored it - as you can see).

But they did save me a nice piece of steak from dinner that I got chopped up nicely in my dinner on New Year's Day, Yummy!!

Then the GOTH and her boyfriend set up something called 'rock band' which involved plugging lots of cables and things in to the TV. Then the GOTH played the drums, her boyfriend was on guitar and the LOTH was on vocals and they played their way through lots of songs by someone called the Beetles - or something like that.

I was quite happy to listen, but it didn't bother me or get me excited. Not much to get excited about really but not QUITE bad enough to howl at.....

So, now it's all over and we're ready for a busy 2011.

I hope it involves lots of cuddles and fuss for me and the occasional trip out in the car and a couple of nice little walks a day, barking at cats and chasing squirrels in the garden....I think I'm in with a good chance, don't you?

I also resolve to try and remember the Saturday blog hops! Bit late with this one I'm afraid!

This Pet Blog Hop, is hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.  If you'd like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor. 

Snowy nose

Look! I stuck my nose out of the back door and got a snowflake on it.

Snowflake on my nose

I have skipped out in my BIG winter coat today for a morning walk, but once I get in the warm I'm crossing my legs and not bothering about going out into the garden much before my afternoon walk.

The Lady Of The House keeps chewing at me though, because I do like to stretch my legs and go to the back door. So she opens it for me and I stand there in the doorway gazing out on my territory.

"Either go out or come in," says the L O T H. "You are letting all the warm air out, Winnie."

But I like to take my time and stand there with my body in the way so she can't close the door again in a hurry.

I like to stand there looking wistful and thoughtful and letting the snow land on my nose.

Now, if I see one of those cheeky squirrels, I'll be out there like a flash.

Trick or treat?

What extra hour? I don't understand? What have I missed.

I woke up at my normal time and gave a few whimpers and cries to let my people know I was awake...and they came down to let me out and start the day... but they kept saying it was an hour early, and the clocks had gone back. I'm not sure what they meant.

Is this one of those tricks people talk about when they say it's the day for trick or treating?

Someone who has been playing tricks on her owners today is Maggie May - who the Lady Of The House follows on Twitter. Her tweets today reveal that she rolled in some dead fish on the beach this morning and has been stinking out the car. She does make me laugh. She likes chasing squirrels too - so she's all right by me even if she isn't a greyhound.

Get your little nose out of MY lawn



Cheeky squirrel thinks he owns the place

So I've told you before about me and the squirrel.......

He keeps bobbing into the garden and stealing the nuts and seeds that the Man Of The House puts out for little birds like the greenfinches, goldfinches, blue tits and sparrows.

I can always smell when he's been in the garden and if I see him on the fence I go a bit wild ...but yesterday he just took it too far!!!

I will admit that since I arrived here I have churned up the back lawn quite a bit. The Lady Of The House says it looks like a ploughed field - but that's a bit of an exaggeration. I do love having a mad ten minutes and running round in ever-decreasing circles once a day as if it's my own mini racetrack.

Well, blow me down with a feather if I don't look out of the French windows in the dining room to see the cheeky little squirrel burying the nuts he'd stolen from the bird feeders in the holes and trenches my claws have worn in the lawn.

He must have thought I'd done it for his benefit!

The Lady Of The House heard me barking and came to open the door to let me out, but she held my grab collar until she knew the squirrel had got enough of a head start and I couldn't catch him. Pshaw!!!

The squirrel may be a nuisance, but it seems my soft-hearted family don't want me to do anything to him apart from give him a bit of a scare.

Somehow, I think he'll be back.

Squirrels are nutters - it's official

There was more than a whiff of squirrel in the back garden this morning when I headed out at 7.30am - there was in fact A SQUIRREL sitting on the top of the fence as casual as you like.

I charged across - ears and tail upright in my best aggressive pose - expecting him to disappear over the fence and out of the garden to safety. Them's the rules of the game, after all.

Not this one.

He started to run like greased lightning along the top of the fence with me keeping pace alongside the bottom of the fence.

Now when I got to the far side of the garden I had to stop because a barricade of recycling bins next to the bike shed were in my way. Any sensible squirrel (if there is such a beast) would have continued running along the top of the fence to the front of the house and safety...leaving me to growl "Curses - foiled again!".

Not this tree rat.

As soon as I skidded to a halt bin-side, he stopped above me too - turned round on his tail and ran back the way he'd come. So, of course, I took off like a rocket too.

Within seconds he was at the far end of the fence where it joins our neighbour's garden (sorry about that last fence panel by the way, guys!) and he was again faced with a perfect escape route which he couldn't fail to take....surely?

Not this crackpot squirrel.

He turned tail and headed back along the top of the fence towards the bins.

I think you have probably got the picture now. This continued for another dozen times with us both bounding backwards and forwards around the perimeter of the garden, separated only by the height of the fence panels. My eyes never left him as he motored like a demented Davy Crockett hat on little legs along the top of the fence.

To complete the picture across the road a white cat sat in an upstairs window with a perfect view - his head going backwards and forwards like a tennis fan on centre court at Wimbledon.

I think I vaguely remember hearing the Lady Of The House shout "WINNIE!!!" but I was too far gone to take any notice.

Eventually, the squirrel disappeared over the edge of the fence from site.

That was that - we all thought.

But clearly he hadn't had enough of a daily workout. When I came back from my morning walk and went out into the garden for my daily brushing with the grooming mitt, the cheeky blighter was on the pear tree.

I took off from the doorstep in a single bound and chased him across the grass...a tantalising whisker's length away from his tail. This time there was a definite "WINNIE!!!!!!!!" behind me.

I'll get you next time - given half a chance

He got away - just.

Curses - foiled again.

I love the smell of squirrels in the morning

The squirrels are regular visitors to our back garden trying to get their tiny little claws on the nuts and seeds that are really out for our little feathered friends (That doesn't mean YOU, pigeons).

And they are another little beast (along with cats) which I'd quite like to get hold of given half a chance.

Instead I have to make do with the smell of them which they leave on the back fence, in the Buddleia and on and around the bird table. The scent tends to make me rocket out of the doors like I used to rocket out of the gates at the dog stadium. They are too quick though - even for me and my 40mph top speed.

Met a sweet little West Highland White Terrier on my walk this afternoon. Her name was Katie and she was six-months-old. In fact we met her twice (it sometimes happens on the dog walking circuit that you pick the same route as someone else but going in different directions).

She was very excitable and jumpy but I was very tolerant and we bumped noses to say 'hello'. It's nice to make new friends.....as long as they are not Secret Squirrel and Lieutenant Pigeon - oh and Top Cat.

Showing off

Well, another first for me today with my family - I entered my first class at a fun dog show.

The Lady Of The House and I entered the ring for class 4 - Best Rescue at the dog show at Derby's Markeaton Park.

We weren't placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd but there were some lovely rescue dogs with far sadder stories than mine.

The L O T H said she was just pleased that I didn't take off in pursuit of any of the park's squirrels - in which I had been showing a keen interest. And the Judge said I was a credit to my family - which was nice. AND I got some more lovely bone biscuits from The Dog Bakery stall! Hurray!!!

Entrants and onlookers at the Markeaton Park dog show

The Dog Bakery stall was also raising money for Derbyshire re-homing charity Just For Dogs which I thought was lovely. JFD do some great work on behalf of animals. Read the story of how they save the life of Casper the friendly dog. It's chilling that anyone could slit a dog's throat and leave him for dead. Thankfully there are decent people around who will try and put things right and in Casper's case there was a great happy ending.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. I'm curling up for a sleep. See you tomorrow.

What to do with the weekend?

Well, this morning's walk involved me coming to a standstill under the trees on the nature reserve that was once a clay pit as a squirrel frolicked overhead.

The Man Of The House thought it was quite funny as I watched the squirrel bob and weave through the branches and make gurgling growls under my breath.

So, what to do now with the rest of the weekend?

Top choice for tomorrow is the Fun Dog Show at Markeaton Park in Derby. It's on from 11am to 3pm and now that the Lady Of The House has her car back she's threatening to take me along and enter me in the class for the saddest eyes.

They were a bit sad when I realised I was never going to get close to that squirrel this morning.  (But not as sad as the eyes of the L O T H when she paid that car bill yesterday - yikes!!!)