A debate on the Nature of Nature Friday

Now that I am out and about and enjoying lots of short walks around my locality, I am of course bursting with ideas for my 'Nature Friday' posts. 

I am all excited at the thought of telling you about the interesting and exquisite aromas I have been encountering on my walks, ranging from 'Decomposing Seagull', through to 'Solid Excretions from Local Fox who has been Rummaging in the Bins'.

So Gail took me to the Duthie Park, and I am pleased to report on what I found:

Here I think my neighbour Angus the Black Lab has tried to claim some territory under the Berberis bush.

Now we have the sweet trace of a discarded 'joint' under the Lenten roses. Cool, man...

Here in front of the bed of pink 'Bellis' blooms I am distracted by a passing jogger, bearing the distinctive whiff of sweaty male human. Nice juicy looking calves too...

Hmmm. The marsh marigolds proliferate around the edge of the nicely stagnant pond water. I wonder if Gail will let me wade in there and take a sip. (She didn't). 

Next, a boringly well ordered bed of Primula. On the far side I see some crows are murdering a discarded fish supper, just out of shot. Interesting. 

Most of the daffodils in the park are a bit 'past it' by now. Unlike yours truly! 

To my mind the, best thing in the next picture is the nice crunchy snail I found under the geranium plant. 

But Gail (who removed the snail from between my clenched jaws) says I'm missing the point and I need to post a close up of the magnificent 'Crown Imperial' lily. 

Under the magnolia bush close to the entrance, one's nose is assaulted by a veritable deluge of messages left by canine visitors who have clearly been holding it all in until within the park boundary. 

Finally, on the way home, I think a C-A-T must have been prowling around near this cherry tree. 

Again, Gail says I am missing the point, and readers will want to see the glorious cherry blossom and not read about the cat pee... In fact, she claims I have still much to learn about 'appropriate' Nature Friday material and that I should focus next time on 'posing nicely' and describing all the pretty flowers.  

Happy Nature Friday to all my lovely friends - especially blog hop hosts the LLB Gang.

Proud Godmother or Proud Dogmother?

After a couple of trips to the park this week, Gail has pronounced that I am "Born Social".

'Born Social' happens also to be the name of a highly successful social media agency whose CEO is Gail's lovely godson Ben. 

Gail herself, I have noticed, is only social 'up to a point'. Which I guess will have to do. 

Photo taken by M in Johnston Gardens, Aberdeen

My Big Bro

It's very annoying, isn't it, when your big brother is allowed to do things but you are deemed too young.

So Gail took me along to the start of the monthly 'Aberdeen'n'shire Foxie Walk' on Sunday morning. 

Can you believe there were eleven of us wire fox terriers - a whole football team's worth - assembled in the Robert Gordon University car park. Including several relatives.

Closest of all the relatives was my big brother Rupert, a year senior to me - same breeder (Alex), same parents (Vikki and Jimbob).

Nobby and Big Bro Rupert

After the obligatory intros and much cooing over my adorableness, the pack set off on a walk through the campus and down to the river. 

I was getting along swimmingly with my foxie pals, and so was most perplexed when, after about ten minutes, Gail pulled me up short, saying "OK Nobby, that's quite enough excitement this morning for one so young. We need to go back to the car".

Let me tell you, I DID NOT NEED TO GO BACK TO THE CAR! 

I mean, I was learning so much from Big Bro Rupert. Like how he had once accompanied his human to the office and chewed right through the line manager's internet cable.... 

And Rupert was allowed to continue on the walk, but not me.  It's all so TOTALLY UNFAIR. 

Here I am, world!

Fully vaccinated, full of mischief, and raring to go. 

Scotland, are you ready? 

Next week, a 'proper' Nature Friday post for our LLB Gang friends!

 

Nuisance Nobby?

So I've been trying to be helpful about the house and garden, I really have. Although to date my human has failed to recognise this. She has even been calling me (and this is one of the politer names) 'Nuisance Nobby'.

But it's appropriate to taste the water in the bucket, to check suitability for use in washing the floor, is it not? 

Likewise, one has to carefully, and repeatedly, examine for texture and chewability the bristles on each of the brooms Gail uses. Everyone knows how inefficient it is to sweep a surface with the wrong sort of brush.

In the garden, I look for other opportunities to be of use, assisting with the digging up of weeds and of course ensuring the trowel is moved to where Gail can find it (or not).

The grip of the handles on a pair of old secateurs can be greatly improved with the addition of special puppy teeth marks*. Gail will appreciate this when I no longer have my 'land shark' dentition...

I even tried to assist Gail in cleaning her bicycle with an oily rag I found just lying around, but no, you've guessed it, once more not appreciated. 

It seems the only thing I can do right in Gail's eyes at the moment is to sit quietly on the arm of the old sofa and adopt my 'adorable watch dog' pose... 

*Gail says: The whole truth here is that Nobby merely improved on some earlier work on the secateurs (originally executed by his much missed predecessor Bouncing Bertie).

It was an Extremely Good Friday

I hope all my friends had a wonderful Easter weekend, filled with excitement, happiness and treats!

I'll be honest, at first I didn't see the point of Gail spending all Friday morning baking a batch of hot cross buns.

Quite a faff really, for food I was never going to be offered on account of the currants. 

But then things looked up as Gail loaded myself and the still warm buns into the car for the short drive round to meet black Labrador Blue and his family. 

While Gail sat in the garden with Blue's humans, drinking tea and apparently* enjoying the hot cross buns, I was given a valuable lesson in how to behave around a big, boisterous (and very handsome) one year old Lab.

*I can't help but observe that Gail's Good Friday home bakes looked a tad less light and airy than the shop-bought variety. In fact I wondered if we might usefully send the remaining buns to that nice Mr Zelenskiy in Ukraine in response to his repeated requests for more ammunition, but I kept that thought to myself...

Can one fail one's online induction to Puppy Class?

"Thank heavens for the mute button."

That's what Gail said at the end of my hour long online induction to the Awesome Paws Academy this week.

Look, I thought teachers liked it when pupils showed signs of wanting to participate in class. So what if I barked (quite a lot) and tried to climb up on Gail's lap to use the chat function? And then walked all over the keyboard, briefly causing us to exit the Zoom session. At least we didn't miss the important bit about  remembering to bring along a large volume of 'high value' treats to the 'in real life' classes, which start next week. And Gail learned a useful new term, 'land shark', for puppies with sharp teeth.

Anyway, I don't believe one can get expelled from Puppy School on the basis of performance at the online induction. 

Gail is not so sure. When the session ended she poured herself a stiff drink but I still wanted her undivided attention. Perhaps she needs to go back to school herself, where she might learn it is unwise to try to fend off an over-excited land shark with one hand while holding a full glass of red wine in the other.

So my eleventh week ended with a sticking plaster on Gail's hand and the mop in action on the tile floor. And for once it was not for puppy pee....

Butter wouldn't melt...

Nobby styles it out...

Gail and I are discovering that humans can be divided into two distinct groups, not by gender, race or class, but by their reaction to learning my name.

In the first group, those younger than Gail, often female, and people with absolutely no interest in the game of football (soccer) predominate. They tend to put on a polite but quizzical look, hesitate, then ask: "Nobby? Er, where did you get that from?"

We get a different reaction from those Gail's age and older, especially if they are male, English, and long time football fans. They smile broadly as my name jogs a distant memory, and they say: "Ah yes, Nobby,  like Nobby Stiles, of course!"

I leave it to you to read up more about Nobby Stiles the footballer, a famously distinctive member of England's 1966 World Cup winning team who sadly died of dementia in 2020, and to guess whether or not I was named with him in mind...

A sweet tooth?

Nobby takes a fancy to the hazelnut meringue with caramelised pears in the Guardian newspaper supplement...

NAUGHTY NOBBY! 

Tree work

Wednesday was my 71st day on this planet, and I'm delighted to tell you it was the BEST DAY EVER! 

Even though when Gail opened the kitchen door to greet me first thing that morning, she actually apologised. 

"Sorry Nobby, but garden time will be limited today as a couple of men are coming to perform necessary surgery on some of our trees. I'm sure they won't want you under their feet, and anyway, I suspect you'll find all the noise from the saws and woodchipper rather frightening and will want to stay inside most of the time."

There comes a time in every youngster's life when they learn that information and advice from those whose role it is to care from them is far from infallible.

So these are the men who supposedly would want me out of the way. (And yes, they are taking pictures of me to send to their families.)

And here's me being terrified of their equipment..,

Steve - he's the one in orange top - told Gail how his family has owned fox terriers for decades, and how he absolutely adores the breed. Especially puppies. 

They had a good laugh when I grabbed one of their work gloves and made Gail chase me around the lawn to retrieve it. And yes, I am fast. 

Steve even offered to take me home with him in lieu of payment for the tree work. 

I hope the reason that Gail rejected this offer was not solely because I cost more than the price agreed for making sure our maple, holly, cherry, birch and ash trees are not interfering with the overhead telephone cables.

When Steve and his colleague finished their work, I carefully inspected the results and found it all satisfactory, and thus was able to allay Gail's fears that they'd spent so much time making a fuss of me they might have neglected the task at hand.

I confess to being slightly worried that a post about chopping bits off trees might not be consistent with the spirit of the LLB Gang's Nature Friday blog hop, but until I'm allowed out in the wide world (only two weeks to go) it will have to do.

Rare and precious moments

Earlier this week I made a wonderful new discovery. Sun puddles! 

 

They are lovely and warm and they move around the house throughout the day. 

Gail tells me sun puddles are a rare and precious commodity here in Aberdeen. A bit like puppy downtime, she says.

I am beginning to realise that Gail is right, at least about the sun puddles.

By yesterday morning they had all disappeared.

But, with the optimism of youth, I find there is always an upside. At least I had a chance to make more yellow snow! 

Can you see it?