Parklife

"Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur 

Of what is known as

(Parklife)"

Do you know the song 'Parklife'? 

Perhaps not - it was a hit for the British group Blur back in 1994. They're a bit of a guilty pleasure for Gail and she sometimes finds herself mouthing the first lines of this particular song on our daily visits to Duthie Park.  She says they could have been written with me in mind. 

"Confidence is a preference"? Appropriate to me? Now why would she think that?

Is it the way I greet all the other dogs, big and small, like they're long lost friends, even those I haven't met before?

Is it because I regularly sneak through a gap in the fence and venture into the yard behind the park café where humans and, apparently, dogs are not supposed to go?

Has it got something to to with the fact that once, in this same forbidden back yard I found an unguarded tray of cakes and stole one of them before Gail could pull me away?

Of course I love to disappear into the dense rhododendron shrubbery and am never scared of getting lost.

And I always run over to sniff out the heavy equipment being used by the park maintenance guys (they know me well by now...) 

Does it take a confident dog to go and stick his nose in the pail of white paint being used to mark out the boundary of the cricket pitch in summer?

Oh and did I ever mention I like to steal balls from other dogs? (No matter what the size of the dog.)

I leave it to you to answer these important questions regarding my Parklife...

Playtime

Those of you who read last Friday's blog post will doubtless have been worrying all weekend about whether or not I found some dogs to play with after I took you on a tour of the Duthie Park flower beds. 

Friends, no need to fret any longer. The good news is that I did! 

Gail describes my play style as "enthusiastic" and "boisterous". 

It is true that when I spot a dog across on the other side of the park, I race across the grass at warp speed and jump all over them, tail wagging ferociously. 

But I would like to point out that if I realise the other dog is old, or grumpy and not in the mood for play, I do in general back away these days. (I didn't when I was younger).

Sometimes my approach forces what I believe, in the world of wrestling, is known as a submission. For some reason, Gail tends to attach my lead and drag me away if I am standing directly on top of a dog who is lying on his back. 

Oh and by the way, I do still steal other dog's balls. Why wouldn't you? 

Nobby reviews the late summer flowers in Duthie Park

Yesterday Gail reminded me it's been a while since I took you on a walk around Duthie Park, and suggested I might do a Nature Friday post showing you some of the late summer blooms.

To be honest, I always think that the other dogs we meet are by far the most interesting aspect of our local park, but according to Gail, it's "debatable" whether that would count as Nature*.

So here goes with the flowers. 

Some of the displays are uniform and orderly, such as the Begonias near the park entrance. 

We often see the gardeners hard at work weeding the flower beds first thing in the morning, and Gail says it's a bit unfair of me to criticise, but I feel I do need to point out they missed some groundsel just here.

At the opposite corner of the park we see more Begonias, these ones in a neatly kept circle.

Maybe it's the terrier in me, but I have to say, I prefer things to be a bit less regimented. This border is more to my taste. 

Such a fine display of vibrant colours. The Montbretia is spectacular this year. I wonder if a warm, dry June followed by a cool and rainy weather in July and August is to the particular liking of these showy red flowers?

The Heleniums (aka Sneezeweed), seem to be thriving in the cool late summer conditions too. 

Finally, perhaps, like me, you're wondering about the identity of the silvery grey plant in front of me here.

Let's have a closer look.

According to Gail's 'PlantNet' app, it's Stachys byzantina, commonly known as Lamb's-ear, after the furry texture of the leaves.

If I was ever allowed within stroking distance of a sheep, I would be able to tell you if the name is appropriate, but Gail is saying "dream on Nobby".

Well that's about it for today for the plants. Now let me look around and see if there are any dogs who want to play.

*If anyone would like to contest the implication that garden flowers count as 'Nature' but dogs do not, please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments box...

Happy Nature Friday friends! Thanks once again to our LLB Gang friends for hosting the blog hop. Do go and visit the other participants. 

Under surveillance at St Cyrus

You know, these days I don't much mind Gail capturing my every move on camera when we're out and about together.

I've learned it's the price you pay for being taken on nice outings (as on Sunday, when we met our friends M and J for a gentle walk along the beach at St Cyrus).   

I'm happy for M to take pictures too, especially since I know she usually remembers to bring yummy dog treats.

I do, however mind when some random stranger (that's him in the grey jacket, lurking by the rocks in the background below) starts filming me from overhead with his irritatingly buzzy little toy. 

So when the drone landed close by, I was all set to pounce.

Sadly, Gail heeded the man's panicked shouts and dragged me away before I could mete out some appropriate terrier treatment...

I am now thinking of consulting Harry and Meghan's lawyers regarding breach of privacy laws...

A wet summer walk in Scotland

On Saturday afternoon Gail decided we'd try out a new walk. 

I just love exploring different places. Don't you? 

We started in the village of Lumphanan and the track ascended gently northwards through pretty woodland and up to a look-out point. Apparently on a clear day one can sit on this bench and enjoy a magnificent view of the Aberdeenshire hills. 

This was not a clear day. In fact it was raining increasingly hard. And the seat didn't look at all comfortable anyway, so we hastened on down along some muddy farm tracks and back to the car.

To be honest, I ended up grateful Gail had not planned a longer walk and I was quite happy to be home and curled up on the sofa, practicing my Perfect Circle pose.