Ted's Post: When The Doggy Cousins Came To Stay

Last week, our cousins came to stay. We were Four Dogs In The House for two days and a night :o)

Dougal is my age (a noble seven), and Dylan is Poppy's (a puppyish two and a half). The best bit about them coming to stay is that they always bring their own beds, which are softer, cleaner and fluffier (and more tartan) than ours. We always make a bee-line for them, even though we weren't especially tired when they got here and I could hear rats and pigeons outside..... 

Dylan and Dougal were far too busy sniffing interesting smells in our garden to notice that we'd fallen asleep in their beds...

Which was lucky. After a nice, restorative nap, we joined them for a sniff about (even though we already know all the garden smells really well. It doesn't do not to stamp some authority on your own garden when Other Dogs are about, even if they happen to be your cousins and you know them really well)....

Poppy decided that she wanted to play ball. She doesn't want anyone else to have her ball though and generally keeps a very beady eye on it at all times, even with me...

Dylan (who follows Pop everywhere) and Dougal wanted to join in the game. Pop makes her feelings about this known. She is Very Clear who the ball belongs to and explains the rules at the outset, least there be any confusion. And if there is Mum is there as umpire to mediate.

I don't think it was much of a game for Dylan and Dougal because they weren't really allowed to get near the ball, despite their best efforts, as you can see.....

She is very possessive of it.

I find the whole ball-game thing a little beneath my dignity, frankly. I'd much rather snooze on the grass, while keeping a weather eye on things, just in case....

After a while even Dylan got bored. He unearthed a tennis ball from beneath the apple tree seat instead....

Poppy was relieved and took the opportunity to hide her ball in the flowers when no-one was looking....

Then when Dyls and Doog went to look for it, she distracted everyone's attention by larking about and finally leaping on Dylan. I have tried to explain that this isn't ladylike behaviour, but what can I say? She's a Jack Russell (say no more)....

I'm still more interested in lying on the grass in the sun, to be honest. I feel it befits my status as Senior Dog of the Family....

After that we were all Very Tired, and we all went indoors for a nap. No prizes for guessing where Pop and I slept.....

Dylan and Dougal didn't feel the same way about our beds and slept on the floor under the table. 
Sadly, when Grannie came to collect them the next day, despite my best efforts (ie staging a protest lie-in on one) she took the beds away (after Mum had tipped me off. Which I thought was very below-the-belt to be honest).

Hope you are all well my friends? Perhaps you could encourage Mum to buy me and Pop a new bed each via the comments :o)

Love, Teddy XX

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Its positively hot here today. 20 degrees :o) Sunshine with occasional clouds. The butterflies have returned to the garden, mostly Large Skippers, Commas and the odd Ringlet. There isn't as much buzzing about as I'd expected though. Perhaps they've all got out of the habit of heat and have remained hidden away in shock? 

I've escorted two honey bees out of the house. They didn't appear all that grateful, more annoyed that someone had inconsiderately built a house directly in their flight path. And there is something large and elusive that keeps flirting with the front garden and then disappearing whenever I go out to investigate. Not a dragon, I'm wondering if it's a Lunar Clearwing Moth (they look like gigantic hornets but are entirely stingless and harmless).

There is a huge Queen Hornet in the garden. You can hear her coming a mile away and everyone gets out of her path, including the little tailess Robin you can see in the pictures above. She was nosing about near the bats' front door in the roof yesterday. I was rather concerned that she'd go in but thankfully she didn't. It's a batchelor pad (no joke- we have two male Pips living in there). One of the residents was unfortunately taken by the Sparrowhawk but a new chap has since arrived and the two of them seem to be getting on famously, judging from how they flit about the garden together at dusk, happily echo-locating insects to devour. Male Pips live away from the ladies and children (who occupy vast maternity roosts). It is fairly common to find two who've set up home together and live like that, untroubled by women and children, for the thirty or so years of their lives. I don't think they'd much enjoy sharing with a hornet so it's a relief all round that she's gone elsewhere.

The dogs have been making me smile this afternoon. Ted has spent much of his time passed out in various places, stretched out on the grass, while Pop has been sitting on the bench at the top of the garden. That was after she exhausted herself playing her second favourite game of watch-the-rat......

Can you see the little rat to the left on the gravel path? She is the only Terrier I know who gleans more pleasure from watching rats than actually chasing them. Ted, of course, doesn't understand this at all and would have been apoplectic, had he not been passed out beside the flowers at the time....

Hope all are well?

CT :o)