Good autumn friends
More Burning!
Right. The bonfire beckons. Well, maybe not the word. The thought of a sentient bonfire yelling - 'Yoo hoo! Over here!' is rather bizarre. But we are still in a relationship, good autumn friends, me and my bonfire.
Wednesday 29th March
So what's the plan? I still have three lovely dog-friends to go gardening with. (e-dog is thoroughly enjoying his country holiday). They love this busy bonfiring business. When the piles of gum leaves etc. are scooped up into my wheelbarrow, who knows what unfortunate sheltering rodent might be uncovered? Escher's big brown velvet nose twitches and snorts with delight.
Lunchtime...
Oh boy. I had forgotten how - interesting - gardening with big brown dog Escher can be. Hmm. First of all I found him 'stuck', barking at me from next door's paddock, not able to connect the dots. Escher, you were naughty and jumped over the fence. So? Think in reverse! You can just jump back. You do not need me to help you.
More brown dog tales...
Ten minutes later there was a horrible screeching sound near the bonfire. Escher had caught a rabbit. 'Good boy', I gushed (rabbits are pests). 'Grrr...' he growled at me. Time to take charge. 'Drop it' I said sternly. 'Grrrrr...' he growled again, even louder, which I interpreted as 'No way, not on your nellie, no chance, never in a million years...' I took some photographs, but they have all been censored.
Two Dogs - Rusty and Escher
Then he went missing. Blast! Anyway, after wandering around calling and calling I gave up, got the bonfire going, and then popped inside for lunch. Ah! Here he is, relaxing on the dog couch, having a post-prandial snooze. So I'm leaving him inside (that rabbit had jolly well better 'stay down') and I'll do a couple more bonfiring hours, solo. And I reckon my lunch tasted much better than his rabbit anyway.
My Bonfire
Much later...
Gardening pride - so simple! I barrowed ten more loads of mess onto the bonfire, while the dogs all snoozed inside. So the piles of gum bark etc. from behind the pond are half gone. I just kept going, and afterwards felt soooooo proud. This probably does NOT need to be over-analysed. The wonderful feeling of having been good. Really good. I've been good! So good! Look how good I've been! That sort of thing.
Bye bye Escher...
And then I dropped big brown Escher home. Good bye, dear dog. See you another time. And there's another rabbit! Non-Gardening Partner tells me that Escher caught a rabbit last night on the dogs' night-time walk, immediately before bedtime. Rather than a bedtime doggy treat, Escher was allowed to take his rabbit into his kennel. Eek! Crunch crunch...
Thursday 30th March
First we go to the dog park, just me and the collies. Young Winnie (still inclined to be limpy) is not allowed to do any silly running, or chase her moon ball. I miss my big brown dog friend. I'd like to think that my dogs Rusty and Winnie miss him, too. This may be a little over-sentimental...
Escher and Rusty Dogs
Then I am going swimming, mainly to clear my head (had a very stimulating jazz choir rehearsal last night, am still mentally buzzing). Then I am going to burn. I will try and clear the area behind the pond. Try my best.
Much Later...
Well, this wasn't my 'best best'. I've only burnt four loads, but I've done quite a bit of path raking behind the pond. As soon as a path is raked, much of the mess dissolves into the background. Sneaky!
And I've taken some colourful flowery photographs, just to prove that there are still pretty flowers in my garden to enjoy. Enjoy!