Spring has sprung

I can't believe nothing has been added to my blog since May - unbelievable. It's not like Herself is run off her feet. She's retired for Heaven's sake!!

She's only teaching one day a week, has only 3 people to cook, shop, clean and wash for; only two dogs to manage and play with; only 3 acres of garden to keep under control; only one class of Aquaerobics to run; only 4 blogs to keep up to date with; only 4 family trees to work on and research for. She should be able to manage all that and keep up with my blog, but she is sooooo slack!!

Still, I'd better keep on her good side as she is the one who takes us for walks, provides the treats, plays ball and does my blog occasionally. Besides she is not really happy at the moment - computer troubles. Always makes her grumpy when she doesn't have complete control of everything.

Taken a couple of months back before Alfie started going grey.

Alfie and I are fit and healthy and getting along well, all things considered. He's not a bad little chap and he is a real clown. I've never heard the family laugh so much since he turned up. He does drive me mad sometimes when he wants to play. Jumps up and down on all fours like a rubber ball, slides his head along the ground with his bum in the air, rolls over and plays cute, bites my ears or my tail until I relent and chase him. And he's growing - as big as me now and nearly as heavy. He's not black any more but a sort of grey and black effect and very hairy!! And he has the most awful bark - really high but not yappy. He's also very naughty - won't come when he's called, choosing not to hear. Herself thinks he's not very bright, but I think he's faking the cute, dumb stuff.

Anyway here's a few photos to catch you up with the doggy side of the family.

Here is Alfie doing his cute thing. Herself finds it very hard to get cross with him because he does stuff like this that makes her laugh.

He was actually asleep sitting up just before this photo was taken.

Me scratching my tummy. I get very itchy and the grass helps scratch me.

Hey someone, come throw the ball!!

I know I saw something go under that rock!!



The hairy monster.


That's enough for now. I hope you enjoyed my photos.

Ollie

Alfie's Say

Hi there. It's me, Alfie. Ollie is pretty slack keeping up with his blog. Says Herself is too busy to help him, but the truth is that he hates it when she is on the computer, so he doesn't encourage her.

Funny about Ollie and Herself. He just dotes on her. Thinks she is the next best thing to a good bone. Everytime she gets on the computer or settles down to do one of her puzzles, he gets up on the couch and refuses to do anything until she has finished.  Now I like Herself a lot too, but really. There are plenty of better things to do than sulk.

Not so long ago, Herself went on a holiday to Bali and left us all at home.  Well, for the first two days Ollie did his usual thing - sulked and wouldn't talk to anyone.

But after a while he started taking an interest in life again.  We explored the garden and actually found a snake close to the house. Himself and Mark were  quite proud of us for not trying to play with it.

We helped in the garden - Ollie is a great hole digger and I am learning fast.

We fought over Mark's socks - he doesn't have a single sock without a hole - thanks to me!!

I checked out his lovely smelly old garden boots.

And of course I slept.

And we really didn't miss Herself one bit - well maybe just a tiny bit. We were all pleased to see her come home.

Alfie Needle

My New Best Mate

Have to admit that the Brat has grown on me. He's actually pretty good fun most of the time and for obvious reasons he things I am the best thing since tinned dog food. We do play a lot together and now he's growing up I am allowed to be rougher with him.

Mind you he does drive me mad at times and needs a good rollicking, especially when he tries to get my bone. But most of the time we get along fine. The main time I get p....d off with him is when Herself comes home from somewhere and he tries to muscle in on the attention. That is just not on. She belongs to me!!!

He likes to run alongside me and hang on to my neck. I don't really mind except it gets a bit annoying as he does it all the time. This morning I got him a beauty. We'd been down to the veggie patch with Himself and I challenged Alfie to a race back to the house

. He runs like the wind, the little bugger.  Well he did his usual jumping at me and grabbing me by the neck as we ran. Herself's car was in the drive and he was so busy hassling me that he wasn't looking where he was going. I ran really close to the side of the car and WHAMMO!! he ran sraight into the car and did a sort of flip. To give him his due he's a tough little chap and he got up, shook himself and straight at me again. Nothing has changed.

He needs a warning to keep away at feed time. He's getting too close here.

He likes to pinch my bones.





He flogs my ball whenever he can.

He absolutely destroys shoes.

He hassles me constantly

But I guess he is kind of cute.

Ollie Needle

Friends?

Well, the brat has been with us for nearly 3 weeks now and quite honestly he is driving me maaaaaaad!!!

OK, so I softened a bit and made him feel a bit more welcome and now he is really playing on my good nature. He follows me everywhere. I can't do a thing without him being an inch away. He steals my ball when Herself is throwing it for me and I have to let him have a play with it.

He sleeps in my bed whenever he gets the chance and drags all manner of uncomfortable items into the bed, so that when I do get a chance to have a nap I find shoes, clothing, bones, toys, paper, brushes, balls and whatever else happens to be left around within his reach.

Sure he's very funny and very cute and we all get a laugh out of him, but he needs the occasional belting. I draw the line at my bones. Yesterday he tried to pinch a particularly juicy bone that I was in the process of eating. He got a sharp nip for his pains and did he ever holler. For once he was the one that got no sympathy from Herself.

Well, I was going to show you some more photos, but for some reason Blogger is not letting me do that today.  Some days nothing goes right. OK. Now it is, but I had to open a Picasa account to do it. Technology - will I ever get the hang of it?  Ooops!!  Now the bluddy photo has gone again. I give up!! I think if you click on the blank space it might show up. Maybe???

Well, now it's back again.  Just a shot of me exploring the water pipe. I did get a roasting for digging up the pipe.   Oops, now the photo has gone again. Weird!! I think the first attempts were too big. Seems to like little photos better.

And are Alfie and me friends?  Well, I guess so - or beginning to be anyway.

Ollie

Alfie?

Well after that first traumatic evening, things only got worse. The brat got all the attention and whenever I even looked at it, I got a smack. They wouldn't let me near it and it spent most of the next two days sleeping on Mark while he watched TV.

All it did was piddle, poop, eat, sleep and drive me mad when it woke up.  Spoilt brat. If I'd tried some of the things it got away with, I'd have copped a whalloping.

 Every time I tried to show it who was boss, it ran to someone to be rescued. It slept wherever it felt like it.

It even tried to steal my ball and I had to sit by and watch. I can tell you I was getting pretty fed up. 

Finally on Monday morning after an almost sleepless night, I snapped!!  I grabbed the brat by the scruff of the neck and shook it!!!!  Everyone yelled and the brat took of screaming blue murder. It finished up under the bed with me following.

Next moment Mark reached under the bed, and grabbed me and hauled me out by the scruff of the neck. Then he whalloped me.  Me!!!  Why should I get the whalloping. Me!!  Nothing wrong with the brat, but I was dripping blood from the nose where he had sunk his nasty sharp little fangs in.

Then to add to my indignity the Boss waited until Herself had gone off to school  and he dreamed up my punishment. I was attached to the leash and all day I had to walk around with either the Boss or Mark. Everytime I even so much as looked at the brat, there was a jerk on the leash and I was told off.  When Herself came home, she joined in and to make matters worse, she even smacked my nose each time I voiced my displeasure.

Of course they did try to make me feel one of the family and I got lots of pats and cuddles when I behaved, which was rather nice. After two days on the leash I had had enough  and I decided that the only solution was to try to put up with the brat  -  after all he was here to stay and I CAN ALWAYS AMBUSH HIM LATER WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS AROUND.

BUT, I am letting them all know that I have not given in gracefully and I have not forgiven anyone, especially Mark who smacked me.  I can hold a grudge for a long time!!!!!

Ollie.

PS.  By the way somewhere in all this the Boss decided to call the brat ALFIE - Alfonzo for formal occasions.  The name does kind of suit him.

What's It All About?

Well, what a week I've had - the most traumatic in my life. Full of drama and unwelcome things.  But, let me go back and tell you all about it.


Me, feeling blue.



Since Jeb died I've been moping around fretting about losing my old mate, so much so that the Family decided - in their wisdom - that I needed a new mate.  Without asking me I might add!!!

Last Tuesday Herself came home from school waving the local paper. Dad and she pored over the newspaper, then finally they said, "OK, lets do it."  Then they decided to take me. Now I'm always up for a ride in the car, though not usually when they're both going, but I was game.

They pulled into a driveway and suddenly I could  hear dogs - hundreds of them, without a lie. I got left in the car thank heavens because I got a glimpse of dogs everywhere -  big red ones, black and white ones, a fierce looking Jackie, and a few other mongrel types. Well, maybe not hundreds, but more than I could handle on my own.

After a while Herself came back, opened the door and told me to hop out. No way!!! She grabbed me!!!!!!!

There weren't too many dogs around - they'd obviously been locked up, but She took me over to a little yard and put me down.  Suddenly I was besieged by a multitude of small hairy, yapping, jumping things - puppies!!  Seven of them. They were trying to jump on me, bite me, chew my tail, terrorise me.  I hid behind Herself's legs backing as far into a corner as I could. Not that I was afraid, you'll understand, but I needed time to collect my thoughts, plan my strategy, work out how to escape. I jumped the fence and headed for the car!!!

Next thing I knew a strange woman opened the door. "Come on Ollie, come and choose your little friend."  For a rash moment I did consider biting her, but wisdom prevailed and I submitted, though not happily.  Horror of horrors, she put me back in with the little monsters. I did the only thing I could think of. I jumped up onto Herself's lap and burrowed my head under her armpit. Maybe, I though, if I don't look, it will all go away.

Finally after what seemed hours of talk, we got back into the car and headed for home. Relief!!

You can imagine my absolute horror when, two days later, they disappeared for a while and came back with  this tiny, fluffy, black scrap of teeth and tail.

One of those puppies!!!

 How could they do this to me?? replace me with a younger model - one that piddled on the floor, carried on yelping when I growled - and I got a smack for that too. And of course it got all the attention. Sure, they made out they still liked me. I got patted and played with - but so did the pup.It even got to sleep on Mark's bed that night because it carried on when left in the doggy bed. Sure Mark made sure I slept there too - on the opposite side to the pup, but I knew it was just a transition period and very soon I would be ousted.



Making sure I don't get a chance to kill the brat!!



How I hated the little brat!!  Read the next post for more in this absorbing drama.

Ollie

Farewell Old Friend

It's a long time since I wrote anything on my blog, but I have been a very busy chap helping Mark around the farm, keeping Dad company when he snoozes in his old armchair and keeping Herself busy and fit chasing balls with me. Added to this I have had to help out with old Jeb as he was getting blinder and deafer by the day.

Sadly old Jeb passed away in his sleep three weeks ago - he was almost 17 so he had a good innings and led a very active and useful life here on the farm.  Although we had the occasional disagreement and drew blood more than a few times, he was my mate and I miss him dreadfully. Even when he was so old we still used to go for walks and each night I used to wake him up so Dad could take him out for a wee.

So Goodbye old friend. I'll always remember the good times we had hunting and chasing together and I'll remember the great epic fights we had and the scars we have to show for it.

Jeb's got me down

But now I am top dog!

We'll miss you old mate.