Calender
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31      
<< May 2009 >>
Recommend

Selected Entries
Categories
Archives
Bookmark
Profile
Search This Site
Flickr
www.flickr.com
teddydale's items Go to teddydale's photostream
Others

Bear Necessities of Life

Musings of Teddy Bear Necessity's Household
to Whom It May Concern
スポンサーサイト

一定期間更新がないため広告を表示しています

Posted by スポンサードリンク
- / / - / -
Sunday
Another fine morning in the park.
The Kerries hop around like bunnies.
The tired boys resting while sprightly Sakura is still wondering what's next.
What's next was lunch, but Russell had to carry Louie to the restaurant because he kept on sitting down and refused to move.  He wasn't tired, but was just uncomfortable because something (pieces of leaf, twig, whatever he collected in the park) was stuck in his fur somewhere.  A good brushing would have to wait until we got home.  We planned to do some trimming that day anyway.

We stopped by the restaurant Hereford Road on, well, Hereford Road in Bays Water.  They serve excellent modern British cuisine.  As there are only 2 outside tables, you need to either reserve it or go there early as we did as they opened at 11:30.

Russell chose lemon sole to be healthy and I chose Sunday Roast because it was Sunday. The verdict was ... well, let's just say that if you are used to the tenderness and juiciness of Japanese beef, this would seem a bit bland and tough. The food at Hereford Road is normally first-rate, though, along with their superb selection of glass wine.

"I'm okay now.  Let's go home," implored little boy Louie.  

Sakura the imperturbable could care less and was sprawled on the cold floor.
 

Fast forward to much later that day after Louie and Sakura got washed and thoroughly dried, it was time to groom the furry monsters. 


Tobey the tiger always intervene whenever we take the grooming table out.  He wants to be brushed, but most of all, curious George just likes to be in the middle of the action.

There are more curious Georges in this house.

Done with Louie.  Next Sakura!

Sakura is so incredibly wooly (her coat is extremely dense to the point you cannot even see her skin) that grooming her takes at least double the time it takes for Louie.  Good thing she is also incredibly unruffled about anything, much less getting groomed.  One time while getting trimmed she fell asleep and fell off the table.  She just keeled over sideways like a cow.. .

 

"It's boring to be in one position for so long, you know."  

Meanwhile, Tobey the supervising cat intervenes again.
"What are you doing to my dog?"
"Just trimming her tummy fur safely, sir."
"OK.  You may proceed."

"Just call me when you start brushing again."

Is he supervising or waiting for free massage?  

After spending about 6 hours (2 for Louie and 4 for Sakura) in the beauty salon, everyone is exhausted.

Who gets the most-tired-for-the-day award?: I'd think it's us!



Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 16:03 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Weekend
One fine weekend morning.


Last weekend was a 3-day-weekend with Monday off, but we did not know what holiday Monday was.  We did look it up, but all we were able to find out was that it was a "spring bank holiday" and therefore Russell had a day off.  

Apparently the history of "bank holidays" go back to 1871 when Sir John Lubbock, a banker and a politician who was also an avid cricket supporter, created the holiday around cricket matches because he firmly believed that bank employees -- meaning himself I bet, because initial bank holidays centered around the cricket matches in Sir Lubbock's home regions -- deserved to have the opportunity to attend the cricket matches. Today's bank holidays, however, do not necessarily have anything to do with cricket matches.  In other words, we still have no idea why last Monday was off, but does anyone really care?  I think not.

The next bank holiday will not come until August, so Londoners seemed to have taken a full advantage of the long weekend and the town felt quite empty.  We, on the other hand, had no plans, and so our weekend was just a normal one which starts with taking the dogs to the Kensington Gardens.


It was a pleasant morning with temperature going up to 30C (70F), so we stopped by at a cafe in Hyde Park to have a breakfast.  





Getting more than enough sustenance from a full English Breakfast. 






Sakura was very interested in the birds in the water.

On the way home we ambled along Kensington High Street, browsing at Waterstone's bookstore (dog friendly) and getting a water break at Starbucks.



By the time we arrived back home, it was well after midday and everyone was tired.









"Phew, we walked a lot, didn't we?" said Sakura.

"We sure did, sigh" echoed Louie.  


What a moaner and groaner!  You are still young, Kerries!  

I must say, at least our Kerry Blues do not have as much stamina as Teddy the Airedale whose motto was "Keep walking."  




Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 00:54 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Social Misfits
Our Kerries are somewhat of social misfits in the dog kingdom. They are extraordinarily friendly and remarkably social at the greeting level, but they have no idea how to play nicely with other dogs.

This is what they are like:




Louie intercepts and growls as he plays, and although you don't see it here, Sakura tackles and barks as she plays.

I can honestly say that they mean no harm, but not too many dogs appreciate either behavior, so we end up not letting them play with other dogs. They are only allowed to say hello and not to actually go into the play mode because conflicts are inevitable. Our beloved Airedale Teddy (RIP), with all her faults, was a master at dog plays, so it makes us very sad to have our Kerries so deprived.

At least we are glad that two social oddballs came to live together and they actually like each other. They really are normal dogs, you see, however strange they seem to act from normal dogs' point of view. ;-P




I reiterate: this is them PLAYING and they are having FUN.




Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 20:08 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Gardening
We have a sizable terrace that came with a generous supply of dead plants when we moved in.  

As it happens that my mother has a green thumb and she is visiting us from Japan, I managed to persuade her to do some "yard" work. 

 

The good news was that there was no need to buy new planters.





The bad news was that it was still a hard work as we needed to fetch new soil and what not,  





which was a concern cats could care less about.


Dogs, on the other hand, are always willing to help out.  Here, the Kerries are ready to help with the "cleanup."

   Aimez-vous les escargots?

    OUI, JE LES ADORE!!!!                  Mo, moi aussi.

The old soil was infested with snails and snail eggs.  Gardening is about growing life and killing life.  (BTW dogs and cats should NOT eat garden snails as they are parasite-ridden, and no, our Kerries have never eaten them.)




TADA!  The end results.



Since I myself do not have a green thumb, all the new plants are either tough plants like olive tree and lavenders or edible herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and mint.  









If I ever feel ambitious, perhaps I can go for something like this.  A terrier topiary would be a cute addition to our pack.  LoL.



Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 04:04 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)