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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
- / / - / -
A Kerry Puppy
Is it a poodle?  Is it a schnauzer?  

                   No, it's a KERRY PUPPY!


Met a newcomer in the neighborhood.  Molly is a spunky little girl with lots of Kerry oomph.  Our Kerries came as adults, so we missed out on the shark teeth stage!


Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 18:25 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Cogito, ergo sum




"I am wondering about something."






"Actually seriously wondering about something."






"How I should proceed to get to my food in the kitchen, that is the question." 

Life is an obstacle course for Tobey the harassed.  



Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 18:16 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Cat Burglar
Our flat has a terrace that stands alone with no access to anywhere except one place: this balcony that belongs to the flat in the next building.  Sometimes we see a black and white cat there.
Her name is Zoey.  
Yes, OUR Zoey.
That she jumps over to someone else's balcony is bad enough, but she actually does worse; she goes into this neighbor's flat because the window on this balcony is almost ALWAYS open. 
We tried everything we could think of to prevent her from accessing this area but all our attempts failed.  Meanwhile I was knocking on this neighbor's door with a bottle of red wine in hand to explain and apologize for my cat's (non-)breaking and entering and also to ask if we could ask them to use a window screen (which I had purchased and also brought over) or to perhaps open the upper part of the sash window to prevent her from entering into their property.  
Just when I started to think that the flat might be empty, I finally got hold of the neighbor.  When I opened my introduction with "I live next door and I have something I need to tell you" bit, he immediately responded with a smile, "I think I know your cat."  
As it turns out, not only he did know that Zoey was coming into their flat, he did not mind!  Apparently all Zoey does is to let her presence known and leave; she enters, looks around the place and leaves.  
It's a good thing that the neighbor turned out to be a cat lover and friendly. 
"Who can resist my charm, I would like to know."  
Well, many people do not like cats, you know.  We are lucky to have dodged this bullet, phew.  
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 19:59 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Pesky Kerry Part 2
Continued from Part 1.

Sakura is such a in-your-face kind of girl that she cannot leave cats alone.



We have a largish terrace where cats enjoy spending time.  I keep the door partially open when they are out so that they can come and go as they please, but inevitably this invites the Pesky Kerry, aka Nikki-Sakura, to guard the door.  The silent predator patiently awaits the return of her prey.






"Hey, this dog is boooothering meeee!"

It's not that Sakura is to be feared.  The cats don't mind her at all.  They just don't appreciate being pounced on, quite understandably, I'd say.  



Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 18:23 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Another Hampsted Heath
Apparently Hampstead Heath is also famous for alternative activities.




"Pay and display" sign for parking was changed to "Gay and display."  

Hampstead Heath is where George Michael was arrested for drug possession ... in the men's bathroom.  Need I say more?



Posted by teddydale
2-legged Musings / 18:19 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Hampstead Heath
We went to visit Hampstead Heath, London's biggest ancient heathland covering 790 acres.  This park contains recent and ancient woodlands, ponds that include public swimming holes for people, one of the highest points in London and the Kenwood House estate.  It's HUUUUUGE!


The park is rambling and hilly, which makes it ideal for hiking.  Dogs can be off-leash, of course, like many other parks in London, and the fact that nobody gives you a problem about it still blows my mind.

"Yeaaaaaaah.♫"                                    "♪This is greeeat!♬"



This is the highest point in London called the Parliament Hill and it provides excellent views of the London skyline.  You can see Canary Wharf, the City and St. Paul's Cathedral from here.  


This area is also known as the "kite hill" as apparently many people fly kites here.  The term "Parliament Hill" was coined during the English Civil War in the 17th century when the supporters of King Charles I and the supporters of the English Parliament fought.  The name came about because this was the military post for the Parliamentarians.  Very historical.

  

You can walk


and walk in different landscapes in this park.


We ended up walking for about 2 hours but only covered a small part of the park.

This day's high was at about 25℃ (77°F) with blazing sun when the sun was out. When the sun was hidden behind the clouds, though, it felt rather chilly.  


Apparently it was still too hot for Louie and we often found him just standing in the shade like this.  He would not budge at our calling presumably because we were standing in the sun.  What a prince!


OK, it *was* hot enough that we even ran out of water that we brought.  




"The pond water is OK with me!" 


No, Sakura, it is NOT!

Actually, it would be perfectly all right for her to drink from this pond because you see, this pond is actually a public swimming pool.


Hampstead Heath has three natural swimming pools for women, men, and coed.  I do not know why people want to swim in this green water, but apparently they used to be reservoirs and hence the water quality is fine.

Hampstead Heath is less groomed than Kensington Gardens that we normally go to.  With ancient woods and rolling hills, the park has definitely a wilder feel to it.  That makes it less ideal for Kerries because their fur is so soft that it attracts so much junk.  I often think that this breed is not meant for the country life despite their origin as hunting dogs.

Our Prince Louie becomes fidget if something gets stuck on his fur.  He absolutely cannot go on unless they are physically removed.  HRH's Prince-ness is becoming more and more pronounced each day.



Pooped Kerries at home.  



"Phew, that was a big walk!"  

"Sure was."  

You guys are YOUNG dogs, you should not be that tired. 




"What about him?"

Well, he is not that young.

This is how our summer days are being spent.



Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 17:04 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
London Summer
It is often said that the weather in London is something to be desired.  It is true that the meteorological conditions are somewhat erratic here; it could rain one minute and then the sun could be scorching the next minute.  It is no joke when people say you should carry both umbrella and sunglasses when going out in London.  I often do just that.


But I must say ... the summer in London is just wonderful.  Sure, the weather is still temperamental and does rain often, but what I love is the fact that it is almost never hot.  

According to Weather Online's record, daily max temperatures from 6/11 to 8/6 is as follows:


Except for a few days of the hot spell at the end of June when the temperature reached over 30℃ (86°F), you can see that the daily highs have been between 20-25℃ (68-77°F).  

When you look at the daily lows, 

 


you can see that the average in July is about 13℃ (55°F).  That's actually cold!  

The chart below shows you "the years average weather condition readings covering rain, average maximum daily temperature and average minimum temperature" from BBC Weather.


You can see that even in July the average HIGH is just a little over 20℃ (68°F)!

The fact that almost no home in London has A/C was a bit disconcerting to me, but now I get the first hand experience that they do not need it.  




Come to think of it, I do not see our cats lying around on the floor




looking hot and miserable much anymore.  Such was a common summer sight in our household but no more.




Even Kerries are spending more time on the chair than on the floor.  I can't believe this is summer!

But I do love it because I absolutely abhor the heat and humidity of the summer everywhere else.  Particularly in Asia, OMG, the summer was the season of sufferance and endurance.  I am just so glad to be spending such a cool summer for the first time in my life!




Posted by teddydale
2-legged Musings / 06:52 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Pesky Kerry
I started to do Yoga at home watching a DVD.

The only problem is that as soon as the yoga mat is rolled out, the nosy monster comes over and stretches herself out, too.  

  "Whatchadoin'?"



  "Paaaaaaaay attention to meeeeeeeee."

Shameless little tantrums are too cute to ignore.  She knows it very well, too.







"B-O-R-I-N-G!"


Well, Sakura, could you please remove yourself from the mat?







You, too, Louie.  I cannot move with you leaning on me.








"Hmpf!"  


This is Sakura's way of concession.

And this is mine.  



I really should do my yoga routine after I take them to the park so that the Kerries are too tired to intervene, but the problem is that I, too, get too tired then.  It's a good 2-hour walk to do Kensington Gardens and back.



Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 08:27 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)