New Yorkie

Don't you just hate dogs like this! They make me feel like I need to go on diet and visit the doggie parlour again! Click here to visit this dog blog.

Amber

We heard some very sad news today. Amber, a beautiful long-legged ridgeback, died the other day of cancer. I actually never met her, but she came to one or two Boxing Day bashes here and the legend lives on. Sam, the Labrador who preceded me, had an almighty crush on her!
Photos: Top: Amber when she was young and bouncy on the mountains above Kalk Bay. Above: Amber feeding her puppies - she was a devoted mother and raised 16 healthy pups!

In the words of her owners, Graham and Daleen:
"While we are very tearful now, we also have to be thankful for the time we had together. When she was an only dog, we went to restaurants together. We went on holiday to Beaverlac, where an admiring Boerbul slept outside our cottage and taught her to chase baboons. We went to Mountain Mist, where she terrorised the resident dassies. We went to Velddrift, where she canoed on the river with us. She chased Himalayan Thars on Table Mountain, Fallow Deer at Rhodes Memorial and seagulls at Blouberg Beach. She hunted molerats and field mice on Rondebosch Common. She raised 16 beautiful puppies and enjoyed the 700 hectares of mountain farm with 2 of them for the past 3 years. She had a wonderful hunting dog life - we just wish it had been much longer.
"We have comforting news that her grand-daughter in the Czech Republic, who carries Amber's name Anbar Shumba (= Amber Lion) has Amber's wonderful nature and delivered 10 beautiful puppies on the day Amber died. We hope that many other people will be able to experience Amber in some way through her progeny."

Dougal, the Alpha Male, the Food Lady and I send our condolences to Graham, Daleen and her two sons, Red and Copper.

Amber cooling off in her favourite pan on top of Bergvliet Farm in Gansbaai, after a 5 km hike in summer.

Sophie and Hugh in Silvermine

Today Hugh and Sophie joined us (the Food Lady, Sue, Thea, Alice, Dougal and me) for a walk in Silvermine. Their mom and dad are away and Hugh came to stay with us, and Sophie with Alice - lucky her! We were a bit nervous that Boris might come but Thea didn't bring him again.Hugh and I at the start of the walk. Sophie amongst the flowers. Hugh and Dougal waiting for the others to catch up ...

Hugh climbing to the top but I couldn't get so high up. (I am at the bottom left.)Tea was a bit disappointing for the humans as the Food Lady had left the hot water behind. Senility and decay creeping up. But we had nice rusks, and they also had Sue's delicious crunchies that we are never allowed to sample. The view down to the dam.

A beautiful, creamy white King Protea, (Protea cynaroides).

On the road back to the car park: Thea, Alice, Sophie and Hugh. Alice was having a bit of trouble with a muscle in her leg. Dougal took a shine to a Maltese poodle in a jacket - look at him! Honestly! But she disappeared into the ladies loo with her owners and Dougal, being a gentledog, didn't follow.

Watching Homeward Bound

Our favourite movie is Homeward Bound - an adaptation of The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. It was on tv last night, and we all settled down with Simon to watch it.

The invisible Jonkersdam

This berg-windy morning (nothing to do with bergie paté that I am not allowed to eat!) we all walked along the Jonkersdam path but it must be an invisible dam because we couldn't find it at all and there were lots of us looking: Alice (!), Lucy, Josie, Sue, Thea, Pauline, Paul, the Food lady, Dougal and He-who-must-be-obeyed: the Alpha Male. We came to a large fence with a sign that said rude and hurtful things about dogs, so we couldn't climb up the Rooikrans hill but luckily there was another nice path to walk along.
Shirley said in her book that there would be lots of lovely flowers and there sure were. Even pink and frilly Oxalis hirta flowers which is a most unusual occurrence. And this handsome red Gladiolus priorii.

The path was lovely and sandy and soft and Thea decided to do without her shoes for a while.

Paul, Lucy, Sue and the Alpha Male found a nice tea spot for us and we indulged in rusks and beanos (even Josie was seen nibbling daintily on a piece of rusk).

The weather got progressively cooler and more to a scottish-terrier's liking, but Josie was not happy when her ears started blowing in the wind.

We turned back again, and saw this funny looking plant - wild cotton or katoenbos (Gomphocarpus cancellatus).

While we looked for mice, the FL found these little grasshoppers that live in restios. They are Besticoides meridionalis and are out and about from January to May. This is a daisy (possibly Berkheya barbata) they are on though, not a restio.

Homeward bound.

Another dog blog

I was born when Simon was in the south of France, that is why I have a French name. (I was named after Coco Chanel - she of the little black number.) So I was excited to come across a dog blog all about dogs in the south of France. Go to Riviera Dogs.

This photo is of Louise. She is a bit old for me though ...

This scottie looks more my tpye ...

Cats are as crazy as dogs!

David and Gordon recently did up their bathroom and put mirror doors on the cupboards. Their cat Streak is freaked out by the other three cats that mysteriously appear and she growls and hisses at them.

Then Streak collapses on David's gym bag to recover. But when she wakes up, they are still there!