Of Mice and Monkeys

Mouse alert! Mike decided to take garden waste to the tip this morning. On loading the car with the bags, a mouse jumped out of one of them, straight into the car (my car.) We tried poking with a stick to no avail. No sign of the little beastie. Mike decided to carry on.
When he arrived at the tip he opened the doors and found the mouse sitting in the wheel arch. It was gone in a flash, poor little thing. Far from home now and missing its family. Feel sorry for it, but I didn't want it running around my car when I'm driving, and maybe jumping down my neck.

It's great living so close to Monkey World; we often hear the chimps as they have their breakfast, but this last week when we've had cold weather, they've been making so much noise. Last Sunday we thought they must have escaped and any moment we expected to see some of them swinging over the rooftops. I think it must have been the direction of the wind that we heard them so clearly, or maybe they were complaining about being shut out of their homes while their keepers were cleaning them. No news of any breakout anyway.

What are we like?

We must be the most unromantic couple ever! We've had a week of quiet celebration. Last Thursday was our 37th wedding anniversary. On the Wednesday I asked Mike what tomorrow would be. His reply was that it would be Thursday, so I thought he must have forgotten.

On Thursday we visited a friend. Neither of us had remembered up to then. She must have said something that sparked a thought, so I wished Mike a Happy Anniversary. He immediately looked at his watch to see what the date was. Oh well, it doesn't mean that we don't care, just that we had more important things to think of.

Monday was his 70th birthday. On Sunday he asked me if we really had to go out somewhere. I hadn't made any arrangements, so said not if he didn't want to. He wasn't feeling too well that day, which explained why he didn't want to go out, but he was better next day, so we just ended up going for a quiet lunch at the pub (The Bear in Wool). It was very nice and I didn't have to cook. He wouldn't have wanted a big party anyway, but I felt it should have been more than it was.

Responsible dog ownership

As most of my friends know, I'm passionate about dogs. Sometimes though, it's possible to come across one who does not behave as it should. Usually it's not the dog's fault, as it hasn't learned some of the lessons it needs to learn about living alongside humans. Gizmo and I met such a dog the other day, and poor Gizmo came off the worst, with cuts around his ear, bruising around his neck, and a cut in his mouth. It could have been worse of course.

I'd just like to say to all those dog owners who let their dogs loose off the leads, which is not a bad thing of course where suitable, that if they know their dog could be aggressive, please keep them on the lead, and muzzle them. Everyone would be a lot safer then.

Autumn

One of the good things about this time of year is the colours we see around us. This Virginia creeper covers a wall at Stinsford, near Dorchester. We went there recently to visit the grave where Thomas Hardy's heart was placed. The rest of him was cremated and placed in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.

The village of Stinsford was Melstock in his novels. It's an interesting and pretty area.

As for our situation, Mike is continuing to make good progress after his spinal surgery, and all professionals we come across say how lucky he's been. Don't we know it?! He now looks the picture of health.

Two good weeks, and wild flowers in the garden

The last two weeks have been quite a change for us. No medical appointments for either of us! Wonderful, but next week we have to go back to the hospital for Mike's follow-up appointment after his spinal surgery. He's doing quite well but it will take time for full recovery.

Earlier in the year, Mike scattered some wild flower seeds along the side of the garden. This is one of the flowers from that sowing. It looked particularly attractive one morning after rain.

Just one of those days

Yesterday began in such a way that I went to check the calendar, in case it had suddenly moved on to Friday 13th. But no, it was just a bad start.
Firstly I found a young starling, upside down on the lawn, kicking its legs into the air in an effort to right itself. I managed to pick it up and place it on the side of the lawn on a bank where it may have had more shelter from the continuing rain. I was about to take Gizmo for a walk, and thought I'd build a shelter for the bird when I came back. I'd noticed a spot of blood on its tail feathers, but had no idea how badly injured it was. It was certainly soggy.
On returning from the walk, the bird had gone, so I can only assume it was just stunned with a minor injury. Thank goodness for that.
Next, since Mike has a bad back, and the physio has advised a hot water bottle three times a day, I filled this for him and he placed it against the chair. Unfortunately, it had developed a split which oozed water over the chair, and onto the new carpet below. Fortunately though, it had not scalded Mike. Hairdryer deployed, but I had little time as I had to get to the optician.
I just had time, I decided, to nip to our local Boots, and buy a new bottle. They had them in stock I was told, but couldn't sell anything to anyone as the pharmacist had not arrived, and would not do so until about 10 o'clock. Frustrating or what?
After that the day improved, everything else fitted into place, and I spent the afternoon at the Writers' Group, which we all enjoyed.

Not just any old olive tree

This may look like any other olive tree in Andalucia. To me however, it is a special tree, where, over eight years ago, an abandoned dog looked after her five puppies. One of those puppies became my dear Cara, now no longer in this world.

On a recent trip to Spain, I was able to find the tree again, and in my mind, saw again those wonderful puppies. The inside of the tree is now so large that it could accommodate even more puppies, but thankfully there were no dogs around. Just as well for me, as I could not have coped with importing them into England. It's a journey I shan't make again for sure, but I was delighted that I could see the tree.