Thin on the ground...

 Poor doglet!
WInnie on Lead

Gardening has been a little thin on the ground of late. Would it be decadent? Lazy? Or just totally self-indulgent, to watch the Downton Abbey Christmas TV special after breakfast, and then go swimming? I really should be slurping my first cup of tea while pulling out some weeds...

Friday 30th January

Winnie the puppy-dog is under post-operative house arrest, and it's easier to have her on a nearby chair dismantling a pine cone than being supervised on a leash outside. Not enough hands! Right. A little taste of breakfast soap, so to speak...

Fifteen Minutes later...

I changed my mind. I've been throwing a tennis ball into Winnie's head-bucket, where she can catch it without leaping or straining. This seems to be more fun than the pine cone. Now we're off for a quick pee in the garden (well, one of us is) and then she goes to 'bed' for a rest while I go for a swim.

Much Later...

Have decided against tying Winnie to a tree while I do some garden work. We've been for a couple of on-lead walks to the hay-barn and back, and I've done a bit of my jigsaw. We've also visited my country friend for a leisurely afternoon tea. A bit of a boring life for both of us, really. We have so much more fun going at full speed. Actually, Downton Abbey could do with a bit of speeding up...

 On the dry Frisbee Lawn.
Rusty Resting

Apparently, Albert Shweitzer said that 'The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats.' Better include dear, sweet dogs in that. Even boring old dogs - oops, sorry, Rusty.

 With extra toes.
Tiddles the Tabby kitten

Saturday 31st January

While Winnie has been working at today's bone on the dog couch, I've been outside tidying up the house gardens. It's another muggy day, with cloud-cover. Winnie is getting bored with her house arrest, too. So am I! I'm a softie - I feel it's not fair to leave her locked away while I'm home. But I don't want to jeopardise her recovery by having her running fast and loose in the garden. No. That's my excuse!

Sunday 1st February

Freedom! Non-Gardening Partner has been supervising Winnie the puppy. I've weeded the Laundry Garden, unblocked the river pumps, and swept gum leaves off the house patio. All too short a gardening session, I'm afraid, because I had to go to a blues band rehearsal.

On my return Tiddles the tabby kitten jumped up and stomped all over my computer. Since polydactyl kittens obviously have an enhanced digital ability, allow me to quote her :

'wqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqjuuuuuuujju yuuuuuu2poooooooo9'.

 Lolling kitten.
Buster the Black Kitten

A little later, Buster the black, not to be outdone, left this message : '][[[[[[gh7y6u'. You can tell that Buster is a somewhat lighter kitten, with normal feet...

Oops...

Oops. It's a sure sigh there's not so much gardening to talk about, when I start 'padding' out the journal with cat comments, hee hee. And random photographs of Tiger the Tortoiseshell, who loves having new kittens in the house. She can 'help' them drink their pet milk, eat their calorie-rich kitten food, and finish off Buster's diced free-range chicken pieces...

 Tiger is rather lazy!
Tiger Enjoying the Sun