Never forget to see the humour in ANY situation!

Indy's tired of sliding around in the car and Chocolat's tired of having her photo taken!

Today we had MUD .... lots of it .... and the hounds had a ball! Chocolate brown took on new meaning and not just for the hounds. Julia had it all over the back of her legs ... I had it up the front of mine .... that’s what happens when your mud-covered Labrador decides to give you a bath! Julia’s mud was from another hound but more of that later.

Pink skies over my city

“Never forget to see the humour in ANY situation” is a quotation Indy should have taken heed of this morning.  He couldn’t understand Julia’s and my mirth AND Chocolat’s excitement at all our laughter when Julia and he arrived to fetch us this morning. The look on his face was priceless ... I was laughing way too much to be able to take any half-decent photo!!

The dog pond has been closed ... not sure why.

So she found a mud puddle instead.

Julia, in her wisdom, had decided to put the back seat in her car down for the hounds .... to give them more room, as my hound has earned a reputation for taking over the entire back seat and leaving Indy to sit squashed in the corner.
Goodness knows why Indy tolerates this but he does.

... and got rather muddy!

In any event, the back seat doesn’t lie completely flat, it slopes up at an angle. Julia has a coupe so I have to open the front door to move the seat forward so my hound can jump in. Indy’s sitting there, a look of abject dismay on his face as he holds himself upright against the side of the car. Bear in mind, Julia’s parked on my driveway which is rather steep so the acuteness of the angle Indy’s sitting at is exacerbated.

She's trying to encourage Indy to join her

His face was a picture and the more I laughed, the more Julia laughed, and the more we both laughed, the more my hound tried to lick us both to death! Indy couldn’t understand what we found so funny. The look on his face was telling us that he DIDN’T find it AMUSING at all and could we please just get moving so he could regain his composure!

One happy muddy hound!!

He didn’t get to keep his composure for long though. On the way to Waiatarua Reserve Julia had to accelerate fast to get ahead of a slower moving vehicle. Yep ... you guessed it .... as she put her foot down both hounds slid on the blanket down the length of the car to the boot! My hound decided she was staying there ... lying down flat with her bum against the boot was, according to her, the safest option. 

I’m not sure Julia will put the seat down for them again ... neither of the hounds showed any appreciation for her considerate gesture.

Walking the hounds at Waiatarua Reserve reinforces for Julia and I the need for more dog training for humans. It’s not the hounds that need the training though, it’s their handlers. I’m becoming more and more intolerant of humans who’re unable to recover my hound’s ball from their hounds! My hound, despite being addicted to logs and balls, knows to come to me and drop whatever it is she’s carrying if I tell her to .... especially if it’s not hers. 

The large Chocolate Labrador that normally pinches her ball was there again and he’s a determined blighter .... despite putting the ball away in the backpack he still tried to grab the backpack. Then we had Tom, another Labrador - black this time, who came racing out of nowhere and grabbed the ball. Chocolat chased him for a while trying to get the ball back but eventually his handler managed to grab him and prise the ball out of his mouth. 

I think we’re going to forgo the ball and stick to logs in the reserve in future ... there’s always plenty of those around should another hound take a shine to the one she’s carrying.

Julia ended up with muddy paw-prints down the back of her legs as a determined Jack Rusell tried to help himself to Indy’s treats. Despite repeated calls and instruction from his handler, he refused to leave us alone.


More and more I’m beginning to think that it should be compulsory for ALL dog owners to sit the RDOL

 test (Responsible Dog Owner Licence). Dogs are an integral part of many New Zealand families, more so I think than what they are in South Africa. It’s normal to see hounds at coffee shops and restaurants lying quietly under the tables ... admittedly in the outside area ... but it’s not something that I saw a lot of in SA. Often when I go down to the village with Chocolat, I’ll see other hounds sitting patiently outside shops waiting for their humans to return. She knows the drill now too. 

Julia and I did have a thought as we wandered around the reserve ... maybe it’s NOT the other humans that are wrong ... maybe WE are .... maybe OUR hounds are TOO well behaved!

Had to snap the reflection quickly before this hound ruined it!

She wants her ball back ....

... and Indy doesn't want to let go.

At last!

Home time ... but she doesn't want to leave.

..... and more reflections

A panaromic view of Waiatarua Reserve from where we park the car.

Hmmmm ..... what was parked outside the Co-op this afternoon.

Who gets to DEFINE what 'normal' is?

“The journey to being yourself depends on how you think” ~ anon.

I saw a rainbow in my bay when we stopped for coffee .. couldn't resist a quick photo!

I think “HAPPY” most days .... and generally, most days, I’m a happy person. My kids would say I’m weird, whacky ... NOT normal .... but who gets to define what ‘normal’ is. I’m my own kind of normal and that’s all that really matters. My kids might not appreciate their weird and whacky mother quite so much if and when they have children.

Happiness is ..... rolling on the grass with your buddy!

My definition of a ‘normal’ day is a day that begins with a ramble .... a LONG ramble. Giggling and laughing is good for the soul and this morning’s ramble was full of giggles and laughter. We didn’t ‘do’ the beach thing, just grabbled coffee and headed to Waiaitarua. Indy RELISHED in the freedom of NOT being on leash - he was running here, there and everywhere ... there just wasn’t enough time to sniff all the spots he wanted to sniff. 

AWESOME reflections!

We couldn’t have wished for a more beautiful start to the day. Yes, there was cloud cover but when the sun broke through it was magical .... vibrant blue skies and open fields stretching into the distance.

We could smell the Eucalyptus Trees as we walked through the woods.

I LOVE walking at Waiatarua ... most of the hounds that ramble there are well socialised and don’t cause any trouble. They’ve all got the same goal in mind .... sniff as many behinds as possible and leave as many calling cards as they’re able .... that’s what makes for a happy hound!

A HAPPY Indy!

The large undisciplined chocolate Lab that always pinches the hound’s rugby ball was there too - we were thinking ahead this time and I took the ball of Chocolat before the other hound could. Despite repeated calls from it’s human, it tagged along with us trying to get the rugby ball off me. It’s a persistent beast  and eventually we hid the rugby ball in the backpack as he wouldn’t leave us alone. 

Undeterred by this he tried to grab my camera - maybe he thought it was some kind of strange shaped ball. Touching my camera is a no-no and I gave him a sharp whack on his nose. At last he seemed to register that his presence wasn’t welcome and he ambled on back to his human. When we did spot him again he was on a long lead ..... finally! We need to create some “Rules for Rambling Hounds” .... or maybe “Rules for the owners of Rambling Hounds”. I can think of a few humans with hounds that would benefit from a refresher course in handling their hound!

A rather shy Pukeko

I had to explain to one elderly lady why I wear shorts when I ramble ... she was very concerned that I’d get cold. When she realised how wet my hound gets ... and registered that legs dry quicker than trousers ... she walked away nodding her head thoughtfully. My hound swims regardless of the weather .... getting wet is mandatory .... I don’t have a choice,

This one flew away ....

.... and this one "walked on water"!

I managed to snap some awesome pics of the Mallard Ducks this morning ... I’d have loved to get some close-ups of the Pukeko too but they’re a little more reticent. I did get some of one of the Pukeko trying to ‘walk on water’. His mate had flown off as I moved closer and for  some reason, he thought ‘walking on water’ was preferable to flying. The reserve at Waiatarua is the ideal spot for them ... their other name is the New Zealand Swamp Hen .... and that’s exactly the environment that’s been created for them at Waiatarua.

The baby spiders have left the nest!

Sasha ... one of the hounds we met.

Satisfaction oozed from every pore as the hounds, Julia and I headed home. Brilliant weather, our favourite 4-legged friends, lots of smiles and laughter ...... and ...... oh yes, Coffee and Cupcakes from the Village Co-op!!  Satisfaction guaranteed!

They had SUCH fun!

Oh wow ... didn't think I'd see so many reflections today!

Oh dear .... Indy's pinched her ball!!

.... and she's trying to get it back .... maybe if I just drag it a little ....

Bax ... short for Basil ... maybe???  Can't remember but what a character ... all of 10 months old and full of
bounce and energy ..... look at his huge ears!! Not that the ears do much good, he still didn't know how to listen!

.... and he's got her ball again!

More reflections!

This little boy's feeding the Ducks and the Pukeko

My city, going to bed.