To insanity and beyond ...: Zak

These hounds and their caffeine. It’s driving me nutty!

Zak and Indy had already driven the residents of Maheke Road nutty with their barking whilst we were waiting for our caffeine fix this morning.

I blame Lance.

They were all sitting quietly outside the Co-op ... all the hounds that is except MY hound. I went out to see what her problem was and told her to sit. She sat but the bum wouldn’t stay on the ground and the tail was wagging nineteen to the dozen. I looked behind me to see WHO or WHAT had got her attention and saw Lance encouraging her to run to him!

No wonder she wouldn’t sit still.

Lance arrived and chaos ensued. ALL the hounds wanted his attention. Indy and Zak were trying to outdo each other VOCALLY. They were convinced Lance would give the most vocal of them his attention.

Even my hound joined in!

These kind of things ALWAYS happen when the Co-op’s busy and the coffee’s taking longer than usual to make. I think the Co-op’s customers and Maheke Road residents breathed a sigh of relief when we took the hounds in hand and departed.

The fun wasn’t over yet though. That bright and beautiful rainbow we’d seen on the beach fulfilled it’s promise ... it bought the rain. As we crossed the road, it started and necessitated a stop to don rain gear and put the camera away. It’s impossible to put a rain coat on whilst holding a cup of piping hot coffee so I put my coffee DOWN on the pavement.

Wrong move.

Between my hound and Indy they somehow managed to knock the cup over and that liquid gold spilled out .... all over the pavement. I think it was more MY hound than Indy. There I was thinking she was SO angelic ... a “butter wouldn’t melt in the mouth” kind of hound. I think my judgement’s a tad warped.

That first caffeine fix is a very necessary and very crucial part of my morning. I don’t function properly without it ... in fact, I don’t function at all. It’s like a permanent on-switch and keeps me buzzing all day.

Lizzie the Vzsla

“Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee!”

~ Stephanie Piro

Ain’t there just!!

Buttercup the Pomeranian

“If the essence of my being has caused a smile to appear upon your face or a touch of joy within your heart .... then in living I have made my mark.”

~ Thomas L Odem

Judging by the smiles on the faces of the customers at my stall this morning, all those hounds I take photos of have, according to the quotation, “in living made their mark”.

It’s rare for someone to pause at my stall and NOT smile.

I trialed a new product this morning and I’m delighted at the reception it received. I often get asked for a card with a particular hound and a particular quotation and it’s not always easy to oblige.

So I came up with a novel idea! I now have a selection of 24 hound photos and 6 quotation cards for customers to chose from. They select a quotation and a hound and I put them together for them there and then. Done and dusted. I also have Page Clips available of those same 24 hounds that can be added to the card if they so chose, for a small additional cost.

The Shag, drying his wings in the early morning sun ....

Hmmm .... round of applause!!

... there's my round of applause!

I won’t be posting any photos of this morning’s market yet though as my camera’s not well. Getting caught in a downpour doesn’t seem to agree with it. The rain came down in buckets just as we were starting to pack up. Said camera was in a crate at the back of the gazebo and protected from the rain ... or so I thought.

I'm becoming quite adept at money laundering too as everything in the crate, including my receipt book and cash, was floating in a pool of rainwater.

Ho-hum ... the joys of outdoor markets!

I do however have photos from yesterday to post.

It was a morning of LABRADORS and LOGS and LAZY moments on the beach.

Sam, Zak, Chocolat and Hilton ... a 4 month old guide dog pup

The Labrador PUDDLES just keep on coming and each day we seem to attract a larger and larger gathering of various Labs. I’m the designated BALL and LOG thrower when on the beach. There’s only so much trench digging a puddle of Labradors want to do though before the ball or log needs to be washed in the waves.

It’s all that sand that gets in their mouths ... the crunchy stuff. I don’t think they like it.

These manically energetic hounds keep me busy pitching logs and balls into the waves for washing and retrieval. I wish I had half the energy they have, particularly Sam.

One of the Labs who joined our puddle yesterday is owned by a lady I’ve met at the Co-op before. The hounds and their balls are the high-light of her daughter’s school run in the morning.

Sad is the day that she DOESN’T see us on the beach.

According to her we’re becoming an iconic part of St. Heliers Bay beach

.... how cool is that!

Fergus, who’s a West Highland Terrier, is copying Sam. He also likes having his photo taken. He’s got the Sam thingy down pat and stands expectantly looking at me when he sees the camera pointing in his direction. What is it about these boy hounds ... they positively salivate in front of the camera!

They love their caffeine fix too. My hound loves her caffeine fix but it’s always dependent on how avidly the rugby ball or log is holding her interest. Not so Sam and Indy ... boy hounds again. If they could, they’d take it off you BEFORE you’ve finished drinking. I’ve lost count of the number of times Sam swans over to where I’m sitting JUST to see if I’m finished my fix. He knows that Carol takes AGES to drink hers so it’s no good giving her the “I really need my caffeine fix” look.

Fellow caffeine addicts ... Carol and Moira

That first caffeine fix of the day is liquid gold. The aroma, the warmth, the taste. If I was a hound I’d be drooling at the very thought of it too. Giving the caffeine dregs to Sam is a bit like giving sweets to an already excited toddler. He bounces enough already. The caffeine dregs just make him bounce higher .... on tippy toes nogal!