Peter & Simon are One Year Old Today.

Simon and Peter are a year old today.

The first three photos were taken four days ago

Peter is very inquisitive and bold and independent. He can also be rather naughty!  In particular when I take him for walks.  He hasn't quite worked it out yet that it is bad etiquette to sound like a screaming banshee when he sees another dog.  He is the epitome of a rather small yappy dog!  So far everything I have tried hasn't worked.  I think it is sheer enthusiasm, but of course other dogs and their owners don't take it that way, and I don't blame them.  If they allowed him to make his noise and walk with them, he does calm down and stop, and there is one person and their dog locally who will do that, and it is helping, but we don't see them often enough when we are out.  Strangely he doesn't tend to bark at all at home, which is good.

Peter likes to snuggle in the evenings and especially likes to lie upside down with his tongue sticking out, very much a Percy trait.  He likes to go underneath a blanket or tucked up under a jumper/sweater you might be wearing.

Simon is loyal and a bit of a softy.  He is perfect to take out, doesn't bark and is very well behaved, but he takes his guard dog duties at home very seriously and does bark here.  I think he has had lessons from Stanley, who being a typical Sheltie does like to let you know when there are people walking down the road, visitors arriving here or at the neighbours, oh and of course the postman arriving, although they do stop and I can have a chat with him.

Simon snuggles in quite a different way to Peter, and doesn't like to be upside down at all, rather curling himself up and against you.

Together they are a great pair and contrast to each other, not only in size but also character.

One of their favourite games is chasing each other around the settee.  Simon gets very excited and vocal about it.

Now for some photos taken today.

Simon having a good sniff...

Stanley coming to investigate. 

Peter checking on Simon.

Do you want to play?

A poorly taken in action shot.

 

Mother's Day and Birthday Gifts.

I have had a lovely few days with my son and daughter in law visiting.  Such a treat after being on my own for so long.  They gave me some sweet Mother's Day gifts.

A scented pillow to hang up in my wardrobe, or in my room.

Very cute.

and this lovely cushion.  My son has given me elephant themed gifts before, so this feels really special.

Such a beautiful card.  They know the colours I love and also that I love butterflies.

I picked some daffodils from the garden the morning they arrived.

We went for some lovely walks together.  I hope I didn't wear them out too much though!

For my birthday yesterday they gave me some more wonderful gifts.

I just love this set, they are almost too good to use!

The little bag has 'seed balls' in them.  

Aren't these just perfect?!

A box of chocolates!

A lovely card.

My son worked hard in the garden helping me, and removed the rest of the poles that were in the ground where the grape vines were, and also dug out the roots. My daughter in law helped me with the weeding and winding up of the wire that was strung between the poles.   He then planted his two avocado trees he had grown from the stones inside them.  Whether they ever fruit or not is another thing, but regardless, it is great to have them.  We also planted some rhubarb that has a long history to it and has had several house moves!

My son took this lovely picture on Tuesday evening.

It was lovely to sit out and have our lunch on the deck on Friday.

I so appreciated having them here, it was really nice to have their company and help.  It went way too quickly and I miss them already.  The next time they will be able to come down here probably won't be until September time.

Happy Eight Birthday Percy

Happy Eighth Birthday to our Chihuahua Warrior Percy.

These photos are all from 2013, the year he was born after he arrived to live with us.

That tongue!

Aw snoozing in his 'Daddy's arms'

Ready to play.

Getting bigger, those ears!

Trying to clean out Pirate's mouth.

He still likes to do this and does so with Stanley's mouth, most days after dinner!

I think he fancies himself a bit of a dentist.

Look at him fly!

I do miss these days when he was sighted and could run free without any fear and hesitation.

So alert.

Loving his ball!

To think he has now been blind almost half his life now is pretty incredible. He went blind literally overnight back in April 2018, just after his fifth birthday.

Then just a year later he couldn't walk developing yet another auto-immune disease, this time in his spine.

But he is a true warrior, and is doing so well today.  True he is not as fit and active as he was, and far less confident, but he seems pretty happy and is always excited when I take him out for his walks with Stanley.  

I'm not sure when we will be walking today though as it is currently pouring with rain, and he is definitely a 'fair weather walker'.  Haha!  He is currently lying in front of the fire absorbing all the heat.

We are really proud of his fighting spirit, his love that he freely gives us, and of his companionship. 

 

 

My Birthday, In the Garden and a Walk.

Happy Birthday to Me

A bit of a strange birthday this year.  Normally I am in New Zealand to celebrate my birthday so have missed celebrating my birthday with my husband.  This year ironically he couldn't come down to the island as is unwell, so I have ended up on my own!  

Normally I am quite happy on my own, but I have felt a little 'flat't today, but that could be in part to the dreary weather today.  It is cold and grey outside.

Fortunately I received some surprise parcels in the post from my friends during the week with strict instructions not to open until today.

This one has come from my friend Dawn in Scotland.

Love the card, it is so me.

Some fun gifts, although as I only just turned 36 (again!) this year, she seems to have my birthday decade quite wrong!  ha ha!

Some wonderful gifts...I have already started digging over a place in the garden for the butterfly mat to go.

This parcel arrived from my friend Sharlyn.

A Rabid Rabbit Fuggler!

Ha ha, he looks like he could be trouble...

Another parcel...

This time from my friend Gemma in Devon.

Again she knows me so well, a beautiful little card with Wren's on it, and a cloth kit set to make an outfit for a baby Sasha doll which will be perfect for the Sasha baby I found in the Charity Shop just before Christmas.

Some of my birthday cards:

From my husband.

My husband bought the wheelbarrow for my birthday.

My Mother in Law and her Partner

My neighbours on one side

My other neighbours on the other side.

How lovely of both my neighbours to give me cards for my birthday.

My Son and Daughter in Law

My son and daughter in law bought me one of the wooden compost bins for my birthday

So the morning and early afternoon was relatively quiet.  The day has been pretty grey, but I managed to get out into the garden in the afternoon.  

The daffodils are looking lovely, and it is so nice to see them as I look out the kitchen window.

I have some tulips starting to flower.

The bank has lots of colour, it is so pretty.

I found the two packs of 'missing' seeds in the bottom of my back pack so planted some of those out in seed trays today.

I was delighted to see that several of the seed trays have seedlings starting to sprout...difficult to see in this photo!

Some of the pots also have seedlings.

Very exciting to see this new growth.

I worked a bit more on the top garden by the compost bins.  I laid some slabs to walk on and dug over the ground a bit more.

I plant to plant a couple of rows of potatoes in here.

I dug this patch over.

I'm planning on planting some sunflowers along this fence.

I moved some rocks from the top of the garden down to the pond.  Hoping that these will serve as a 'warning' point for Percy once he is here.

Next I decided to dig over the bit of ground between the flat grass area in front of my garden shed and the bank.

Made a start...

Getting there...

I transplanted the reedy grasses to the corner.

All dug over.  Along here I am planning on planting sweet peas along the back and my Butterfly mat along the front and if room will plants some more butterfly attracting seeds.

The Rosemary is in flower.

Pretty blossom is starting to form on quite a few trees...

Once I'd finished in the garden, I took myself off for a walk down to the bay.

The tide was out and it was the first time I have been able to see so much of the harbour wall that is now known as Spindler's Folly.

By golly it was cold down there!

I sat for a while watching the tide come in and out.

Soon time to walk back home along the coastal path.  I took one last shot of the bay.

In reply to your comment Graham about it being a very low stone wall, this is the other side, much higher!  

Brrr...it was  a chilly walk.

The wind has now picked up and it is windier than when we had the storms as I've just noticed this evening that it has blown my bird feeder over.  I will have to right it in the morning.