a giant outline of a bird in the grass

Finally I've discovered which artist created the great outline on the hillside in Quarries Park in Clifton Hill. How could we have walked across this artwork for so many years and not have noticed this plaque in the grass?

Ivan Cindric. I haven't been able to find anything about him on the Net, except this letter about the sculpture.

In the letter there's mention of vandalism of the plaque and the intention to replace it, so perhaps it has just been placed where we came across it. I hope it's not vandalised again.


Here's Penny reading about the giant heron.

Well, it's actually Penny trying to snaffle the piece of dried chicken I tossed onto the gound near the plaque.

a fun walk in the bush and a cut paw

Penny and I walked near Narbethong on Sunday and had a great time, as usual. But I noticed towards the end of the walk that Penny was limping.

We headed home a new way, on a picturesque but bumpy road that crossed the Great Dividing Range.

The weather had held off while we walked, thank goodness, but on the drive it rained, so I took it carefully, as the road surface was unsealed.

You might have guessed that when I stopped to take the photo of the sign, Penny and I stayed snug in the car.

When we got home it was time to look at her sore paw, and I discovered she had a cut in the pad. Next time I go walking I'll take a bandage with me, because it was such a pity that she had to walk the last twenty minutes with a cut paw. I'll take some Glad Wrap, too, so I can keep a bandage dry.

dogs walking close to traffic

One of our favorite walking places is Yarra Bend Park. We cross the Darebin Creek and continue onto the Clifton Hill side, a circular walk which leaves us with a short hike alongside traffic in Heidelberg Road, before we enter the Yarra Bend Park once more.

Once upon a time we used to come out to Heidelberg Road on this little path.

The good thing about coming out at this spot was that there was a protective barrier along the edge of Heidelberg Road to keep us safe from the cars.

But, as you can see from the first photo, our preferred path has been blocked off with a fence. So now we have to emerge on to the road further along, and take our chance walking alongside lanes of busy traffic.

It's aggravating that someone in a planning department has made a decision that impacts on our safety, without any consultation about what we prefer. I wrote to the council to explain my concerns, but received the usual noncommittal response. 

However, once we navigate the short scary stretch of street, it's back into the lovely, lovely Yarra Bend park, one of the most dog-friendly places in Melbourne. (You have to be on lead on the hard-surfaced bike paths, but everywhere else is off-lead.)

rescuing a drowning butterfly while walking the dog

While Penny was enjoying one of her walks on The Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland last week, I spotted something bright at the edge of the water. It seemed to be a dead butterfly but, to my excitement, when I splashed into the waves to lift it gently, it moved.

I carried it up to the sand dunes beyond the reach of high tide and put it on a small flowering plant.

Here's hoping it lived.

A little research on the Net has shown it to be an Imperial White.

How beautiful it is!

some dogged detective work

As I was driving through Hawthorn yesterday, I saw a car pull out of a driveway in front of me and noticed two doggy tails wagging slowly in the back of the car. 'They're looking forward to a walk,' I thought. 'I wonder if there's a good spot around here?'

We dog walkers are a keen lot. I was willing to drive back to Hawthorn if there was a good place on that side of town. So I practised all my pursuit skills, honed from many a police drama on tv. I followed at a little distance, along main roads, around corners, through roundabouts, along narrow streets and - when I began to worry that the driver might think it strange that the same car was behind him for so many kilometres - even let another vehicle come between us.

But what was this? He was headed for my side of town. What did he know that I didn't?

It was a bit embarrassing when I ended up right behind the other vehicle in a small dead-end street at a park. I slid past, completed a three-point turn (actually about a thirteen-point turn) and headed on back, looking straight ahead as if I'd just happened to turn into that street by mistake.

I noted a sign saying 'Willsmere Park', so I had a look at Where Is? and saw that it was a huge area.

Today we headed off to explore, and were thrilled to discover it is an off-lead park.



There were a couple of rules to follow, and one was not to take an off-lead dog closer than thirty metres to an organised sporting event, so we walked on lead past the cricket match.





And then we arrived at the lovely beach (okay, I know the river is muddy, but that's normal for Melbourne at this time of the year).



And walked along the shady paths, watching out for snakes.



And one of us even rolled in the lovely green grass.

a strange bird shape on the hill

Penny and I had a lovely walk today, and it seemed she wasn't limping. Hooray! We went to a favorite place, Yarra Bend park. As I glanced across the Merri Creek to the parklands on the opposite bank, I was struck by the outline of a huge bird on the hillside. I knew it was there, but I've never seen it so beautifully outlined with the shadows cast by the setting sun.



Seeing Penny seemed to be coping well with a longer walk, we headed off to have a close look at it. When we got there, it no longer looked like a bird. It just seemed to be a little pebbled path in the hillside.



I wonder who made the bird, and why. It's obviously maintained well, because the grass hasn't been allowed to invade the gravel lines. A thing of beauty and mystery.

Local walks

Having a dog makes you get out of the house. Sometimes it feels like a bother to have to go, but once you're on the way, it becomes a pleasure.

Today was one of those days when it's an absolute pleasure to even think of setting out. The sun was shining, not too hot, and the local gardens beckoned us to come and see.



After all the years of drought, I still can't get used to the lush growth all around.



It's the best year I can remember for irises.



It was quite hot, so Penny seemed happy to come back home after a short amble around the streets, to sit at the front window and watch the world go by.

walking at Yarra Bend on a lovely Spring day

When I arrived home this afternoon I was told that Penny had gone to Yarra Bend Park with one of her humans, so I jumped in my car to join them.
I parked partway along the path I thought they would take, and had the pleasure of seeing Penny realise I had arrived. Watching her race towards me was pure joy!



After walking on the flat for a while, we headed up a hill, which is good exercise for Penny to strengthen her left rear leg, the one that was operated on for a cruciate tear, almost exactly a year ago.



There were birds perched on a rock half-way up the hill, but they didn't seem to mind us walking towards them, until we got too close.





Walking past one of the eucalypts, we had a lesson in why the Australian bush burns so well. Just look at all those strips of flammable bark hanging down. Eucalypts need to burn to regenerate, and the strips of bark have the effect of allowing a grass fire to run up them and set the foliage on fire. (I'm not quite clear about this process, but I do make a point of clearing away all the hanging bark at my place in the hills.)



By the time we arrived back at the cars, nature had turned on a gorgeous sunset to make our walk complete.

dogs, mud and water in the Australian bush

Last time we went with Cindy's walking group to The Black Spur at Narbethong, it was wet.

Penny got muddy.

And guess what? It was still muddy today. Penny had great fun.

Four wheel drive vehicles have been along the road and have made some great ruts, just right for dogs to walk in, roll in, play in, chase in.





What a thrill it was to see Penny dashing around with the other dogs, given that this time last year she was crippled by a cruciate injury and we were waiting for surgery. I am so grateful to the surgeon, Dr Wing Tip Wong, who repaired her leg.

Here's how Penny looked after her adventures in the mud today.





I tried to convince her to clean up in a gorgeous little mossy creek, but to no avail. She sniffed around but I couldn't communicate the idea of laying herself down in the trickle of water. I'll have to brush up on my dog-speak!



She won't need too much dinner tonight, because along the way she dined on some delicious poo from a wombat. The great thing about being a a dog, of course, is that if your human is not quick, you get to not only eat great stuff like that in the Australian bush, but you also get to roll in it.



The idea is to roll so fast that even a camera can't catch the action, let alone a slow old human.

You might be wondering whether I let her back into the car after all this fun. Yes, I was kind to her, and didn't make her walk the eighty kilometres home. But we did stop for a long, long swim in a creek at Healesville.

bushwalking with dogs at Narbethong

Last Sunday Penny and I went to Narbethong to walk in the bush with Cindy's dog group.

We set off from The Black Spur Inn, a historic building that survived the terrible 2009 bushfires and acted as a relief centre fot the region in the time after the fires.



It was wonderful to see how the bush is regenerating after the fires. The greenery was a sign of hope, and the blackened trunks a reminder of the helplessness of humanity in the face of nature's overwhelming power.



There's been lots of welcome, life-giving rain over the last few months. Which, of course, means there are some lovely puddles (lovely, depending on your point of view, of course.)



What dog could resist such a great puddle? Certainly not Penny.



And there was a great stick in one of the puddles.



Penny had a bath when we got home!

life with a dog but no car

I've been reading about the efforts in Europe to persuade people to abandon their cars and move around on foot or by bicycle. I'm all in favor of this, as I worry that our present use of private transport is unsustainable.

But I'd like to know how those governments are planning for people to travel with their dogs.

In Melbourne, for instance, we are allowed to take dogs on trains, but not on trams, buses or country trains (unless they are small enough to be carried in a container). The dogs are supposed to be muzzled, but I've never seen that happen.

Today I went to the Royal Botanic Gardens, to take photographs and meet fellow enthusiasts. I left Penny at home, but I saw quite a few dogs there. So I thought perhaps I'd go there another time, by train.



And according to the signs, dogs are welcome, as long as they are on lead. There was even a dog drinking bowl at the outside tables of the cafe. There was no water in it, though, and the cheeky mynahs seemed to think the bowl belonged to them.



The gardens are extensive and beautiful. I'm sure Penny would enjoy sniffing around these palms, for instance.



At least twice a week, if not many times more, I put Penny in the car and head off to a walking spot some distance from our house.

But should we all be conserving fuel by only walking around our own localities?

the aqueduct walk at Warburton

Many's the time Penny and her humans have walked the lovely Aqueduct Walk at Warburton, but usually we start at the top of Yuonga Road and head back towards Melbourne.

However, there is another section available for walking these days, the section that heads towards O'Shannassy Reservoir. Like the rest of the Trail, it's flat and well-kept.



One thing I love about it is that in some places you are in a typical section of rainforest, with magnificent treeferns,



but there are also sections of pine forest where you would swear you were in Europe - except for the native plants scattered beneath the tall trunks.

looking at a dog's gait to analyse the problem

We're still observing Penny as we take her on short walks, but of course we know that in the end it'll all come down to what the vet tells us when we go to see him.

But I love information, so I've been trawling for sites about problems in dogs' limbs. I've come across a chapter, presumably for vets, on observing dogs moving in order to diagnose an illness. There are interesting line drawing of the walk, the trot, the pace and the gallop. The article says:

As a quadruped, the dog has the ability to spare an injured joint or sore leg in such a way that the abnormality may be almost unnoticeable; the ability to shift the center of mass in an attempt to decrease weight bearing to any limb is remarkable...the clinician can be misled regarding forelimb and hindlimb weight-bearing modes. It is possible for a dog to move from a sitting to a standing position and begin walking without touching its hind limbs to the ground.

Okay, so now I don't feel so silly that we can't make out what is going on with Penny's movements!

It also says:

Dogs with subtle gait changes or lameness may exhibit these signs only to their owners or handlers who notice the change in the dog's gait...The owner or handler may be able to describe his impression of the dog's problem quite accurately. It is important to know the duration of the dog's problem, if the onset was acute or chronic, and if the condition is improving or deteriorating.

walking - and falling - at Warrandyte

Cindy, Penny's trainer, organised a get-together of all her groups at Warrandyte today.

We walked along an off-lead path that skirts the river, with lots of opportunities to swim and paddle.

And, as this all-too-short video clip, shows, plenty of opportunities for humans to slide down the bank on their bottoms.



Amazingly, I got up in one piece. (Thank god for those exercise classes where the teacher makes us do so many balancing activities!) But I had my badge of honor on my buttocks.



Penny was very interested when the humans stopped for morning tea at a cafe, but she didn't get any of their food.



However, she did get a home-baked dog-treat from Cindy.