hot weather as a start to Autumn

It's been a while since I posted, but the hot weather we've been having takes the energy out of me and out of Penny.

But we still manage a walk most days, even though often a short one if it's a hot day.

Yesterday we headed off to Yarra Glen for a Bowen therapy session for both human and canine together.

And how wonderful it was, for me with a sore aching back and Penny with her arthritic joints.

On the way home we stopped off briefly at Heide Museum of Modern Art for a quick lunch. There's a huge garden with outdoor sculptures and various installations, and many old, substantial shade trees. Dogs are welcome as long as they are kept on lead.

However, because Penny and I had been in an air-conditioned car driving the fifty minutes down from Yarra Glen in the hills, I hadn't realised how hot it was, even in the shady outdoor section of the cafe. I had already ordered my lunch, so while we waited I quietly poured my drinking water onto Penny. (As you can see in the photo, the kindly waiter had brought the dog drinking bowl inside for us.

another torn cruciate and arthritis

Penny appears to be still enjoying life, even though she has significant arthritis in her left knee and a torn cruciate in the right knee. After the surgeon told us she's likely to get significant arthritis in her right knee if he operates to do a traditional repair of the joint, we decided to continue to monitor her progress. He believes enough scar tissue will build in the knee to enable her to move comfortably. She bunny-hops along when she's in a hurry, but otherwise walks on all four legs.

However, Deb from Bow Rei Me thinks Penny is weaker in her right rear leg. I'll have to keep an eye on this. Perhaps we could return to some of the physio exercises we practised when she had the first knee repaired.

So, all through the hot, hot temperatures of February and March we've been taking gentle walks, and the weather has made this a sensible choice. Now that it's cool once again, I guess we'll have to be more vigilant that Penny doesn't over exert herself. But so far she seems content to amble along. We're up to half-hour walks now.

Of course, any little puddle of water - hooray for some rain at last! - is very inviting.

regular Bowen therapy

We are so lucky to be able to go to Deb at Bow-Rei-Me for regular Bowen therapy, because it keeps Penny active and happy.

Yesterday we noticed she had started to head-nod, always a sign that she is in some sort of pain, so I was glad she was already scheduled for a session with Deb today.

I'm not good at figuring out just where Penny's pain is, but I assumed it was at the 'front end', because of the head-bobbing. When we arrived, I told Deb that there was some pain but I didn't know where. Sure enough, Deb zeroed in straight away to the left shoulder, which is actually where I thought it might be.

We can usually tell how Penny's feeling by how she goes down the back stairs to the yard. If she's stiff, she bunny hops all the way down, and we feel bad to see that, I can tell you. If she's just a bit uncomfortable, she'll bunny hop a couple of steps and then left-right, left-right smoothly the rest of the way.

Well, I'm super pleased to report she just went outside for her evening visit to check the possums aren't getting away with anything, and she walked smoothly the whole way down.

Thanks, Deb!

Now, should I admit...

Yep, confession time...

Deb treats humans also, and I follow after Penny's session with a delicious, long Bowen session for myself, usually accompanied by soft woofs and snores as Penny relaxes beside the table.

Then it's off to Yarra Glen Cafe and Store to have a leisurely lunch. After all, if I'm going to drive forty kilometres to visit Bow-Rei-Me, why not make a day of it? If it's hot, Penny lies at my feet, seeing the outer part of the cafe is dog-friendly, but lately she's been happier to snooze in the car, because the weather is so cool. (Suits me fine, because I get to sit inside by the fire.)

On the way home, if Penny wants to get out of the car, we might go for a brief stroll along the river at Warrandyte, or even wander around the gardens of Heide Art Gallery. (Best kitchen garden in Melbourne, in my opinion.) Deb says it's important not to go beyond what Penny feels comfortable with, after a Bowen session.

dogs understand how to be sneaky

While I was working on the compost pile yesterday, I scraped off the top layers of shredded paper and garden greens, revealing an underneath layer of well-rotted kitchen scraps.

When I looked toward the pile from the other side of the garden, Penny was nearby, licking her lips, and I reckon there was a ring of black around her mouth, though I couldn't be sure from that distance. If she'd been a human, she'd have been whistling unconcernedly and glancing aside innocently. As it was, she stood her ground, her tail at mid height, enduring my suspicious stare.

We faced each other for minutes rather than seconds, she the picture of nonchalance, until she decided I wasn't going to move. She headed inside the house and didn't come out again.

I've put a barrier in front of the compost, even though the 'tastiest' bits are now safely reburied under boring mulched branches and leaves and such like.

She wouldn't have been near the compost today, anyway, because she was with me at Yarra Glen, having a wonderfully relaxing and health-enhancing Bowen therapy from Deb.