Bowen therapy and maremmas guarding hens

Penny and I visited the Yarra Valley today. We spent the morning at Bow Rei Me having Bowen therapy, first Penny and then me. It was, as usual, wonderful. Penny had lovely 'soft eyes', always a sign that she's relaxed and loving it.

Then we drove up to the Upper Yarra Valley, where I bought a supply of free range eggs from Little Yarra Free Range Eggs, some for Penny, but most for the humans in our family!

I couldn't resist taking a photo of  one of the maremmas guarding the flocks. Of course, he (or she) bounded across to tell me to leave immediately, barking fiercely, but the human who was attending to the chooks called the dog away, which is why, in this photo, you see the guardian angel of the chooks looking back towards the invisible human.

Penny's walk in the park

It's been nearly two months since I blogged. I guess both Penny and I are slowing down these days.

We still manage a walk every day. Today I set off for a stroll along a quiet back road, but Penny didn't want to keep going, so I lifted her back in the car and we set off for a nearby park, where she condescended to walk a little way with me.

Sometimes we get a brisk 50-minute walk in, but other times Penny just doesn't want to go. We  try to take notice of her mood, because in human terms she's a very old lady now, and we know she suffers some discomfort from arthritic knees. I suspect that sometimes she just isn't in the mood and it's not about pain at all. Who knows?

Today she let me know at this junction of paths that she thought we should head back to the car. Her body language is pretty obvious, and it usually includes a meaningful glance in the direction she wants us to take. Her bad luck, though, that the car wasn't down that path.

Seeing standing still like a statue wasn't working she tried an ostentatious yawn. It still didn't work on me, because I knew we still had a distance to go in order to get back to the car.

There was still a bit of sniffing to do, but eventually we got back to the car.

new places to explore

I've said it before... When you have a dog you find interesting places to explore.

Today we were looking around Alphington while we waited for Penny's appointment at the groomer.

We found Alphington Park, where there seem to be lots of rules.

Even if you must stay on lead, there are good smells to think about.

And since it was near a local wetlands, we were conscientious about staying on lead the whole time.

mental stimulation for an old dog

A  friend sent me a newspaper cutting about canine freestyle, and it reminded me of the fun Penny and I used to have when we were both younger.

I  sent my friend an old clip of us at a canine freestyle club, in the days when that was a new sport for Australia. OMG. It was NINE years ago! Now I know Penny and I are old...

Anyway, it got me thinking about the fact that I worry that life is boring for Penny now, because her creaky limbs probably aren't up to twisting and turning. We might have a go  at some modified canine freestyle, but our floors are slippery and I'd have to set up carpets.

In the meantime, an internet search for something to do has turned up this fun sport, canine nose work. This clip shows the progression of some simple home training and we're  going to try it soon.

Meeting Penny's brother

Once again we met Penny's littermate at Rosanna Parklands yesterday. It was great to see he's well and happy.

Well, we were interested. Penny wasn't.

Oh, alright, I'll say a quick hello.

hot days in autumn

It has been hot the last few days, so we're walking early in the morning. The ground at Rosanna Parklands is dry and dusty. You can see in this photo that only the run-off from the doggy drinking bowl enables some grass to grow in one especially dry patch of soil.

Penny is a fussy drinker. Here we are trying to convince her she needs water. Look, we've emptied out the dirty old water and it's nice and fresh now.

No thanks. I don't do public drinking bowls.

Oh okay, if you insist. I'll drink from the running tap.

dogs make us take note of interesting things

Penny and I had a look at the new bicycle path that is soon to open between Kew and Ivanhoe. We've seen both ends of it now, from Willsmere in Kew, to Ivanhoe.

In writing this blog post, I've come across the startling fact that people in Alphington won't be a able to get onto the path. Amazing. How could so much money - 18 million dollars -  be spent on the path and then not allow one whole suburb to access  it?

However, I do see that there is a suggestion of an entry in the future from Alphington.

At any rate, Penny and I are fortunate to be coming in  from either the Kew end or the Ivanhoe end.

When we set off, from Ivanhoe, we passed under a tree that we've never taken any notice of before.

But what were these things on the ground that seemed to look like tennis balls? Penny, of course, wasn't fooled, because they sure didn't smell like tennis balls. 

But I had to have a second look. 

OMG! Osage orange. I once spent ages trying to source one of these trees, because I was keeping silkworms in my classroom and the students needed lots of leaves. We were running out of mulberry leaves and I knew osage orange could be used as well. And there was this tree, right near the school!

Oh, well...

Penny was more interested in meeting other park-goers. 

We headed off along the new path, but Penny wasn't too keen to walk. We're never quite sure whether this happens because of her arthritis, or because it's nearly dinner-time. 

When we turned for home, she led the way by a long shot.