The Last Post

This will be the last posting on Mossie's blog. Two weeks have passed since he went. His Mad-But-Not-Actively-Dangerous Woman has shed lots of tears but also had so many hugs and wonderfully kind messages. As Mossie remarked last year, "I know how nice this love thing is".

Bella (Carmwater Orange Princess or HRH if we're being formal) died in 2007. She had never quite got the hang of dignified old age and brought chaos and delight into our lives with equal measure. But there was a big hole in the heart. In a Google moment, rescue Border Collies slid into view and a few weeks later, Mossie arrived. Old, tired and scared, he had wound up in a rescue centre after being found chained up with broken teeth and sore paws from trying to break the chain. He came into my life ready to share all the love in the world in exchange for a safe and loving home. He’d been an outdoor dog and knew nothing of stairs, wall-string-things, washing-rooms and the like. But, everything turned out just as it should. We had the best possible fifteen months.

So, a decision to be made. Clearly, it would be a mad (barking mad, in fact) idea to continue Mossie's blog. The MBNAD woman might turn up somewhere else. I haven't a clue why I started the blog. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Writing was never onerous, in the same way as tumbling out of bed at 6 am to walk on a cold morning wasn't a burden. It was all part of life with Mossie.

But before we go, Mossie's blog was tagged by 65 Roses for a lovely blog award.




So here are my nominations for the lovely blog award:

The Dog's Blog
Get well and stay well, Jasper. So many bitches and so little time.

Bruce
Keep on bouncing Brucie and look after the Bushhouse.

wakeupandsmellthecoffee
Grow up fine and handsome, Jakey.

Henry the Leaphound
Stay noble, Henry and take care of Molly, Wee Pup, your Woman and her OH.

Keep writing your blogs and find four lovely blogs of your own to tag. I'll still be following and hope to enjoy reading about all your happy times.

I hope that you enjoyed reading this. It was fun, it was Grand.

Thank you for all the lovely kind words for a Mad-But-Not-Actively-Dangerous-Woman missing her Mossie.

"Just letting you now that I feel for you over the death of Mossie. One thing you do know is that the last year of his life was a good one."

"He had become a part of your family and was especially close to you, who had taken him away from his previous hard life and given him a year of love & fun."

"Poor Mossie, at least you can be sure that his time with you and the family was probably the best he could have hoped for."

" I was so sorry to receive your news"

"I am genuinely sorry for your loss of your beloved Mossie. I know how much you all loved him. He was very lucky and so were you to have each other"

"I am so sad he has gone. He was a good boy. Tears in my eyes"

"I had just read the blog this morning - got a bit weepy - we will miss seeing him with you too. Have a hug for yourself from me this time."

"We are so very very sorry ... thought about Moss and how sad you must be to have lost him and how we will miss walking with you and him too.

At the weekend, apart from his sore paw, he seemed to be in good health and very happy and confident. If there is any consolation it has to be that it seems he was not distressed by his illness for very long also that in the too short time he was with you he felt loved secure and comfortable."

"We were all so upset to hear about poor old Mossie, I couldn't actually speak, I noticed Bruce being hugged on Friday night in a head down nose on his back kind of way ( nothing said). But they have agreed that his retirement was very well spent and he would have enjoyed the luxury of being a house dog."

"I summoned up the courage to read Mossies final blog tonight. It's been a very strange week without him – as well as missing him on our walk, I cant get used to him not being in my passenger seat."

"I am so terribly sorry about Mossie and know how you are feeling, completely lost."

"What a happy and contented last year or so he had - I'm sure he had forgotten all the years that had gone before. I 'm glad he hadn't been ill or in pain for long as he had such a sweet nature. He was a very lucky dog to have found you and had such love from all of you.

The house is so empty with no dog around. Think of all the happy memories you have of his time with you and in time, when you can bear to look at all his photos, you can cry "happy" tears."

"So sorry to hear about dear old Mossie. I'm glad I met him."

"Mossie was such a lovely character and you clearly adored each other. I know it's no comfort but at least you know he had a wonderful, happy time for the last few months of his life."

Slán Mossie

After the mishaps of the last two weeks, Mossie was on the mend. No more bandaged paws. A good evening walk, a tasty dinner, followed by a sleep in front of the fire looking after The Tall One and his MBNAD woman. Grand, as he would say.

On Friday morning, he lay in bed and just wanted his MBNAD woman to sit close by and stroke him. Tests and a scan showed that he had a tumour on the spleen which was bleeding. His Little Dark One came home. In the late afternoon, with all the people who loved him by his side, he closed his eyes and was gone. Gentle, stoic, loving and true.

Huna'n dawel, heno, huna.
Suo Gan - Lullaby

"Night night, Mossie."

A Home for Poorly Boys

So we had lots of visitors over the turning of the year and the Litter came back to stay as well. The Hello-Mister-Woman and her Man. Tinker-Dog's people (and Tinker-Dog). Of course, I had to take it quietly since my paw was bandaged up but that was alright since we were sitting in the warm with the fire lit. Grand. A wee drop to drink and feet to sleep on. What more could a Colliewobble want.

We wished everyone a Happy New Year over and over again. I even learned to say it in Cat. Blwyddyn Newydd Dda.



The days were really cold and by the time the bandage came off my paw, the Tall One was poorly. Lying down in his bed kind of poorly. Coughing. Sleeping. Coughing. I left the immediate patient care to The Cat since she is expert at curling up on beds and providing Humbug huggles. I kept checking that he was ok.

We were hoping to see Brucie's people but they were a long way off near Here when Here was There if you get my drift and then they all had the coughing-sleeping-coughing. They had a bit more too. Coughing-sleeping-coughing-chucking-up. Brucie's woman said they had to cross the border (no germ control there) to buy individual poptyping meals and pixie size puddings because they were off their food.

By the time the Visitors were leaving the Tall One was still coughing-sleeping-coughing. My MBNAD woman told him he couldn't go back to look for Hot Pixies but had to come back to Here with us till he's better. So, with a very full car and The Cat in her suitcase, we set off back to turn There to Here and back again. By the time we got back, the Tall One was very sad and tired. I wondered if my MBNAD woman would have to carry him indoors like she did with me when I fell over. She says he's got to stay with us till he's better. He's grand company for me in the day and when he had a bit of cheese for lunch, he shared it with me. She says we're her boys and she was glad that I was there to look after him. Which made what came next even worse...

My DB came along to go out for our middle of the day constitutional and when I got back, I fell over the front door step and did it again. That's right. Did it again. Rear nearside this time. Red stuff everywhere: all over the front doorstep, my bed and all points between. My MBNAD woman came home early, all dressed up in her going to work clothes and off we went in the car straightaway. Whole palaver all over again. Vet, clipped claw and bandage. She sat on the floor in the surgery and held me in her arms so that I knew she loved me even though it hurt. And it really did hurt. She held my head next to her and told me how it would soon be over and how much she loved me. I covered her going to work clothes in colliewobble hair. Then it hurt so much, that I peed. Thank Dog, I didn't get her coat.

I let her carry me to the car and then carry me indoors. After all, it don't matter if she gets a bit more colliewobble hair on her coat since it ain't fit to be worn for work at the moment.



Then I let her give me a jacket potato.

Not drunk, just falling down

We've had visitors and they've gone and we're just having a breather till the next lot arrive for the New Year. The Man with the Cat arrived for breakfast on Christmas morning. The Litter were here. The Lady from Next Door came to see us. A proper Woo Hoo.

I know all about Woo Hoo Christmas and New Year and the in-between time. I got parcels to open and so did Humbug. I got 2 new dinner plates and we went out throwing them on Christmas afternoon.

My MBNAD woman was really busy in the kitchen. She made lots of nice food and that included cooking the big dead bird that was in the wall-string-cold-cupboard. Giblets. That's what the really tasty bits are called. Giblets.

So now it's just me and and the Cat and my MBNAD woman. Lovely. We can all enjoy sitting in the warm.



All going too well, eh? All the Woo Hoo just like she'd planned and none of it bothered me this time. Didn't even mind when she went off to the the place with dead people in the garden. Well, not too much. Only shouted a bit.

So when we were out walking in the morning I had a little mishap. Cold and crisp just right for a morning walk. I admit that my nose and paws were not pointing in the same direction and I didn't expect the gravestone to be there under me. So I fell over and when I got up, one of my front paws really hurt and there was red stuff dripping all over the place. She carried me for a bit but I'm a bit big for her and it's not just the heavyweight winter coat. When we got home she bathed my paw but it still hurt. So we went to see the Vet. Apparently, they have them Here too. I gave him a hard stare hoping to discourage any unwanted gonad related activity. Turns out he only wanted to look at at my poorly paw. Looking was alright, but touching was not. So I gave him a little warning growl. He still didn't get the message. It hurts so just leave it alone. "Now come on boy, don't do that." So he carried on and that led me to one conclusion. I just had to bite him. Well, not really bite but just to get the message across that I would bite if he didn't desist. He didn't desist but I didn't expect what happened next. Before I could take affirmative action, a strap was put over my jaws so I could only make grumbly noises and not show them my teeth. Then he stuck a needle in my paw and the pain went away. If he'd just done that to start, I wouldn't have tried to exercise the teeth. Then he took away the broken claw and bandaged me up. Walking is a bit difficult and I have to be careful standing on three legs for a pee. It's a bit embarrassing when you fall over in mid flow.



But I am getting a lot of hugs. And we went visiting and I was called a "poor little dog". Evidently, poor little dogs get sausages. Hugs and sausages are making it all bearable.

In the bleak midwinter

First of all we loaded the car up with lots of stuff, then me, then the Cat. In her suitcase and with her Opinions. I had Opinions in my earhole from halfway across England and all over the Throw-Money-at-it-Bridge.

"Wales, Mossie, Humbug. Powys. We're Home".

For seventeen days worth of Home. We've turned There to Here for a whole seventeen days.

She's been busy adding more Woo-Hooery to the house. It's beginning to look like the control room of the Large Hadron Collider. We've even got some trees outside the front door with attached Woo Hoo. A ring of kindling stuck on the front door. Lights all over the place. And some sparkly attached to me. I feel a right Woo Hoo.

We went over the border to England to see Brucie's family. They're only just over the border so we can sneak through. Also when we go to that bit of England, we don't have to pay to get back. They've got lots of Woo Hoo too, including a big falling-over-so-don't-sit-too-close-to-it-tree. There were lots of people and dogs visiting them. Pretty golden bitch called Abby with a military background. Bit shy and didn't like her toes making click clack noises on hard floors. I gave her an encouraging nose to nose sniff to show her it was alright. And an old boy called Freddie. An Attack Spaniel. Turns out not to be so old and not much of an attack either. I gave him a serious, Don't-Forget-I'm-Top-Dog-Sonny sniff and stare. You know, shoulders back, slightly stiffened hackles, superior kind of look. Well, we ain't none of us got any bollocks so Top-Dog is an open question and it might as well be me. Then I sat down next to my MBNAD woman and let him sit the other side of her. Then there was Brucie. Being, you know, Brucie. Bouncing off the walls Brucie. If you remember last year, I had an ignominious moment when I got so scared of him that I had to hide behind his Man.

Brucie's Woman was specially nice. Was wearing a bright red dress and legs. The kind of legs that I just had to lean my head against for a hug. Cor-Lummee legs, in fact.

Off to the car-on-rails place to collect the Little Dark One. Grand.

Yet but three? Come one more;
Two of both kinds make up four.


Another trip to the car-on-rails place to collect the Tall One. She's really happy now. We're all here.

And there's a large dead bird in the wall-string-cold-cupboard.

The Collie in Winter

It's been a bit cold and sometimes I need a bit more warmth, especially when I've had a bad day. Had an embarrassing moment when I was out walking with my DB. Cool, sauntering along. Fell off the bridge into the stream. Except the stream was more like cold mud. Had to stand there till my DB came and hauled me out. Then I was a bit cold all day, even after being towelled dry.

When we sit down in the evening, I have a special blanket to sit by my MBNAD woman and I make sure that she notices that I like the fire by pointing at it with my nose. Still don't know how she makes it work since she never brings in coal or logs. It's not even a wall-string thing. Probably a bit of magic again since she kneels in front of it and says some incantations before the flames start. Anyway, once it's away, we can sit in front of it all evening without worrying about coal buckets. Grand.

But on the really cold evenings, I need a bit more warming up again with another blanket.



Of course, if the Little Dark One is here, then she sits on the floor and hugs me and I don't need no blankets then. The MBNAD woman brought a spare Little Dark One home last weekend. We were having a Here weekend and she was tidying and stuff like she usually does and the Little Dark One was out. But when she came back, there was another Girlie with her. They said that this Girlie came from the other side of the world where everyone is Upside Down. She looked the normal way up to me. They don't half talk some rubbish. Chatted the Upside Down Girlie up a bit. Tried the blarney. Said I had sad eyes. Heh heh

She's done some stuff for the Woo Hoo Christmas which includes a wall-string-tree and a ring of twigs stuck to the front door. Have no idea why she's stuck kindling on the front door. The wall-string-tree ain't like the one There which has just got little lights all over it. When she ties the wall-string-tree to the wall, it all lights up and changes colour. Very dubious taste.

I had a strange indoor dog moment the other morning. For sleeping arrangements, I have a rug on her floor by the bed. It's convenient for her to hang over the side of the bed and stroke my ears first thing in the morning. Well, ear stroking was so nice and then she stroked under my chin and the next thing I knew, I had stretched out on my back for a belly stroke. That's right, I let her put her paw on my chest. It's not as if I haven't known that she's the Boss in this house all along but I'm just not used to submitting to anyone. In later days on the farm, I was forced to submit when the young dogs bullied me. And I didn't like it one little bit. But you know, this was really rather nice. She just laid her hand very gently on my chest and stroked. And I lay there, feeling really loved and very safe.

Oliver Postgate 1925-2008

The man who, with Peter Firmin, created Bagpuss, Noggin the Nog, Pogles Wood, Pingwings and the Clangers



and made so many children happy, especially one little girl with chicken pox in 1959.

Hiraeth - a problem of Here and There

So we've been There two weekends in a row mainly sorting out the Peeing and Washing [with Peeing] Rooms. Cold, bright, crisp weather and when we haven't been decorating, we've been out walking looking at Views. It's the Views that make her sad when we have leave There.



I don't mind going back from There to Here but I know she really wants to be There all the time, especially now we're getting ready for a Woo Hoo Christmas.

Craft Market on Saturday. She can't resist it - comes back with bits of recycled glass and all sorts. Eddie Stickmaker was there with his Litter and his Woman. She stayed chatting for ages and I could see that she was tempted by the sticks.

Now we have a tree in the house covered in lights and baubles. Although it is clearly quite mad, I know what to expect now.



All ready to Woo Hoo.

But when we got back the Little One had come back from the Fens and we had cheese in the Jam Room and I did some hugging.

"Night night Mossie, night night Humbug, night night, Little One."

Don't apologise. Don't explain

So once she stopped wearing those nasty leg-wrappers, she started painting. The Jam Room (even though it's mainly glass), The Peeing Room and the Washing [with Peeing] Room.

Every weekend, even when we're Here or There. Painting. Our only respite has been for walks and one evening out. When she comes home from work, if she's going out she normally goes and has one of those all-over-like-it's-pissing-on-you washes and then gets into going-out clothes. Normally when that happens, I go to the kitchen and put on a grumpy look. So, this is what I expected. Down the stairs she comes all tarted up. Right. Humph. I'll go and humph in my bed. But none of that. Out we went to the house where one of the Men-of-Sweyn's-Eye lives with his Woman. And when we got there the other Man-of-Sweyn's-Eye and his Woman were there too. Then the bitches went out leaving us boys there for the evening.



When they came back we were all asleep, a few beers having been taken.

The bitches all sat around on the floor and made a fuss of me. Grand. And then I realised that they had been drinking too. When I thought it was time to go home, we went upstairs and stayed the night in one of their Litter's rooms and didn't go home till breakfast time. Shocking.

Since it's been just about a year since I came to live with my MBNAD woman, we had to go back to the Vet place for my annual check. Got on the scales and found that my winter coat is keeping me warm but not too heavy. Then a Sharp Prick. Yes, I thought that the Vet was one. Then my teeth, ears, heart and gonads. Do they really have to do that? Sniffing my bum would be quite an acceptable way of being sociable but I draw the line at being groped.


The Vet also gazed deeply into my eyes. Didn't much fancy him, after what he just did at the other end. They have a little chat about my tendency to walk into things. Especially when the light isn't so good. Seems to me that posts just get in the way. My MBNAD woman don't see too good either. Sometimes she wears eye glasses but other times she don't seem to need them. She goes into one of the Washing Rooms and gets a little pot which she digs around in. Then she pokes at her eyes, blinks and then she don't need the eye glasses. Don't much fancy that, either.

They said I've got waterfalls in my eyes? That can't be right.

Gunpowder, treason and plot

So there was a great deal of fuss and bother and making of beds and cooking. I know the signs now. Visitors. But visitors don't usually stay Here. Unless it's the Litter. Yes, yes. It's the Tall One. Oh Glory.

It's so wonderful that he came to stay that the whole of the night sky was lit up. Grand.



"Night, night, Mossie"

Yes, well I should have known there was an agenda. The morning after the Tall One arrived, she didn't go off to work, which I thought was a bit suspicious. Daft tart. Legs. She went and did it again. All bandaged up. Both legs this time. Not together, you understand. Separately, so at least she can do that funny stumpy legged walk. But all she can do now is lie down and moan. Serves her right. She said she wouldn't do it again. But apparently the Venous Vet said it had to be done because it wasn't finished. Curse of the Mummy.

Mind, it's nice having the Tall One here. Walks and ball throwing. Grand. And we met my DB with lots of my mates from dog walking. Darcy, the blonde [Blonde]retriever, Whisper, the merle wobble, Jess, the loopy black girl and the Poodlies. The Tall One does lots of helping too.

And then we made cakes. The MBNAD woman likes cooking but she don't usually do it on an industrial scale. But all yesterday, she kept doing little things in the kitchen and then going back to lie down again. When we got back in from our last thing at night walk, the house smelt all warm and spicy. I remembered this from last year. I know what they were about.



They're Woo Hoo Christmas Cakes.

Metamorphosis

A Here weekend and we have to tidy up the garden. When the men came to build the Jam Room, they made a bit of a Mess in the garden as well as the house. Apparently, they were called the Taliban. So she worked really hard and I supervised.

When the rain started, I thought that we could sit by the fire and get comfortable. But, no. Can't resist it can she? More darned junk. She brings in this old table that looks like it would make good firewood and parks it in the Jam Room. Then she spent hours rubbing it to get rid of the top of the wood. That's right, she scraped the top of the wood off till there were no more marks and dents. When she did the legs, she found some little Princess teethmarks. She sat on the floor and had wet nose and eyes for a bit and I hugged her. Never thought that chewing furniture would have that effect but like I said from the outset: Mad

After she'd scraped it clean she got a pot of something strong smelling and rubbed it all over the junk table. Then she did it again and again. Wouldn't let me go in the Jam Room while she was doing it. As if.

Anyway by the time I was allowed in the Jam Room, the junk table had been magicked into a proper table. Supernatural, My Witch

Paper

A whole year. Me and her. My MBNAD woman has been mine for a whole year. I know she misses the Princess still and sometimes it makes her have the wet nose and eyes problem. She tells me that she wouldn't swap me for the world. I used to worry that she'd swap me for the Princess but I know now that she wouldn't; she'd love us both.

So for Our Anniversary, we're There for the weekend. Grand. A year back I didn't know anything about Here and There, or the Throw-Money-at-it-Bridge or Wales-Powys-Home. I used to be scared of the dogs in the farm up the hill and I didn't like to go through gates just in case I was going to be shut in. It's so nice being with her and nothing scares me if I'm with her.

So when she came back from whatever it is that she does that she calls work, I knew straight away that we were off There since the Red-Going-There bag came down stairs and we were off.

"Wales, Powys, Mossie. Home"

We arrived at bedtime but first we always go for a walk around the There Village. We stood on the hill and watched the stars for a bit. Then bed. I even have a bed all of my own Here and There. I never even had a bed anywhere before.



So waking up this morning was lovely. Next to the radiator and being smiled at by my MBNAD woman. An early morning walk and breakfast. What more could a Wobble want?

Well, for a start no more building work. What I hadn't realised last night was that there was building work There as well as Here. For Dog's sake, WHY? It's the Washing Room. Now it's been turned into a Washing Room (with Peeing) and a separate Peeing Room. Completely bonkers. Seems to me that she does far too much of that washing thing and as far peeing, what's wrong with a tree? Alright, so she's a Bitch ( my Bitch), so maybe trees aren't quite right but why not just a quick squat-and-puddle? Then we wouldn't have to have builders for Jam Rooms, Washing Rooms and Peeing Rooms. And no more Mess. But I spose that I forgive her.


Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Infidelity

When things began to get really bad with the Jam Room, my DB took me out with her all day. That was really grand since I get to sit in her van which smells nice and dog. She thinks that I'm too old too get into the back of the van. Heh heh . But every afternoon, I went back so that I was home by the time that my MBNAD woman got back. So I guessed she didn't know that I was, ahem, enjoying someone else's company. Then one day I just didn't go back. Not quite sure how it happened but I just went home with my DB. Took my bed and everything. She's got a nice silver grey cat who speaks reasonably politely (for a cat). And chickens. And a horse. And piggy gins. And a Man. And a Litter. Well, I felt I could fit in just right. Found a nice cosy spot in the Eating Room. Grand.

Well, of course, I did think about my MBNAD woman quite a bit and, I confess I did miss her. I wondered if she might show up and take me back. Praps shout a bit at the DB for stealing me away. Praps shout at me for being stolen. But the days went by and she didn't show up at all. Then I began to wonder if she didn't know where I was or, even worse, wasn't missing me at all.




Then one evening, after I'd eaten my supper and settled down for a post-prandial snooze, she suddenly appeared. Oh, Dog. I thought we were in for trouble. I expected to get dragged out by my collar. I remember the Princess telling me that my MBNAD woman always said that even if she might be poor she wasn't common. But to be honest, I expected some common words at the very least.

Not a bit of it. There they were, chatting away happily. "Yes, of course, he's been a good boy. Did you have a nice time?". Big hugs from my MBNAD woman. She smelt funny too, warm and spice scented.

Then it dawned on me. I wasn't the one who'd been unfaithful it was HER! Bitch!



So we went home and she sat on the floor and hugged me for ages. Till I forgave her. Well, I'd forgiven her as soon as I realised she was back. But I let her hug me for a good long time.

And the men with the Mess have finished making the Jam Room.


All's well that ends well

The Year Turned

She came home early in a strange car. Big car with lots of stretching out space. Grand, thought. Well, turns out the stretching out space weren't for me. It was for furniture. Table and chairs in the stretching out space and me squashed into a corner. Well, alright, not exactly squashed but not as much space as I might have wanted. Then we collected The Cat, put her in the suitcase and off we went.

"Wales, Powys, Mossie. Home"

A whole weekend of being glared at by The Cat. Ah, well. If it's the price of making her happy, I can live with it. This last month, a whole year has turned since the Princess was here. I know that my MBNAD woman was sad when she remembered the last days with HRH so I tried my best to give her lots of ear stroking opportunities. How special to have been loved so well, so long. I've only been with her for a little bit of my life but I know how nice this love thing is.


So back to the weekend. No sooner had we settled in than we had Visitors. Smarten up, Humbug, time to be socialble, I warned. Bah. It's them people who come with Bolshie. I ain't being sociable. She got in the sideboard and got herself ready for a bit of hissing and spitting.

No Bolshie. His people with bags and stuff. Grand, I thought. I like being with them and visitors is always good. Then just as I was deciding who would get the head-on-leg-treatment, the Sire and Dam legged it. Yes. Ran away, leaving their Litter behind. I wondered if the Litter was being re-homed with us, but it seems just for the weekend.

We did lots of my MBNAD woman's favourite things like Brecon, and the place with the View and Outdoor Food, and Llancaiach Fawr and the Red Kite.




Then it was time for them to go and then time for us to turn Here to There again.

Except Here is being turned upside down. Mess. She don't like Mess and to be honest, I'm not keen on this quantity of Mess either. Out in the back garden, digging. Men. Digging holes, Building walls. It will all be wonderful when it's over, she says. All I can say is, it better had be. They're building a spare room out there. Dunno why. We got plenty of space for me and her. It's a Conservatory, apparently. I thought that we had enough jam on the top of the kitchen cupboards. But now it turns out she needs a whole room for the stuff. And I have to supervise. It's hard work for an old wobble.

Then the Little Dark One was off. Missee Lee, all over again. It's all empty and sad without our Litter. We don't need no spare rooms. She says it'll be nice when we have visitors. I don't want Visitors. We can have Visitors There. I want the Litter. And no Jam Rooms. Humph .

They do things differently

Lookin after sheep weren't like that when I did it. Didn't have no quad bikes to herd in my day.



I sat in the back of the car giving a bit of advice. Quiet like.

The Elephant in the Garden

“Wales, Powys, Mossie. Home”

A There Weekend with a visit from the Lady who’s Family. Off we go in the car to Brecon and the Farmer’s Market where they buy bits of broken old glass. Apparently, it’s called re-cycling. More like rubbish to my way of thinking. It’s not as if she don’t know what a bin is for. After all, she spends enough time tidying up and cleaning.

Then we’re off to the Mountain Centre where they have a grand café. We sit outside in the sunshine while they eat. Great place for making new friends and they usually offer me a little something. “Is it ok for him to have …” they normally ask my MBNAD woman. Why don’t they just ask me? I’d let them know pretty quick. So I demolished a couple of spuds with gravy, a bit of scone and a jelly baby. Never had a jelly baby before. Made my teeth bounce a bit. On reflection, think I’d rather have the spuds or scone.

Then we went to a big house where they sell even more vegetables and fruit. Organic. Dunno how you get inorganic fruit and vegetables, meself. Perhaps it has something to do with elephants in the garden.



After lots of gardening , it’s time to return to Here and I have a week of visiting. She’s off with a suitcase, not the little red Going-There-Bag. Humph . But I did get to visit the Man-with-the-Cat and The Cat with the Little Dark One.

I like weekends with my MBNAD woman. When I used to look after sheep, all days looked much the same to me. But she only does Witchy Work from Monday to Friday and then we have a thing called The Weekend which is really just a fancy way of saying Saturday and Sunday. Mind, sometimes she does witchy stuff on the weekend too. That must be pro bonio which translated means for free dog biscuits which seems fair and reasonable to me. She does some tidying stuff admittedly, but mainly it’s about us being together. Here or There or Visiting. Don’t matter, where. Just being together and sometimes being with friends or the Best Thing: being with the Litter.

So Sunday we went Visiting to the Middle of the World to see the Tall One. Pub lunch, canal walk and back to his house for tea. Grand.

More Visiting this week: the Hello-Mister-Woman’s house. With an Oscar dog, rabbits and four kittens and the Hello-Mister-Woman’s girlie. Four kittens. All thought the Mossie tail was a great toy. Ah, well. I didn’t mind really.

Keeping her feet warm

She weren't well. Bit cold. My only explanation.

And I didn't snore. Much.

Quarter Century

Little Dark One, me, The Cat [in a suitcase] and MBNAD woman all off There. One of those Fridays. Grand I thought, although The Cat had Views all the way from the Meat-and-Bread stop. Car was packed up to the lid with lots of stuff but no matter. I like being There and my MBNAD woman is really happy when we're There.

"Wales, Mossie. Powys, Home"

Late on, but we dont mind.

"Night night Mossie. Night night Humbug".

A big treat. The Tall One. All of them together, where I can herd them. Grand.


Turns out the Tall One is having a birthday.

Twenty-Five.

Old.

The Man with the Cat came too for the birthday.

Then they went out for food. Humph Can't see why - there's a whole cupboard full of food. Shouted a bit. Cat told me to shut up.

Humph

They had a special cake for the Tall One. She's good at cake so I always sit and wait expectantly just in case something falls off a plate. Funny thing about people - if food falls off a plate onto the floor, they don't want to eat it even if it's only a little bit gritty. As long as she tells me it's ok to have it, then I don't hang around. Anyway, this special cake ... just when I think she's not really Mad or not a real Witch, she does something very peculiar and I have to revise my opinions.

So they set fire to the cake and said incantations before eating it. What more evidence is needed? A Witch, without doubt. She'll get caught one of these days.

We didn't leave There on Sunday night. Turns out we could stay all week. And the Little Dark One, and the Tall One and The Cat.

They spent a lot of the week trying to stick a broken picture back together. Don't know why they had to buy a broken one.

We met Brucie's people and they went to a park. Then they came back for tea and had more of the Tall One's special cake. The Cat said some very bad words to Brucie. Brucie's woman said that she'd never heard a cat growl before. That ain't growling, that's swearing. Really bad swearing. Father Jack swearing.



Thank Dog, I couldn't fit. But my MBNAD woman could.



Lots of walks with boots and scenery. At the end of the last one, I was so tired that my MBNAD woman had to fetch the car while I waited with the Tall One. He had to carry me to the place where we waited for her. I could have walked but he wanted to be useful.



Time to turn There to Here again.

And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

Pontyfest - Music, Friends, Girlies, Snot and Lies

A There weekend. Off we go at the end of the week, car all packed up ready to go and we went all the way before the light had gone.

"Wales, Mossie, Powys. Home."

Once we'd unpacked, she went off to The Lion. This is not on, she shouldn't be going to pubs without me so I had to have a bit of a shout. By the time she'd got back I was a bit cross so I didn't notice straightway that she wasn't on her own. The Hello-Mister-Woman and her Man. I didn't think she lived in a pub since she was Here when my MBNAD woman had various vines and sad stuff. They're really good at ears since they practise on an Oscar.


They sat up chatting till late then the Hello-Mister-Woman and her Man unpacked their car and went to bed. Can't work out why they're Visitors if they live at the Lion but it's nice anyway since I get a lot of fuss and they're nice Visitors.

"Night night Mossie."

Brecon, Market. She bought some fish and some green slimy stuff which she's going to give to our Visitors for breakfast. Don't seem very kind to me. Visitors is nice. It's bad enough when she cooks sick for breakfast but it don't seem right to give them fried snot.


Pontyfest. Rain, rain, rain. Loud music and dancing and beer and lots of dogs, especially wobbles. Wasn't much struck on the idea of being a soggy wobble but we went into a big bright tent to stay dry. Don't know much about the music but I did like the people. And the grub. I got left over beef casserole, faggots, burger and a bit of sausage. My MBNAD woman said I wouldn't need my dinner after all that lot. Don't you believe it. Plenty of space.

She kept finding people to say hello to. First of all there was one of the Men of Sweyn's Eye and then the Woman-Who-Likes-Cats-Really. Turns out they're staying at Pontyfest in a tent. Now my MBNAD woman likes outdoor food but I've never seen her do outdoor sleeping. Well, maybe a little bit in the garden but we've never been out there all night. She don't half have some strange friends. I just hope she don't get the idea of outdoor sleeping. Now I've got the hang of being an indoor dog, I really don't want to give up my bed




Then there was a Woman of Sweyn's Eye and her Man and Girlie. Nice people. Plenty of fuss. Grand.

Next two Girlies belonging to the Man of Sweyn's Eye and the Woman-Who-Likes-Cats-Really. Cor. Spent a bit of time chatting them up.

Music was alright too I spose.

Had a bit of a problem with a basket.



Please don't laugh too much.


"Night night Mossie."

Sunshine and walking at one of my MBNAD woman's favourite places where she can look at a View. The Visitors liked the View too and didn't seem to hold fried snot breakfast against her. She told them that the snot comes out when Pen-y-Fan erupts. Dreadful. The snot is bad enough but lying about it is even worse.

Catflap cottage and food then the Visitors left. Seemed like a lot of fuss putting things in the car when they were only going as far as the Lion. Turns out I was wrong. They live near Here after all. I felt a right wobble. I wish I had the Princess around to help me out with that kind of thing.

When we have to leave There to come back Here, she always tidies up and makes sure everything is ready for coming back but this time she went off to the place with dead people in the garden. Not for the normal thing but for Music. Not on, I shout after her. I do Music. If I did Pontyfest, can't see why I can't do this Music. Bah

Then she came back at bedtime and off we went and when I woke up we were back Here. Midnight. Witchy

"Night night Mossie."