We'll spark the town when you get out

Met up with Spike's buddy Chico and the shih-tzu crew this morning - fun fun fun! Spike doesn't have many dog friends but Chico's a special case. You'd know why if you saw him - head and tail held high in an arrogant arch, walks with a confident swagger, master of all he surveys. Squish plays with Chico's packmates but doesn't go near Chico - he and Spike are the Alpha Male Club, and although there's not a single testicle between the lot of them you can get dizzy from the virtual testosterone in the air.

Thankfully, no-one felt the need for an actual pissing contest this time.


About half an hour after we got back there was a kitten bouncing round the floor and there seemed to be something missing - there wasn't a collie locked onto it. I checked the hallway - no collie. Spike was having one of his cat-in-a-dog-suit moments and he'd decided to play hide and seek with me.

He's a bit too big to carry it off successfully, but I actually had a minute of WTF??? before I spotted him.

( This is not the collie you are looking for. )

We'll spark the town when you get out

Met up with Spike's buddy Chico and the shih-tzu crew this morning - fun fun fun! Spike doesn't have many dog friends but Chico's a special case. You'd know why if you saw him - head and tail held high in an arrogant arch, walks with a confident swagger, master of all he surveys. Squish plays with Chico's packmates but doesn't go near Chico - he and Spike are the Alpha Male Club, and although there's not a single testicle between the lot of them you can get dizzy from the virtual testosterone in the air.

Thankfully, no-one felt the need for an actual pissing contest this time.


About half an hour after we got back there was a kitten bouncing round the floor and there seemed to be something missing - there wasn't a collie locked onto it. I checked the hallway - no collie. Spike was having one of his cat-in-a-dog-suit moments and he'd decided to play hide and seek with me.

He's a bit too big to carry it off successfully, but I actually had a minute of WTF??? before I spotted him.

( This is not the collie you are looking for. )

A girl needs a gun(dog) these days on account of all the rattlesnakes

There's something weird in the air today. Afternoon dog walk - Spike kept barking randomly at nothing and walking round with his hackles raised. I could hear some of the neighbour dogs doing it too.

Early evening dog walk after the first half of supper just now (dog supper is in two instalments now, because Squish expects feeding at eight and Spike can't eat during kitten zoomies and I don't like to feed just one dog - so I split it, and if Spike's too busy at eight he just gets twice as much at midnight).

Squish found something in the long grass. I don't know what it was - I could tell it wasn't a cat and he was too interested for it to be a grasshopper. Spike caught his interest (Spotted McBird-Dog always spots things first) and we all went to check it out. We got to the spot they were pointing at and - nothing. They lost interest when we got there. We went back to the path.

When we got to the short grass by the houses Squish started barking at a wall. Angry guard dog barking. Squish. Never. Does. That. He barks to back Spike up when Spike decides it's necessary, or he might yap at squirrels or free range cats in excitement but he's never done angrybark at something on his own initiative. Spike was as baffled as I was, because once again there was nothing there.

The cats have been quiet today. Too quiet. Way, way, way too quiet. They've done just enough climbing and leaping on things that I can see they're not sick, but apart from Shona slashing hell out of my leg while I was eating breakfast (blood running down my shins - damn cat!) there's been nothing.

Creeeeeeeeeepy.

A girl needs a gun(dog) these days on account of all the rattlesnakes

There's something weird in the air today. Afternoon dog walk - Spike kept barking randomly at nothing and walking round with his hackles raised. I could hear some of the neighbour dogs doing it too.

Early evening dog walk after the first half of supper just now (dog supper is in two instalments now, because Squish expects feeding at eight and Spike can't eat during kitten zoomies and I don't like to feed just one dog - so I split it, and if Spike's too busy at eight he just gets twice as much at midnight).

Squish found something in the long grass. I don't know what it was - I could tell it wasn't a cat and he was too interested for it to be a grasshopper. Spike caught his interest (Spotted McBird-Dog always spots things first) and we all went to check it out. We got to the spot they were pointing at and - nothing. They lost interest when we got there. We went back to the path.

When we got to the short grass by the houses Squish started barking at a wall. Angry guard dog barking. Squish. Never. Does. That. He barks to back Spike up when Spike decides it's necessary, or he might yap at squirrels or free range cats in excitement but he's never done angrybark at something on his own initiative. Spike was as baffled as I was, because once again there was nothing there.

The cats have been quiet today. Too quiet. Way, way, way too quiet. They've done just enough climbing and leaping on things that I can see they're not sick, but apart from Shona slashing hell out of my leg while I was eating breakfast (blood running down my shins - damn cat!) there's been nothing.

Creeeeeeeeeepy.

I wish we both could fly back home

cottonmanifesto got her old pictures online by photographing them, so I tried it with some that I found at Grimmauld Place last time I was there. She has a better camera than I do and knows how to work its settings properly so these aren't as good as hers - but here they are.

( Ancient history )

I wish we both could fly back home

cottonmanifesto got her old pictures online by photographing them, so I tried it with some that I found at Grimmauld Place last time I was there. She has a better camera than I do and knows how to work its settings properly so these aren't as good as hers - but here they are.

( Ancient history )