THE RAMBLINGS OF A STRUGGLING ARTIST ON LIFE WITH TWO TERRIERS, A PONY WITH ISSUES AND OTHER WILDLIFE AND BIRDS THAT CROSS OUR PATH

18 May 2013

SHOCKING ENCOUNTER AND A MISSED BORDER TERRIER


Not usually being a fan of anthropomorphism, it pains me to do so here. But....when our little vole friend appeared here, the robin really did looked shocked. Not fearful resulting in immediate flying off, just shocked. 


Robin lands first....


Vole appears.....


Shocking

I have been trying to persuade the other two members of the household that Snippet needs a canine companion for at least two years now and, yesterday, I found a year old Border Terrier on preloved.co.uk who, for many reasons, sounded absolutely perfect for us. Amazingly, when I brought up the subject, it was greeted with some fairly positive comments and I was told to ask our Border Terrier owning friends what they thought before MAYBE getting in touch with the owners who lived pretty locally. So, I spoke to the friends this morning, who were very enthusiastic. I got the go ahead and at about midday, I went back to the web page trying to hold down my excitement, only to find the advert had disappeared! I was ridiculously upset; and I mean RIDICULOUSLY, given the very slim knowledge I had of him. Anyway, it has now been admitted that we are actively looking for a dog, which is great. I watch Snippet standing at the fence, staring at our neighbour's pack of five dogs, or running up and down after them and not being part of the gang. Oh dear, I'm in danger of slipping into anthropomorphism again. Don't get me wrong - he's a very happy dog and he has a great life, but when I see him playing with his 'friends', it adds a whole new dimension to his life. I'll keep you posted....we are looking for a young male, probably not a puppy and preferably already neutered, terrier of some description. A mixed mutt like Snippet would be ideal. Not too small. Stick with what I know I think. If anybody knows of anything suitable in this kind of area, do let me know! It's shocking how many young dogs there are out there for sale where people have realised having one is a massive responsibility that they're not actually ready for. At least they're not abandoning them I suppose but you'd be amazed how much money people want for them. 

Friday's weather was very strange here. the sky was leaden but we somehow managed to swerve its dropping of water or ice most of the day. You could see it falling in the distance but we only had one shower. It was fairly dramatic though, with ice balls the size of Maltesers. 



I love the fresh green of the new beech leaves against the sky in these two



A few more pictures from the last few days:


One of the nesting Nuthatches on the wall; there are definitely squeaks coming from the box now


I got a terrible shock the other day when this huge troop of soldiers appeared on the horizon


I love this beautiful dark purple periwinkle. I'd never seen it before we moved here. It tumbles down the wall from our neighbour's garden


Snippet with Fernworthy Reservoir behind



Favourite pastime 

You may have noticed my hastily cobbled together thing in the sidebar about pet portraits. I drew the lovely John Grey's dogs recently ( http://disasterfilm.blogspot.co.uk/ ) and he has framed them and put them on his blog with a link to here so I thought I'd better get myself organised in case anyone flew over to place an order. Nothing yet! Never mind; maybe one day. Now that John has published them, my next post will be one of those progress-through-a-drawing ones. 

Thanks so much to all of you who left birthday greetings in the comments. It was very, very much appreciated. Until next time, here's the lonely one, soon to be less so I hope. 




20 comments:

  1. Hi Em, I saw your art on John Grey's blog, and thought it was just fabulous! So now I'm your newest follower.

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  2. I loved the drawings of furry enchantment you made for John. They are gorgeous - and very obviously cherished.
    I hope Snippet (and you) find a companion soon.

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  3. Love the nuthatch, we've just been watching one feed on some fat balls at my brothers place. How lovely if you could snap the babies learning to fly.

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  4. Terry - Lovely to have you and I'm glad you like them!

    EC - I'm working on the companion....internet trawling!

    Kath - The last time the babies emerged (last year), Snippet nearly got one, so I missed the whole thing. That's terriers I suppose.

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  5. Loved the pet portrait :) You are very talented :)

    Had to smile at the robin and vole story. The robin looks very disgruntled in the last photo :)

    Some lovely photos of Dartmoor and Snippet. Do hope you find a companion for him soon.

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  6. Beautiful photos, captured the moor at it's finest, Spring is just starting to show!

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  7. Sorry you missed the Border terrier Em - I adore my Tess and would dearly love a companion for her, but I feel I should have got one before she was a four year old only one.

    I am now going to search for that pet portrait on John's iste - being away on holiday I have missed so much and have a lot of catching up to do.

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  8. You are far more adept at using your camera's 'zoom' feature than I am. Landscapes look fine, but if my zoom photos involve a bird or animal they look fuzzy.

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  9. RR - It's proving very difficult to find anything but a puppy, which wouldn't be old enough to travel to the South East with us in August. Complicated!

    3M's - Only just! I wonder if it's the same over your way?

    Weaver - I thought I hadn't seen you in the sidebar recently. Hope you had a lovely time and I'll catch up with you later....

    MM - They are fuzzy two thirds of the time I would say. Thank goodness for the throwaway culture of digital photography. It took me ages to get out of the habit of being careful with each shot. I take as many as possible now in case of the dreaded fuzziness!

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  10. I followed the link and I love your drawings of the dogs. Terrific photos, too - the robin/vole encounter is wonderful. Sorry to hear about the missed Border Terrier; as I adore my own BT I can recommend them. Hope all goes well now with finding a new companion for Snippet.

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  11. Thanks Wendy; nice to hear how much you like your BT. I know a very aggressive male but he's not been neutered which is probably why. Horrid dog! Another we know is one of Snippet's favourite friends so there you are.

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  12. We have all sorts of fledglings appearing now. Unfortunately with all the wet weather the bug population is horrid, especially the mites that infest the nests. Many adult birds and fledglings are missing feathers and in some cases the mites kill the babies in the nest.

    I think it's a wonderful idea to get a companion for Snippet. I've always thought cats and dogs do better with a companion instead of being alone. The last photo of Snippet is wonderful!

    I love the quality of light and fresh green of early spring!

    Will have to look up John Grey's blog...

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  13. The midges are awful here when I go and feed Trigger and there's no wind to blow them away. I'm covered in bites but they're not going to kill me like your mites with the birds - awful!

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  14. I think one of those ice dumps you saw hit us..

    Exciting news re companion dog.. really good luck with that!

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  15. Good luck with finding that new addition--I can promise you that you'll know when you find that right one, and it'll be worth the wait!

    Second, your photos of the Robin and vole are just amazing, as were your portraits that you did for John--You are a very talented lady, and I envy being able to draw anything!!!

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  16. Rusty D - The dog thing is proving a lot more difficult than I'd expected!

    Kim - I know - I just have to be patient and wait for the right one. It would be very tempting to just rush out and get a puppy; there are lots of them about.

    I do love the blog network and the way we're all connected. I've met some such lovely people. I really must do something about the font size on the pet portrait thing....done in haste and it's a bit too BIG!

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  17. Your artwork really is beautiful Em, I do wish I had talent like that! Sorry you missed out on the dog you had your heart set on, such a disappointment. Snippet does look like he's enjoying life though and no wonder with so much to explore there.

    That was quite an encounter between the vole and the Robin, well done on capturing it on camera, the Robin did look rather perturbed :-)

    I'm still very envious about your Nuthatches, great photo too!

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  18. The Nuthatches give me more pleasure than any of the other birds. They're so cheeky and fearless with their burglar's mask. I do hope I manage to photograph the chicks this year.

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  19. Good day Em, Your photos of the Robin are lovely although it is somewhat different in appearance from our american robin.
    thank you for your lovely note on my blog and thank you for becoming a follower. My task today is to revisit a Mayflower patch to check and see if they still hold their beautiful fragrance; This I will do in answer of a request from another nature lover with a query about the fragrance of these wildflowers this spring. I have bookmarked your blog and shall enjoy following up on your daily posts.
    Ann, drom across the big pond

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  20. Lovely to hear from you Ann. I'll be back to visit you again very soon too!

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