Friday, April 26, 2013

Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark.






20 days with Bob and Sophie. The geography of their imagination stretching by the day. The house now, very obviously,  a dog house. Any flower that dares to bloom is quickly cut and put in a vase by ' the font ' before its either trampled into the ground or gnawed from its stem. A holding pen by the front door. Dog towels stowed on an armchair in readiness for a wet day. Water bowls serving as an obstacle course for the unwary. The out of bounds area where the gardener has piled up the  grass cuttings four feet high their idea of heaven.Nothing tastes as good as fermenting grass.

A routine. To bed at nine, up at six thirty. In between deep, untroubled puppy sleep. Breakfast at seven, dinner at five. When it comes to kibbles Sophie's a shoveler, Bob a pacer. Eat, pace, eat,  pace. 

Training going slowly . ' Sit ' taken on board and registered  but ' stay '  only understood until you're four paces away then a mad , paws falling over paws, dash forward. Those ' have you missed me ? ' looks of delight.

Sophie's horrid habit almost dealt with by the use of a water pistol as aversion therapy. It works brilliantly until the little angel decides that being squirted with water is a great game. Sophie now , when over excited, gently nipping with those tiny pirana teeth. Bob's thankfully navigated through that stage. 

None of the rivers we've lived by make a noise. The Thames, the Potomac, the Dee all flow on silently , but here the little stream at the foot of the cherry orchard has delusions of grandeur . It roars and crashes , trumpet tongued,  as it heads to the ocean. Pebbles and stones and logs constantly tumbling and chinking over one another . The six inch waterfall where the heron lives thundering like a miniature Niagara the sound carrying all the way up to the church.  An early morning walk with  dogs makes you notice the most unexpected things.

17 comments:

JacksDad said...

I tripped over a water dish the other night. You would have thought the water line into the house had burst!

Hildred said...

Your posts are so delightful. Sophie and Bob are so delightful, but how do they get away with doing THAT to the flower beds (a few posts back) - is that a little island of day lilies they are romping in!!! Oh, Iknow, - how can you help but bee indulgent....

WFT Nobby said...

Delightful description of daily life in the doghouse. (When did that ever come to mean a bad place to be?)
Cheers, Gail.

Anonymous said...

Sounds perfect.
Bob and Sophie, so precious.
X

The Black and Tans. said...

Never a dull moment with one puppy but with two how do manage to get anything done?

Have a good weekend.

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Ah puppies. They'll grow all too quickly.

XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

VirginiaC said...

With so much love surrounding them, Bob and Sophie are moving right along in a delightful way.
Sophie's excitable nipping will taper off soon, she's just living an excitable life right now.
More cute videos to liven up my day...thank you, thank you.
I'm loving every one of these photos, how do you and the Font choose your favourites? A photo collage may be in order.
Loved your beautiful description of the little stream that could.

Whispering Walls said...

What fun!

houndstooth said...

I can't imagine a better place for a puppy to grow up than at your house! It's funny how quickly they insert themselves into our lives. :)

Angus said...

Hi Houndstooth - Is that insert as in 'take over ? '

Jake of Florida said...

My PONder for the last 20 days: what/who is the inspiration for each post's intriguing caption?

As for your grass-gnawing gourmets, for 11 plus years now, Jakey nibbles the irresistible stuff, only to whoops it up a fee seconds later. No learning curve at all!

Anonymous said...

So cute and I bet you feel like this is one of the happiest moments of your lives--thus far. Ah the towels at the ready, puppy proofing the house and being on full alert to avoid puppy misbehavior. Tiring at times but then you look at those cute faces and it all is worthwhile and then some.

Anonymous said...

O the noises of the stream make me want to see it.

tammy j said...

aren't you glad you got them both? can't imagine now ~ one without the other. they are so inseparable yet with their own little personalities quite visible.
thank you thank you thank you for the videos. who knew a few seconds could make such a difference in my day!
hugs! to all four. i'm afraid i'd be right down there with them rolling in the grass. irresistible!

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

This post has my heart singing! Well, except for the sharp pirana teeth and the unmentionable habit (our Willow shares this bad habit)...what beautiful walks and wanders you all will share....

Unknown said...

I spied Sophie's eye in the first photo! Charming...completely understand the dog house transformation.

Robin Larkspur said...

Dear Angus and Madame "the font"! I have been a long-time follower and was so looking forward to the arrival of Bob and Sophie! Unfortunately I have missed all these wonderful posts and am just now catching up due to my husband's terrible illness and two surgeries over the months of March and April. So I have spent some time this evening enjoying the delightful stories of your two "angels" and their (mis)adventures. Sophie certainly had us all fooled back when she was at the farm....pretending to be shy and quiet. Your videos are super and it is fun to see how these two puppies are thriving and going full throttle through the Rickety Old Farmhouse. I wish you both good luck during these hectic days of puppyhood. They must be a true joy. Bright blessings from Robin.