Our first rain free morning in what seems like forever.
The village green is usually parched by this time of the year but after a month of storms the grass is Irish green and the tamarisk shrubs sparkling with dew.
This morning Sophie walks off the lead. Bob is on it.
The wild boar aren't far away. The ground has been pawed over. Sophie has enough sense to recognize and avoid danger. Bob doesn't. This is why he's shackled. Not that he's bothered. He's out on an adventure with his flock. He trots ahead happily with a spring in his step. Donkeys, cows and goats are all inspected. The three of us sit on the concrete storm drain and put the world to rights.
As we head back home along the lane we meet two couples from Lyon heading in the other direction. They're wearing those clear plastic rain capes. One of them greets Bob. ''Bonjour Guinefort". A name I'd not heard before. It seems that Guinefort is the name of a Lyonnais Saint. A dog wrongfully killed for the death of a baby he had really been trying to save. St.Guinefort is an old assertion of the special links between shepherds and dogs - something readers of this blog will understand and others won't. This piece of information about a dog Saint is somehow both touching and unexpected. I'd never heard of an animal being so honoured.
'The Font' , remembering the family divas devouring of an entire caulflower and a half kilo of broccoli, volunteers that Sophie is a most unlikely candidate for sainthood. Courtesy of Google here's the full story :http://mentalfloss.com/article/91855/st-guinefort-dog-venerated-saint
This says a lot about life : https://twitter.com/invisibleman_17/status/1006781780060405760
11 comments:
"Bonjour Guinefort". What a lovely story. Bertie now thinks terriers should have a saint too.
The (much needed) rain finally arrived in Aberdeen 4pm yesterday.
Did the rain and wind arrive together ?
So, Aug. 22 is St. Guinefort day. I wonder whether it will be announced on the weather report?
The wind came later, but is now strong enough to deter me from riding my bicycle to the office!
Sounds suspiciously like the legend of Beddgelert (grave of Gelert) in North Wales. A medieval
dog wrongly killed when protecting a young child then buried with full honours. The story was said to be made up by the village elders to attract victorian tourists. Perhaps every country has one
Thank you for those two heart warming stories, Angus.
How lush and green everywhere around the ROF looks after the rain. We had a storm earlier in the week and it has deposited sand everywhere, which seems to have a viscous quality and very difficult to clean up, even with a pressure washer.
Hari OM
Lovely tale of those with 'tails'... It's galeforcing here but no rain at the moment. Hector it's called... YAM xx
Thank you Angus! To the Font: I once had a houseful of family in for Thanksgiving & our Golden Retriever was found on the counter licking the turkey that was resting before presentation. My family was gagging and I was so embarrassed.
The same hooligan once "helped" while I unloaded the groceries into the house by taking a 12 pack of paper towels out of the back of the car and taking them into the pond with her. Both dog and towels were sodden.
Another of our dogs liberated a block of pepperjack cheese out of the back of the car and before I noticed the cheese was "lost", I noticed Hannah tearing into the cheese with a big swollen face. The vet was phoned....
At least Sophie had a healthy binge, the little devil!
Pam in NH
The video of the chimp is amazing.
The world may need you in London, Angus, but we need you here!
We take some solace in the fact that things could be even more fraught
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