The temperature nudging up towards 30 degrees. These late May mornings have that perfect combination of sunshine, gentle warmth and even gentler breeze. As we head out of the front door it's clear that Sophie has had one of those nights. Her hair has developed a life of its own.
She heads over to the pool to demonstrate that there is nothing as refreshing as the three day old rainwater on the pool cover. To get to it she adopts a less than ladylike pose.
By the time we're ready to set off on our morning walk her coat has settled into a less 'rescue dog' shape. The power of gravity.
The Volvo garage has supplied a courtesy car. You'd think all Volvos would be spacious on the inside. This isn't true. We decide this one must be made for svelte twenty something contortionists.
I show the bee orchids on the village green to the old mayor. He says the hedgerows were full of them before the late unpleasantness. The 'late unpleasantness' he's referring to is the German invasion in 1940. The last time I'd heard this term was more than forty years ago in the Piedmont Drive in Club in Atlanta when a very grand southern lady used it to describe the ' war between the states'.
Sophie takes a very dim view of this : https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-dog-herd-sheep-new-zealand
9 comments:
I totally agree with Sophie about the robot dog. And I think she looks lovely. Tomorrow Cherry will visit the groomer's for a very close clip, and I will miss all that messiness for the next few months. A certain amount of messiness becomes a PON.
I believe in rural New Zealand the use of drones to spray weeds (especially gorse and thistles, introduced by 19C settlers to bring a bit of home to a new colony) and potentially herd sheep are more viable methods than robotic dogs. Most New Zealand farmers are rather fond of their "Huntaway dogs", and would not consider replacing them with this new technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntaway
I'm curious to know by what mechanism the invading Germans are supposed to have eliminated the bee orchids. More likely the indiscriminate use of agricultural chemicals in the 1950s?
I love the picture of Sophie. Very photogenic today.
There is something a bit creepy about the robotic dogs - I think they remind me of the aliens in the War of the Worlds movie. Maybe if they looked shaggy and cuddly like Sophie they would be more acceptable.
Hari OM
Yeah... no... you can't get all snuggly with a metal dog and most farmers like that post work mateship. Having recently watched the latest version of Call Of The Wild (Harrison Ford), where all the animals are digital versions, I can tell you, there is NOTHING like the real thing! YAM xx
Pictures of Sophie make me smile every morning---she does the ' bed head look ' better than anyone. In New Orleans we always referred to it as " The Recent Unpleasantness", but I suppose Atlanta had to have its own version. (My memories of the Piedmont Driving Club would allow for their having their own term for the exclusive use of the club.)
How I identify with "her hair has developed a life of its own." Actually I think Sophie is looking quite presentable in the third picture. Pictures of the family princess are always delightful, no matter. What a character she is!
Can't picture THAT replacing the owner/dog relationship!
While C-A-Ts might not appreciate it, you will certainly agree with Kiwi sheep farmers that your dogs are your best friends. F had a few over the years (and notes that as a kid nodding thistles had to be 'grubbed' by hand on their farm). Her father loved his heading dogs; nothing could have replaced those.
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