Monday, July 20, 2020

Theatrical.

The sun is barely up but the air's already warm. Time for a Polish Lowland Sheepdog girl to have a long walk before the tarmac gets too hot for sensitive paws.


Sophie has a leisurely drink, fishes for minnows then stares at the dragonflies.  Engrossed in minnow fishing she's absent mindedly crossed over to the other side of the stream. There is a 'diva moment' when she understands that we're separated.  Angus is given an unmistakable ' What sort of dog owner are you ?'  look. She is encouraged back across the trickle of  water that passes for the stream. I point out that she's barely getting her paws wet. Sophie makes it clear her owner needs to take a cognitive test. She also makes it clear that she's not sure he'd pass.


The family divas theatrical barking has attracted the young cows. They rush across the field and stand by the fence looking at us. Sophie quickly positions herself behind Angus's legs. From this position she glares at them


We head off at super quick speed through the sunflower fields back to the safety of the car.

After that a shared croissant and a bowl of water are needed to restore some equanimity to the day.


Todays croissant a 7/10. Tastes good, looks good but the dough is heavy, borderline soggy.  We are the only patrons which enables the waitress to hold a rather one sided conversation with my shaggy companion. After the traumas of being approached by a herd of cows Sophie is focused on the croissant ends. Conversations can wait. The waitress is ignored.


So starts a Monday morning in deepest deepest France profonde.


Parrot breeding is a cut and thrust world : https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2020/the-parrot-king


8 comments:

Lisa in France said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lisa in France said...

I guess I sent a reply before your posted the parrot link. What a nightmare to read it! We have had parrots and parakeets for thirty years, and I am quite sure they should all be left alone, given how smart and how fragile they are. We currently have three, a 29-year old Pionus parrot, a 23-year old cockatiel and an almost 7-year old African Grey. The Pionus is from a California breeder, and the Grey from a huge breeding facility in the Philippines - we have no idea about the cockatiel. We previously had two remarkable grey-cheeked parakeets, who we were horrified to learn had been born in the wild in Peru. They cannot be bred domestically and disappeared from the market when the laws changed to prohibit wild capture - although there is a large wild flock in LA. I feel guilty about the Grey, who joined us years after we had sworn "never again," when she latched onto my husband as a six-month old chick and more or less demanded that he take her home - sort of a parrot version of the PON bark. I do understand the fascination, but . . .

WFT Nobby said...

Bertie would like to point out to Angus that if he believes the raging torrent shown in your photo is a mere "trickle" then he should be prepared to put down his camera, wade across and rescue the damsel in distress.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
...oooohhh the sunflowers...(way better than soggy croissants) YAM xx

Sheila said...

In recent photos Sophie does appear to have a certain bounce in her step. Attributable to her summer diet perhaps?

Angus said...

The loss of 3 kilos has done her a world of good. She's now trying to put it back on again.

Coppa's girl said...

What a treat to see the sunflowers - they are stunning, and look almost too good to be real!
Poor Sophie, marooned across the raging torrent, then having the cows undivided attention, and to make matters even worse a 7/10 croissant - not a brilliant start to the week. Things can only get better!

Stephanie said...

Sophie is looking in fine form. I look forward to your sunflowers each summer . . . can another year have gone by? Speaking of which, may I wish you an early happy birthday, Angus? Though not so many hours distant by your clock. May it be a truly good year for you and all at the Rickety Old Farmhouse!