Look what we found in the garden

Well, Barney found it actually- it must have prickled his nose because he was standing barking at it!

We had to move it so Barney didn't try using it as a new toy!

Is Spring finally here?

All the signs would suggest so. The first daffodil has come into flower in the garden, buds on the trees are starting to break, frogspawn has appeared in the pond and the sun is shining. I had a lovely walk across the fields with Barney this afternoon (thankfully I did not have to extract a semi-disembowelled rabbit from his jaws today) and watched as five buzzards soared around overhead. I wish I had had my camera with me. Back in the garden the birds were singing and I caught this robin chirping away in the trees.

A couple more photos....

.... and a few more here.

Helping in the garden

Barney took advantage of the strong winds last weekend and collected up all the fallen branches in the garden. More here.

A few more Barney photos

Three months old and growing rapidly!

Barney loves collecting sticks

In a bit of a tangle

Preparing for take-off!

"Where have all those pansies gone?"

"They have to be here somewhere"

A spot of pond dipping

Hiding

The post with no name

How has your weekend been. Mine's been fairly relaxing, apart from having to do the housework and chase Barney round the garden a few hundred times (and fish him out of the pond a couple of times too).

I had my friends over on Saturday. It all started so civilised, I had even baked cakes for the occasion...then Barney decided to make an entrance. Within the space of 30 seconds he had caused absolute chaos, weeing on my friend's foot (fortunately he saw the funny side!) and then tipping over a vase of lilies that were on my hearth- it took me quite a while to remove the orange pollen stains from my pale coloured carpet. Fortunately, Barney redeemed himself the next day, after his disgraceful(!) behaviour, by being impecably well-behaved on his first walk. I'm sure it won't last!

Today, I've been for a walk and nearly got stampeded by a flock of sheep. I decided against walking through the field of cows.

Just before their friends decided to stampede

Safely on the other side of the fence

I have a busy week at work ahead. Last week I took a group of 30 disabled children and young people to Camelot Theme Park, trained a group of volunteers, learned how to change a colostomy and urostomy bag (not my own I hasten to add), and got asked out by a lecherous coach-driver...let's see if this week can be any more bizarre.

Barney's getting bigger...and cheekier!

I can't believe we've had Barney for four weeks already, the time has flown by. He's grown so much in a month and he's starting to get very adventurous (= wayward). His favourite pastimes are getting wet and muddy, squashing and eating the plants in the garden, and getting himself stuck in places he shouldn't go. He is very cute though. He's had his first visit to the vet for his vaccinations and his second one to look forward to this coming week...then, the real fun begins, training him on his lead! He's been for a few walks on it round the drive and has done fairly well, though his tendency to lie down every few yards is probably not such a good idea once he is out in the lane! Here are a few more photos of him.

He loves his plant pot....

...and rolling on the grass (though mud is even better!)

"Ooh, I spy the pot of pansies...can I get there before they stop me?"

"Ner ner, got there first!"

Butter wouldn't melt

Barney loves Gladys the elephant....

...but not quite as much as he loves digging...

...and eventually, he runs out of steam!

Barney Trubble

Puppy day finally arrived on Saturday. I've been like a child waiting for Christmas for the last few weeks so everyone will be relieved that I am no longer going to give them a day by day countdown! We eventually decided to call him Barney and he is absolutely gorgeous, though just a little mischievous. He's already tried to take a dip in the pond, has taken the heads off most of the pansies and tries to eat anything in sight (he sampled l'escargots for supper yesterday!). He is so much like our last dog, Sam; his personality seems very similar so I think we have another cheeky one. Here are a few photos.

Barney likes pulling the heads off the pansies

...and scrabbling in the soil

Zonked!