Back for the holidays

We have our very own special Christmas BEAR this year - Lir is back!!! He will be vacationing with us till the beginning of January :) He was really happy to see us and cuddled with us straight away. It is so wonderful when you see one of your foster dogs again after such a long time and they still remember you as fondly as you do them. It's wonderful to have my Kuma-chan back :) Of course, Careto is not amused LOL And of course as soon as he got inside, he lay down on the very spot he always slept on while he was still a foster dog :)

A new house guest

Since Thursday we have a new house guest ... Mihal, a 4 yrs. old rough coated Podengo Portugues. All his life he was chained and neglected. He is shy, gentle and a beautiful soul. I cannot understand how anyone would be so cruel to chain him and then forget to feed him. He is painfully under weight, even for a Spanish hunting dog, and he doesn't know anything other than the things he has learned until now since he has been released from the chain. He is a such a sweet boy.

Happy Midsummer . Solstice

The most amazing thing

Remember Sammy, our zombie dog? Well after she had to be sheared completely due to demodex, her coat slowly but surely came back and better than ever. Usually in the evening we go for a walk with the rest of the pack and Sammy has to stay in the garden where she howls and whines like something awful is happening to her. Yesterday was the same and we were halfway on our tour when suddenly there was this little brown-black dog running full speed after us. I said, Oh no this is Sammy, and His Hubbiness™ said, no way ... but yes it was Sammy. What now? She doesn't wear either harness or collar and we cannot touch her (even if we would catch her). She surprised and amazed us by coming up to us, licking Careto's snout and taking the walk with us. So after a less than peaceful night where we discussed how to commence now, we decided that we will take her on walks with us from now on when we go out at the back of the garden. If she wanted to run away, she would have yesterday; so today, we went out on the fields and she amazed us with running along with us and returning with us safely after almost an hour. moment of truth ... she gets out of our garden gate

Paradise ahead

This past long weekend (it was Whitsun after all) we had the most amazing weather ... blue skies, fluffy white clouds and sun the whole weekend long. Plants, animals and men had a good time.



The wheat fields are wonderful and while the rapeseed fields have already lost their golden yellow flowers, the fields and meadows around here still look amazing. I can't wait till the wheat fields turn golden from all the good crops.



The garden is also in full bloom ...
wild camomille


The newly pruned brambleberry hedge


Evening sun over our village


Sunday we went to a nearby castle where I encountered this!!!

An Aston Morris Minor Traveller!!!! Oh I love thos cars and once we have enough money we will buy one like this as my very own little country runner ... this or a Volvo Amazone :D

Afterwards our dogs chilled out and we spent the rest of the day in our back garden






Only to call it a day with a small turn around the fields in the evening


On Monday as I still had to prepare some stuff for the time I'm away in the hospital (like sewing pyjama bottoms for me), we spent at home and we took turns taking photographs of our flowers LOL
Our rambling rose which still needs to find the right spot to grow


last year this lupine was massacred by the chickens but this year it came out beautifully


close-up


The puffy wild roses in our yard


And of course the first peony which incidentally is called Whitsun Rose here in Germany


and last but not least ... sewing!

Photo taken by hubby And to wrap it all up it was wonderful to talk to little_witch27 again over the phone. Thank you for being such a good friend, sis :)

House guests

Humpelchen is our house guest again ... she resides in the hall in a big saw dust filled plastic bowl :)

Another wonderful surprise is that Lir's owners asked if he can spend holiday times with us. They will be in the South of France for two weeks and don't want him to endure the long car ride (Lir now Sasha hates car driving). So my little bear will be here for two weeks and can run around with our dog pack.

In other good news, my vegetable garden is growing and growing .. we already harvested the first red radishes and apart from the wild garlic everything is growing extremely well. Pictures will follow :)

Sad and happy times

Lir is gone. His new family just picked him up and he is already half way to his new home in the Netherlands. This bear-like dog charmer really broke my heart, so much so that I don't want to have any foster dogs for the forseeable future. I just need a break from fostering.

Good luck, Lir, your new family is wonderful and now you can be Dog #1 without pesky little girls like Chandi and Lulu!! :D

Happy belated Easter every one.

Even though I do not participate in the whole religious shebang that surrounds Easter (I was born Roman-Catholic, enough said), this Easter was fully packed with cooking, visiting, entertaining, being entertained and cooling my right hand because of burns.

But first things first. On Thursday night, when I was preparing dinner I burnt my right hand with hot burning oil. Instant vesicles :( But I got some good salve at home and during the night the pain also subsided. Then on Good Friday we were invited, so no serious cooking for me though I had volunteered for dessert. Saturday my mom in law came to visit us and I baked a cake and in the evening a whole chicken for four (a friend came by and was instantly invited as well). Sunday we had brunch at our home and I had to bake bread, make a potatoe salad and other stuff. Monday ... a little brunch for two friends with kosher cooking.

Soooo .. even though I didn't do the family thing, we had a fully packed Easter and right now, this very minute, is the first time I sit in front of the computer and have some time to myself all alone (well, alone being relative as three dogs surround my computer in various states of reclining, dozing and sleeping). I think I will take a nap after I have stored away the grocery stuff. I need a break from the past few days :)

You are my sunshine ...

We had wonderful spring weather the last couple of days and the dogs held siesta in the sun and Sammy found a new favourite spot ... His Hubbiness™' lounger.

Happy belated Spring Equinox!!!

Have been working in the garden yesterday all day that I forgot it's Spring Equinox already!! We have the most amazing (and most welcomed) sunshine for the last two days and it looks like we will have some more today. The ground is still wet and cold but working in the sun already works up a wee bit of sweat and it is just wonderful to feel the sun on one's back and neck while weeding and getting the hedge cuttings. My strawberry seedlings have grown so strong that I think they can go into the ground now - I just need to remind myself to cover them up during the night.

5 dogs and a duck

It is amazing how peaceful and quiet life with so many different animals is. Five dogs and none has reacted to Humpelchen (our duck) other than a feathery friend. Other dogs would have seen it as prey, but not our five idiots LOL

Duck surprise

One of our ducks is sick and we have yet another feathered guest living with us in the house again.

And our dogs are so cool with it, they even ignore her (most of the time, but for Lulu stealing the lettuce).

Christmas caroling

'This life is not a dress rehearsal, it is our chance to live in beauty.'
Venetia Stanley-Smith

His Hubbiness™ took some photographs at the Christmas Eve caroling. It was one of those rare moments where I didn't look like an old fat hag but like a young one LOL
I thought I'd share the two pics, His Hubbiness™ took :)

Happy New Year :)

I hope you all had a Merry CHristmas and a Happy New Year!!!

We spent our New Year (and Christmas) with new good friends and our dogs were really relaxed and even Chandini didn't panic when the fireworks went off.

We spent the whole evening and night eating Raclette! YUM!!