Inspired by my good friend Soize's occasional series featuring her fabulous boxer dog 'C'est lundi, c'est Gauffrette', another (nearly) alliterative prompt to make for a quick and easy post every week; I shall aim, each Friday, to post a picture or pictures here of our darling Elfie.
Elfie went for her first off-leash walk on the beach yesterday, or the tidal flats of the bay of St Brieuc rather. I have no photos of this because I didn't take the camera and anyway was too busy trying to forestall her chasing the horses and sulky carts, fairly successfully, and terrorising the wildlife, less successfully. There wasn't very much of the latter at low tide in November, and for quite a while cheese was more attractive than birds, but on the second passing of a couple of foraging egrets in a tidal pool in the far distance she couldn't help herself, and became a deaf and faraway dot for several minutes while the egrets flapped and squawked around her head. Not the most relaxing walk really, but long and bracing and she didn't half get a good tiring run out of it. She returned to the car filthy, bedraggled and smelling like a not very nice rock pool, and I expected to have to wash her down before letting her into the house, but half an hour on a thick fleece blanket in the back of the car and she emerged clean as a whistle. Her coat is remarkable like that, soft and silky but very resilient and low maintenance, shrugs off dirt and moisture, and hardly ever knots or tangles. Sheds like mad, mind, fine stuff. After fourteen years of collecting dark clothing that wouldn't show Molly's black hair, I suppose I'll now have to change my wardrobe for cream, beige and ginger shades. Lovely.
Here's a picture of her enjoying a patch of sun. We do love her.
8 comments:
Nothing as lovely as giving a friend exactly what she needs, and loves.
Elfie is a fine member of your family.
Beautiful Elfie.
I am hoping a dog will find me soonish, because I am now talking to the magpies (that come to the kitchen door for breakfast)just as i used to talk to Bryn!
Love HHB
A self-cleaning dog - one thing the world truly needs.
In America a friend demonstrated his self-cleaning oven: he closed the door, switched a special switch, and for an hour the appliance consumed thousands if not millions of watts. When the door was cool enough to open we saw that the smeary, sticky coating on the interior walls had been transformed into a single curl of ash, centrally and artistically presented. The oven was truly clean. VR, who has always regarded oven-cleaning as the worst job ever, was preternaturally quiet and I suppose I was too. But we didn't have the money.
And in any case there was a sense of over-kill - all one needed was lots of power.
Elfie, on the other hand, is just back from the land of fairies.
I found, with German Shepherds, though they enjoyed sea frolics, the salt water caused skin complaints if they were not washed in fresh water soon afterwards. Hence I never let them "sea bathe".
I see my daughter HHB is hoping a dog soon finds her again. I knew it would not be for ever that they were without one.
sweet little elfin face!
Thanks people.
Z - she was tired for a couple of days afterwards, but there's something satisfying about tiring out a dog!
Cat - she is the apple of our eye!
HHB - I hope so too.
Robbie - the blanket needed a good shake out mind. I tend to the view that oven black is baked on and must therefore be sterile and harmless. I never saw the need to look through the glass front anyway, guesswork and opening the door is just as good. Elfie is sometimes more of an imp than an elf!
Avus - Elfie's not a great water dog happily - she's enough of a headache without worrying if she'll drown into the bargain! A friend who had a Finnish spitz said she always had to wash his feet or he got problems with his pads.
PC - hasn't she!
O! Sending her fur ruffles!!
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