assisting with time-lapse

After a swim on the beach at North Head, and a roll in some seed-strewn grass, Allez! assists by drying off in the breeze. Apparently she needed a bath after jumping into a water-trough to cool off after some energetic stick retrieval in Cornwall Park mid-week. We'll see whether this new perfume is acceptable.

Probably not.


Watch the port cranes ... I didn't seem them move in "real-time":


time-lapse of Auckland from North Head


This is my 2nd attempt at time-lapse (the first being in Cornwall Park - close to a water-trough, earlier this week!) The photos were taken every 15 secs. I was there for a while, which gave me time to pick out the grass seeds from Her Ladyship's coat.


Low-res photo taken on my cellphone.

In the sea at Achilles Point

It being sprint tides, and Spring ... 

The weather's not been great this week, even although the evenings are much lighter. Some exercise was called for.


It took Allez! a year or so until she was confidently swimming and retrieving sticks. Here she's returning from a stick-thrown-too-far, so she couldn't find it. However, she knew I had one in reserve ...

Rangitoto in the background

moose-ears

more moose-ears

Achilles Point is named after HMS Achilles, to commemorate the 1939 sea Battle of the River Plate, where the New Zealand-crewed Achilles engaged with other allied vessels to defeat the German cruiser Graf Spee. Further along is Ladies Bay, named after Lady Grey, the wife of George Grey, an early Governor of New Zealand. At Karaka Bay (where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840) you can walk up to Riddell Road to return along the road on the top of the cliff.


These stony beaches along the base of the cliff from Achilles Point to Karaka Bay are a well-known haunt for nudists, principally men.


Thank goodness it started to rain.

Digby's Weekend Retreat

Phil and Belinda went down to Wellington this weekend to see their daughter, and we're delighted to puppy-sit the 11-week old Digby (who we had nicknamed The Smooth Haired Boy).

His favourite toy only lasted a few minutes before losing all its stuffing in a game of tug-of-war with his mother.

perhaps you have this to look forward to!

 

This was us, this evening: Waiatarua.

There's an art to walking an inside-the-house dog: first, get them running, and hot; then go past the muddy parts, and then to the cleaner water. Allow time to roll in dry grass & drip-dry before home.

After the cleansing mud of Waiatarua (so good for post-natal wrinkles!) I usually put Allez! in the shower. Whilst she's there, I try to brush out the tangles, grass and mud with an old hairbrush.

Bye, Pups!

The White One, just before she left ... she may be called Molly, apparently!

We'd appreciate photos of the pups as they grow, so we can all see them change into young dogs. After all, this above is  quite some change from this (25th August):

and this (21st August):

As we didn't keep a pup this time, we're planning on Allez! having another litter in a year or so.


We'd love to see how the pups develop and to hear whether they're retrievers and swimmers! Other families would love to see how the brother and sister pups grow and develop.

a sleep before the RWC Final

The White One is the only one left with us, and leaves tomorrow.


That means she's on the sofa with me this evening.

in the sun after a bath

These were taken on the morning three pups were being collected. Ruby ("Big Girl") and George ("Harry Potter") had already left during the week.


So, "The Smooth-Haired Boy" - now Digby, Maggie neé "White Paws", and Roxie aka "The Feisty Wee One", and "The White One" had a bath. Here they here they are (after a towelling) sunning themselves. 


It's odd to reflect that their new owners have what they think is a puppy ... but, having seen them grow from day to day over nine weeks, to us they're now quite big dogs!