dogs
one for the dog lovers
One for the dog lovers. My dog Ming is the elderly honey coloured shitzu who is insisting on a short break on one of our bush walks. His blue grey friend is the young gun Benson, a poodle who has taken to living on a bush block with glee, he doesn’t like to sit still for too long with so many things to chase and check out and was trying to get Ming up and going by running circles around him.
Ming’s smell fest
My dog Ming just loved the southerly that whipped up all the delicious animal and nature smells from the nearby nature reserve. He spent hours sitting on the deck, his coat flying, his nose twitching in delight at the smell fest on offer and interspersed smelling with licking his nose to keep it fresh, much like we eat sorbet between meals to freshen the pallette! 
Shit-zu’s come from China and originally only the royal family were allowed to own them, the honey-coloured shit-zu’s (like Ming) were the most prized. When I adopted him he was a chocolate brown ball that could sit cupped in my hands. He is now 10 1/2 and a sturdy, barrel chested little guy with a friendly, chilled out nature. I called him Ming because the Ming dynasty is reknown for its beautiful works of art and he is a little masterpiece.
what love will do
A couple of weeks ago my flatmate’s dog Trixie was unwell and we feared the worst. When she got back from the vets I was heading out to take my own dog to the beach and even though she was obviously not great she really wanted to come with us … . At first I was in two minds as to what was the best thing for her and this led me to write a post about love called is this love?
Two weeks have wrought a remarkable change. She’s taken her medicine, woofed down her raw food diet and slept a lot on my bed. At the leash free beach today the sun was warm, the waves were gentle and the dogs got all excited sensing the approach of spring. Trixie is a maltese and when she gets going she can literally run circles around my dog Ming who is a shitz-tu.
I knew she was going to be ok when she took off leading Ming into the waves then bouncing like a spring lamb out of the water where she raced Ming round and round. Not a bad comeback for an old girl with a bunch of stitches in her neck. Its amazing what love will do.
is this love?
I have 1.5 dogs … that is one that is mine and one that officially belongs to my housemate but who adopts me the moment I’m around. She used to be my dog so I guess that explains it, or maybe she just likes hanging out with another female or maybe she remembers it was me who taught her to trust humans again after rescuing her from a house of abuse … whatever the reason she likes to sneak up onto my bed at night and curl up close.
She is getting on in age and last night she was unwell so I kept waking up to check on her… animals get under my skin, they seem so trusting and reliant on the kindness of humans and I feel the weight of that responsibility keenly.
When she returned from the vet (pumped with drugs) my own dog and I were heading off to the beach for a walk and she so wanted to come I put on her coat and let her … after all when I’m not going so well one day I don’t wont someone to tell me I can’t go and enjoy the great outdoors just so they can keep me alive a few more days in some indoor cage.
That’s one of the dilemmas people face isn’t it … can interfering be love? … can dictating to someone else ever be love?
Well Trixie-Pixie had a quiet day after her little outing and is much better tonight though there is a bit of a journey ahead. She gave me a deep and meaningful look when we got home, she seemed to say thank you for letting me put my paws in the sand, thank you for letting me watch the gulls wheel and breath in the salty air, thank you for love.
m.
margosnotebook 
the south coast (NSW)
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I have travelled in Asia and North America and loved every minute of it but my bucket list now includes more of Australia. This year I have been down to Bega on the New South Wales south coast,
a lovely oasis where old-fashioned single lane roads weave around headlands and through small villages.
Referred to as the Sapphire Coast it is a continuous panorama of rocky coastal headlands, rainforests, bird filled lagoons and camping grounds perched on river inlets and hidden away in isolated hamlets.
There is something about the camaraderie of camping grounds that I really enjoy.
Though I was staying with an old friend in his home at Dalmeny, we visited his brother at Dalmeny campground. He is well set up as a nomad, complete with a terrific camper trailer and an adorable odd-coloured-eyed blue heeler.
This area of the New South Wales south coast is a nature and art lovers paradise, overflowing as it is with national parks and nature reserves, walking trails that meander for hours through changing landscapes, surf and swimming spots, and quaint ‘arty’ villages made up of clusters of restored buildings, green streetscapes and folksy cafes.
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This entry was posted in dogs, the south coast and tagged Australia, Bega, commentary, Dalmeny, dogs, nature, New South Wales, nomads, outdoors, photography, reflections, south coast, travel.