Project 365+1: Days 104 - 111

There’s quite a few pictures here and also, as a slight disclaimer, prepare to be bowled over by the cuteness. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Day 104: Getting Ready

Friday night felt a little bit surreal because we knew we were going to meet Tara and hopefully bring her home with us the following day. We weren’t wanting to get ourselves too prepared just in case she wasn’t the right dog for us, but at the same time, we weren’t wanting to be totally unprepared either. So we made little preparations, one of which was to get some shiny new bowls.

Day 105: Settling In

This is Tara on the evening we brought her home. After the car journey back we took her out for a walk and then she settled down and fell asleep. She has the cutest sleepy-face in the world; she’s still very much a pup and it really shows when she’s just woken up or been disturbed. She also sleeps in some of the most peculiar positions, like with her back end twisted a totally different way to her front end. It doesn’t look very comfortable, but she seems happy enough.
Another thing I love about this picture is that you can kind of see just how big her feet are. One thing I’ve always loved about Labs is that they seem to be born with these enormous great big paws and then take ages to grow into them. She’s very good at giving her paw; whenever she comes in from a walk or going in the garden she sits and gives her paw for a treat, but the other day I was trying to teach her ‘lie down’ and she wasn’t sure what I was asking her, so she sat there giving me paw after paw after paw hoping that eventually I would give her the treat (after a bit of coaxing she started getting the hang of it).

Day 106: Tara

She’s also proving to be very photogenic. I’m really looking forward to when we’re able to go for walks with her off the lead because I think I’ll be able to get some great pictures of her then. Until then I’ll carry on following her around my in-laws’ garden with my camera.
I’ve held off putting photos of the girls up on my desk at work because I know that lots of people aren’t really fans, but since I’d told everyone about her, I had to get a couple put up. Mr. Click was a little miffed to learn, when I was debating whether three pictures would be enough, that I’ve not got any pictures of him up there. In my defence, everyone there knows what he looks like. ;-)

Day 107: Late Night Essentials

These are some of the most important things we now keep in the back lobby; a towel, especially useful for when you’ve been out for a walk and it’s decided to chuck it down on the way back; slip-on trainers, very important for those desperate garden trips first thing in the morning; and a slip-over lead which my mum-in-law gave us (which didn’t last very long because we left it in the back of the car with her on the way home from work the following day and she nibbled it).

Day 108: Puppy Love

And this is what is gradually taking over my camera cards… I have two cameras and so, of course, two camera cards. The little compact comes with us on walks while the big one tends to stay in the house, unless we’re going to my in-laws’ so there’s somewhere safe for it to stay.
She’s definitely settled into a routine with us now. The day tends to begin around 6am with a half-hour walk, then back to bed for our breakfast, then hers, then off to work for me and adventures with Mr. Click for Tara, then home from work for me, tea for us, tea for Tara, a longer walk and bed. Tara obviously likes this schedule because I think she was a bit disappointed at the deviation from it at the weekend; she’ll be really shocked when I’m on the back shift!

Day 109: Don't Blink

Tara really isn’t keen on the camera flash. Unlike the rats, she’s not at all bothered by the sound of it, but she can’t keep her eyes open for the flash, which results in lots of photos like the one above.
Tara’s really big adventure for the week was a trip to the vet. We’d wanted to get her registered anyway as well as speak to them to discuss microchipping, spaying and other little bits and pieces like that. Then she picked up a tick… on her eyelid. Anywhere else on her body I would have been perfectly happy to remove it, I’m not particularly squeamish (I’ve delivered lambs and helped tube feed the sickly ones; dealt with every poorly rat we’ve had – you do not want to know what needs to be done to help out little boy rats who can’t clean themselves well), but it was her eyelid. Plus we weren’t entirely sure at first whether it was tick or something else.
On the plus side, she got registered at the vet, got a clean bill of health (the vet was very impressed with her) and we got her microchipped as well. And she was very well behaved.

Day 110: Rainy Largs

This is the view from the spot Tara and I walk to on our morning walks, we’ve been doing this route as our evening walk a couple of times this week as well purely because it’s shorter and Tara was getting a lot of exercise during the day. I love looking across to Largs and watching the sun coming up first thing. It’s a lovely start to the day. It looks pretty spectacular when it’s raining over there too.

Day 111: Old As The Trees

And to finish up, one from our other walking route. To the log piles at the other end of the estate. There’s a fantastic smell about the place there from the chopped wood and trees. Tara’s not too impressed with them at the moment, probably because I won’t let her go and climb on them, or because when we got there we had to stop and hang around while I tried to get the perfect photo in the dusky light.
So yes, pretty much caught up here now. I shall definitely try to be more organised in future. ;-)