Ruby’s story……

Friends, I am a happy pooch. The sun is shining and I have spent all day in the garden sunning myself. Yes, yes I know it’s not good for you and me being fair skinned and all that….. but I love the sunshine.

Mum spends the whole time chasing after me trying to put sun block on my nose and paws, so that I don’t burn my sensitive bits. But as soon as she puts it on, I’ve licked it straight off, as you know by now friends there’s nothing I don’t like the taste off.

My favourite spot is lying right in front of the gate it’s the best sun trap in the garden, plus I can keep an eye on whose going past, in case there’s anyone who needs barking at, and usually there is.

I’ll lounge by the gate until I literally can’t take anymore. Then if mum’s out and sitting in her deckchair, I’ll sit in front of her and woof until she lets me jump up on her knee.

It’s not fair though when I first came to live here she used to actively encourage me to jump up and I loved it and I still love it. But for some reason she’s not as keen. I really have to beg her to let me get up, but she doesn’t always oblige…. I don’t know what’s changed.

Anyway, if mum doesn’t let me up on her knee, I move to the flower beds and borders. They’re packed full at this time of year with lovely comfy flowers to lie on, they make the perfect place to have rest from the sun. The trouble is though the flowers flatten really easily, and get a bit uncomfortable, but I don’t let this bother me, I just get up and move onto the next patch, until they flatten and then I move on again.

It’s always really important in the hot weather to stay hydrated and eat food that keeps you cool. So when I hear the ice cream man coming through the village I charge to the gate and go crackers to alert mum and dad to his arrival too. That way they can be first in the queue to get me an iced lolly.

When I’ve got said lolly, I don’t waste any time licking it, on no, I gobble it straight down, well I don’t want it to melt, and the brain freeze doesn’t usually last that long honestly ! Plus when I gobble if down, I usually manage to eat half the stick too. Bonus.

So there you go friends, that’s why I love the sunshine so much, but hold on what’s that I here in the distance,  the ice cream man’s coming……….MUM, MUM…..

Mummy’s story………..

Friends, at long last the sun is out, and that means one thing, Ruby is stretched out in the garden all day long getting as much sunshine as possible.

I do worry about her getting burnt, yes, I know she’s got a fur coat, but her little nose and paws might get burnt, so I’m constantly chasing her round trying to put sun block on, but as soon as I put it on, she’s licked it off, its an never ending struggle.

Her favourite place is lying right in front of the gate, in the main hot spot of the garden. She’ll lay there for as long as she possibly can, puffing and panting until she literally can’t sit there anymore.

So when she moves from her hot spot at the gate, her next move is to try and get a seat on my knee, but honestly the deckchair just wouldn’t take it. I suppose its my fault. When she was a little puppy and easy to pick up, I absolutely loved having her up on my knee for a cuddle. The trouble is, she still want’s to get up and doesn’t realise that at nearly 30 kilos, its just not possible, what with her 30 kilos and my…. hmmm less said about that the better….. the chair just couldn’t take it.

So when she finally realises that a place on my knee is not an option, she moves on to the flower beds and borders. At this time of year the flowers look lovely, they’re just starting to to come into bloom and getting ready for the long summer months, and after keeping them alive all through the winter, we really are proud of them and try to keep them thriving. Thriving that is, until Ruby decides to make them her sunbed for the day. I can image that they are quite comfortable for her to lie on, all springy and soft, but she literally sprawls out on them all and gets herself really comfortable. But her comfort doesn’t last long. Once one patch is flattened, up she gets and moves on to the next clump of flowers, until pretty much all the borders resemble the aftermath of steamroller moving through.

The only thing that does seem to budge her from her sunbathing is the sound the of the ice cream man coming through the village. She’s got to know the sound of his chimes now, and she hears them long before we do, but as soon as she does, she charges to the gate and starts going crackers, until he arrives.

The other half loves ice cream, so he always gets one from the van, and as Ruby can never be left out we always get her an orange ice lolly too. She can’t even wait for me to get the wrapper off before she’s trying to gobble it down. Honestly, I don’t know how she does it, I try and get her to lick the lolly but no, she’s having none of it, she has to try and swallow it whole and get it all down in one go…… honestly the brain freeze must agony……….. she’s trying so hard to get it all down in one, she nearly always eats half of the stick too……..

So there you go friends, that’s how we enjoy the sunshine in our house….. hold on what’s that she’s barking at now…… surely not….. that’s not the distance sound of Greensleeves is it……………

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