In which I indulge

Posted by Tania Kindersley.

I was this close, this close, to going all poncy on your ass. I had it in my head that I was going to write about assumptions and presumptions and intellectual pretentions. Who knows? Once I got cooking, I might even have thrown in a bit of the Human Condition.

Then I thought: you know what? I’m tired, the sky has gone a bit gloomy again, my brain is not working that well. So sod the ruminations; today is the day for DOG PICTURES.

Oh yes, you might say. Tell us something else that is new. I know I give you a dog picture every day. The funny thing is that it started out as a bit of a joke. This was supposed to be a serious enterprise. I was going to address the grave concerns that face modern women in this crazy world. It was practically going to be a public service. Then I put up the first whimsical photograph of the dogs, and it turned out that the Dear Readers rather liked them. I started to get requests. The thin end of the wedge was firmly inserted, and now look.

Occasionally, I spin it in my head. There are some of you out there who cannot have dogs, for logistical reasons, and you tell me you like looking at mine. See? It’s a sheer act of philanthropy. But the actual bald truth is that I just love them. It’s pure self-indulgence. Sometimes I want to think about the world, and sometimes I just want to look at this adorable face:

And there are days, like today, when just one look at it is not enough. So here is another:

And another:

And another:

Here is the Please Please Throw My Ball face:

And the Thank You Very Much face:

I know that some people think the Dog People are prone to go over the top. It’s just an animal, after all. But over these last weeks this little canine has been a rock and stay, she is so funny and soft and dear and sweet. Also, I really do think that it is a good thing for the human spirit to have a living, breathing creature to look after. And of course there is the conduit for the Love, both giving and receiving. All she asks is a biscuit, a ball, and the odd rub of the stomach. There is something irredeemably lovely about that.

We went outside just now, into the cool, still day. I lay flat on the grass. I like to do that sometimes, to feel the solidity and comfort of the earth turning under me. As I rested my chin on the mossy lawn, and stared at the green, I thought that sometimes it is interesting to see the world from a slightly different perspective. This is what it looks like, when you are lying down:

I felt like the Borrowers, for a moment.

Some quick garden pictures:

And here is our dear old Scottish summer sky:

And the hill:

Just as I was taking this, my neighbour came out, and we stopped and talked over the garden fence, like two auld wifies, as they say up here. I greatly admire my neighbour. She can play the bagpipes, do competition level dressage, and knit. It’s a rather impressive list of accomplishments.

As I turned around to go in, I saw this face – quite clearly saying, Can you please stop with the coffee-housing and come in and give me my BISCUIT:

I know it’s a slippery slope. There is a fine line between a bit of whimsy and full-blown, out-of-control dog madness. But just for today, I think that sometimes you can’t get enough of a good thing. And oh, oh, oh, she is the goodest of Good Things.