Chinese takeaway

Driving back from the airport, stopped at a cluster of hotels and eateries near Rennes. Macdonalds with huge olive trees outside. O Quebec. And a Chinese restaurant, with a 9.50 euro buffet - either eat in or take away. Not at all bad.

As it's not far from IKEA, a visit we've been putting off (you can get used to no crowds, ever), we may now have found a way of making that trip more palatable.

A life in the day of

Wake up, get Dad up for a mooch outside, ask for breakfast, no luck, back to bed.

Wake up, get Dad up, it's definitely breakfast, hoover up breakfast, where's it gone? Clang bowl, aren't I clever, get some fuss.

Must be elevenses, beat Dad up, play with toppie or duckie, get furminated, get a carrot.

Hang around at lunchtime, watch a bit of excitement (they're eating, why aren't I?), get a bit of apple, trot outside with ball, keep an eye on them.

Must be teatime, get dragged off for a walk, finally home for dinner, now what's next?

Get a bit hopeful (they're eating, why aren't I?), get a carrot, mooch a bit, keep an eye on them.

Time for bed.

Bambi

Virtue rewarded today. I tore myself away from the computer to take Sky for a walk. When I opened the back gate onto the woodland path, there, maybe 100 yards away, was a deer looking at me! I couldn't take a photo, but it was something like the one I've put here ( www.free-images.org.uk is the copyright holder ).

Then on the way back home, half an hour later, I stopped to tickle Sky's ear. When I looked up, the deer was on the path again.

5000 years old ...

.. the dolmen that is. It's a stone's throw (ha!) from home.

Last Thursday, with the walking group, we took a trail past some of the many megaliths around St Just.

I'm beginning to appreciate the multitude of megaliths in Brittany. The massive site at Carnac is the most famous example but on our walks we often come across them, there are often signposts about them, and many have of course been destroyed.

Walkies

We like to walk round this lake sometimes


and do our agility training


but no way are we going to turn this wheel

and it's a shame the orchard is bare.


It must be time for dinner now.

Dust traps

It seemed like a good idea at the time - grow some flowers for cutting and drying. Now I realise that you have to be able to arrange them, too. Beginner's mistake.

I quite like the hydrangeas in a lovely jug, though.

Salamander

This fire salamander has just entertained us by walking across the new-mown grass, perhaps having been disturbed by the mowing and looking for a home to crawl into.

19 deg C at 17:30 and wonderfully sunny autumn days at the moment. Also lots of biting insects - I'm being told that rubbing banana skin onto my many itchy bumps will help but we're out of bananas so squirty anti-histamine will have to do. Hmm, delightful images to leave you with.

Oh - and I've planted a fig. It's about 18 inches tall at the moment. So any figs next year will easily be dog-height.