Max - Week Three.... How time flies

 I can't believe that we have had Max for three weeks already. He is making great progress, and is settling down to being part of our family.

He is chilled out, and has a huge personality. A lover of water, he loves to jump into the rock pools at the beach. And in particular putting his whole face in the water.

 Like any toddler, when he gets overtired he is put into his bedroom to rest. Last Sunday, when we were all chilling out, I was reading my book and when I looked up there was Max with his top lip resting on the wires of the cage. It was like he was smiling at me...

Going for walks is getting easier as he learns that not every person, or dog wants to have him rushing at them. Our mornings start at 5.30am with a walk around the park so that he can chase his ball, and more recently the rabbits that seem to be everywhere. In the evening we are off for another walk, we are both getting pretty fit, which is not a bad thing.

Shadow Shot Sunday ....

Yesterday we had a small gap in the cloudy weather, when the sun came out I quickly grabbed the camera for some Shadow Shots. Unbelievably we are still wearing long sleeves here, the wind seems a bit calmer today, I hope this is not a sign of the Summer ahead.

Come and join the other shadow chasers from around the world at Hey Harriet...

 

Have a great week ahead.  xx

Friday Fences...

I couldn't resist taking this shot yesterday when we were on our way to a wedding reception. This old villa was just begging to be photographed for Friday Fences...

 http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Walk through the cemetary..

As bizarre as it may sound, I find it very interesting walking through the headstones at our local cemetary. It is sad to see the ages of some of those who have passed, and to see part of the history of our town.  I recognise some of the family names, and some of the families are still living in the area today. These are some of the photos I took a few weeks ago...

The Max Diary ... Week one

What a week it has been in Max's world. He was confused, and on edge for the first three days. To be expected, considering that his whole world has been turned upside down, and he has been taken from the only family he has known for 13 months.

My plan was to start him onto a routine straight away. Every morning we have been getting up at 5.30am for a trip to the park for a 10 minute run followed with a 30 minute walk. I figured that this would be the best way to use up his energy first thing in the morning. The plan has worked so far.  The only problem has been the hours in between me leaving for work and arriving home. In typical "puppy mode" he has managed to destroy my herb garden, chew through our rubbish tin, and throw the rubbish all around the back yard. Max has found things we thought we had lost, and has destroyed it all.
  But you know what, it is all only "stuff" and so what if there is no garden this Summer, next year he will be older and a lot more secure. My biggest fear was when he started getting through the back fence into the neighbours yard. So the Great Wall of China was built to keep him in.

The weekend arrived, and Max had his first trip to the beach, and he loved it. He was obedient when we let him off the lead, and we  had a great time. He is such a lovely puppy, and is going to mature into a wonderful dog. As each day goes by he is getting to know us and to get used to our routine.

All I have to do now is to stop him from chewing everything within his reach, and to stop him from jumping. Every moment we are together is training time as I reinforce what he already knows, and start to teach him not to jump. He is learning where he stands in "the new pack" and in typical puppy fashion has a memory like a sieve.

But more than anything, he is a lovable young fella, with a great personality and we are going to be great friends.

Shadow Shot sunday..

 The weather here in New Zealand is still not that warm, Spring seems to be holding on for such a long time, we have had rain, cold winds up from the Antarctic and cloudy days. Late yesterday afternoon we went down to the beach, and the sun came out long enough for me to capture some shadows :

 Thanks to Tracy over at Hey Harriet for hosting Shadow Shot Sunday, check out what other Shadow Chasers from around the world have captured this week:

Friday Fences... Wild daisies through the fence...

 I love this time of year, where we live, the fields are full of white daisies and look so pretty.

 Check out the link below to see what others have captured:
 http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday .. Heart Rock Pool

 Join the rest of us over at Sarah's below for more images for  Wordless Wednesday

 http://faithhopeandawholelottalove.blogspot.com/

Let Me Introduce you to Max...

We have a new member of our household. Phil and I have adopted a 13month old Golden Labrador/German Shepherd called Max. Unfortunately his previous owners are unable to keep him as his mum is very sick with a major heart problem, she is no more than 25 years old and the sweetest girl.

Her husband works overseas, and with two young children she just cannot give Max the life that he deserves.

Phil and I always knew that we would get another dog, and it has been two years since our beloved Boxer passed away . Our view was that our next dog would find us, and we would have another dog in our home. Three weeks ago an email arrived at Phil's work from Max's owner explaining her situation and saying that she needed to find new owners for Max. We made contact with her and the following weekend drove across Auckland to meet up with her and to meet Max, and what can I say, we fell in love.

Last weekend Max arrived together with his own furniture loaded onto a trailer. It was very sad for his family to say "good bye", and their emotions were very mixed as they know that his is going to be well loved and taken care of. So, he has been with us for three days, and I will be honest and say we have all been a little "shell shocked" with the changes to all of our lives.He has found things that we thought we had put away, our backyard is full of half eaten plastic pots and his toys. But today I would have to say that he is just so much more relaxed and is starting to get used to our routine. I have been walking him twice a day to use up some of his energy and I think is is "paying off".

Here are some photos of Max, I am sure that you will agree he is a superb looking young man.

Wordless Wednesday .. sunset at the beach

http://faithhopeandawholelottalove.blogspot.com/    Join the rest of us over at Sarah's for more from Wordless Wednesday

Shadow Shot Sunday...

 Snapped this guy while I was in the garden yesterday...

 Go over to Hey Harriet and join Tracy and the other shadow chasers from around the globe..

While cleaning out the fridge I got distracted......

when I found a small bottle of something bubbly that had been sitting in the fridge for quite sometime.

Not wanting to waste the contents by pouring it down the sink I thought I would have some fun before throwing it out.

What better way to enjoy bubbles than with strawberries, and what better way to put them together than in a glass, and instead of drinking take some photos....

Happy Saturday everyone, wherever you are and whatever you are doing enjoy..

P.S. And no I didn't drink the contents.

Friday Fences...

 This Winter , June here in the southern Hemisphere, we had a horrendous storm. Winds up to 200kmh lashed the west coast where we live, it blew the sand up our beach and changed the landscape forever.

We had small sand hills at the beach, that were stabilised with grasses and fencing. After the storm we went down to see what damage had been done, I came across this fence, with the seaweed looking like it was hanging out to dry, when it fact it had been driven up and hung on the fence from the strong winds and the huge surf that lashed the beach during the storm. The sand was piled up nearly to the top of the fence posts...

 Check out the link below to see what others have posted this week:

 http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday... Please play with me

 Most nights our neighbours dog greets me when I arrive home from work, usually with a toy or this "tug" she stands on her hind legs and just wants to play....

 http://faithhopeandawholelottalove.blogspot.com  link in to join us in Wordless Wednesday, or just go over to have a look at what everyone else has done....