No rain, no frost, just mud and a bit of sun after a lovely Sunday with friends

We had a lovely day out yesterday at our friends with their schnauzer boys Rupert and Watson. Susie-Belle adores them both, but especially Watson, she resonates with him in ways we don’t see her do with other dogs. He’s now 10 months old and she’s known him since he was a tiny pup. They first visited us during the early summer:

We wonder whether it might awaken her maternal feelings through which she has suffered so much grief and loss in the past, who knows how dogs are affected by having their babies removed from them time and time and time again too early.

With Watson, Susie-Belle is playful, confident, full or joie de vivre, it really is very heartwarming to see her initiate playing with him. Of course her sister Renae always joins in and the two sisters together are quite a handful for Watson, who has to occasionally call his brother Rupert in as back-up.

They had a good day out, excellent company, the boys are wonderful at helping Susie-Belle along her pathway to happiness.

Then this morning we woke to find it wasn’t raining, it wasn’t even very cold, but with the mildness and rain we’ve had over the weekend, the puddles and mud have made an unwelcome return: