New View

The neighbour above recently invited Henny to her house. Henny cleverly packed her camera to take a photo of the house as we'd never seen it before.

Saluki Puppies!

On 1 February 2010 we were privileged to meet the latest batch of Saluki puppies bred by Shera Chuat. The Saluki is perhaps the oldest breed of dog, traced back to at least 2000 BC. There are representations of them in Egyptian tomb paintings. Shera's been breeding champion Salukis since 1977. They are in demand the world over. Interestingly, some puppies born just up the road from us have gone full-circle back to Middle Eastern royalty, where the breed originated.

Shera's Salukis live like sultans. They are ultra well-cared for. She has about 10 or so adult dogs, five of which can be seen here overlooking the heated puppy house. Dog beds abound, there are endless comfy places to stretch out for a nap. There's a huge fenced-in garden to roam, and twice each day Shera takes the whole pack for long walks in the countryside. It must be quite a spectacle; they're not exactly small dogs. Shera has complete control over them. She doesn't walk them on leashes. And boy, can they run! They're even more majestic when they do.

These two pups are from the litter born 17 December 2009. Saluki coats come in two ways, feathered or smooth. I love the smooth, which Shera says puts me in the minority; the feathered is more popular. These are both smooth-coated, but anyway the feathers get more pronounced as the dog grows up.

This young lady is definitely a smooth operator. Shera resolutely said she wouldn't keep a puppy from this litter, but this little one has completely stolen her heart. Guess who's staying? Click here to see more: Shera's Salukis.

Spare a thought...

11 February. A light dusting of snow on the terrace. In the south of France. Surely this can't be? People are lining up for refunds. We're in a gentler micro-climate than our surroundings, so it doesn't last long. Still, most everyone who's moved here will tell you it's colder than they thought it would be in winter.

On the other hand, here's what our dear friends Robin and Elina have been battling in Baltimore, Maryland. The worst winter on record: over 2 metres of snow so far.

The storm that crippled Washington, DC had its epicentre in Baltimore. The shovelling never ends. No one's going anywhere. Robin said a snow plow got stuck in their narrow street, so a bigger one came to the rescue. It also got stuck. Then arrived the mother of all plows, which did the trick, but brought to mind a Russian doll effect of ever-increasing monster snow-rescue machinery.

Baltimore is on the southern side of the Mason-Dixon line. It's not meant to get weather like this. When Robin first moved there almost 30 years ago, I was envious of her mild winters. She used to laugh at how badly the locals drove if an inch of snow fell. Now look. You begin to wonder if it's down to climate change, and if in years ahead, scary thought, we'll see similar scenes out our LFH windows?

But for now, intrepid souls, Robin and Elina haven't lost their senses of humour. Hope you can hang up the shovels soon!