25th January 2010

Norman - Hochopepa Mr Grimsdale
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Norman (Hochopepa Mr Grimsdale) at Manchester Ch show yesterday. Mum is Ethel (Hochopepa Don't Look Ethel) and dad is Little Ben (Michiamo Baradello).

24th January 2010

Jaylynne Phoebe - Italian Spinone
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

I went to Manchester Ch Show unexpectedly today, Marie had broken her wrist and couldn't drive. We had a lovely day out and saw Phoebe, one of Jaffa & Ben's puppies. I haven't seen her since she was a tiny puppy. She had a great result winning 2nd in the Minor Puppy class which qualifies her for Crufts 2011. It was her first Championship Show too.

23rd January 2010

Flooded Fields on Kingston Common
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

A beautiful day after the greyness of yesterday. This is the view across the fields from Kingston Common over the river Avon to Avon Castle. There are a few swans in the distance and a couple of cygnets with them.

22nd January 2010

Colour on a Dull Day
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

A splash of colour from this red stemmed acer brightens up a really grey day.

21st January 2010

Rose and Rose Hips
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

This rose was given to me by Betty & Ted, and is still in flower despite the bad weather. The bloom is actually frozen. This rose stays in flower pretty much all year round, there are new buds waiting to emerge already. It's a great way to remember Betty and is probably the most photographed plant in my garden.

20th January 2010

Emerging Camellia Flower
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Is this the first sign of Spring. A camellia flower starts to emerge. The only one on the bush. All the others are tightly closed.
The only other flowers in the garden today are a yellow primula which has somehow managed to survive the winter, Betty's rose which is looking a bit bedragled, and I saw the first snowdrops today too.

19th January 2010

St Pauls from Blackfriars Bridge
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

St Pauls taken from Blackfriars Bridge, a crane looks like it is about to take the lid off St Pauls.

18th January 2010

Kingston Common Sunset
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

A beautiful sunset on Kingston Common, Ringwood, Hampshire.

17th January 2010

Frozen Over
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

A walk on Kingston Common shows that the water is still frozen although the surface is strangely pitted.

16th January 2010

The First Michiamo Puppy
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

No photo opportunities today so rewinding back 6 years when the first Michiamo puppy was born. Mum is Fraggle (Kenmillen Fara del Michiamo) and dad is Rocco (Goldfly Dollie Fooled Again at Cobbets). Her puppy name was Stella - yes after the lager! We kept her and the puppy known as Tex from the litter. She became known as Kiri (Michiamo Candolini). Tex became Buca (Michiamo Zambuca). Our KC names had a Liqueur theme.

15th January 2010

Bluetit Feeding
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

We've been keeping the bird feeders well stocked during the cold weather and see lots of blue tits come and feed on the peanuts.

14th January 2010

Coconut Kernel
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Split open a coconut today and the kernel stayed in one piece.

13th January 2010

Photo Mosaic
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Little Ben at 5 weeks old, as a photo mosaic.

12th January 2010

London Eye
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Worked in London today and snapped this scene when walking back to Temple tube station.

11th January 2010

Wordle is Wonderful
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Photo opportunites were a bit limited today so I thought a word cloud example showing the names of our spinoni would be a good alternative. This was created at http://www.wordle.net/.

10th January 2010

Foxes on Ice
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Foxes on Ice! The lake is frozen solid and all the ducks have gone elsewhere. Today while talking on the phone, I saw two foxes walk across it.
The went into the field on the other side and were searching for food. I watched them for a while and then something spooked them and they ran off.

9th January 2010

Riva's Anniversary
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Today we bend the rules a little and use a picture taken 1 year ago, on the day that we had to say goodbye to Riva. It was a lovely sunny day and she decided to have a snooze in the sunshine on a bed of dried oak leaves.

8th January 2010

Buca Gets Stuck
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Buca provides today's photo. He follows his sister into a fenced off area of the garden but can't get out again. Being Buca he screams for help. The noise was awful, I'm sure the neighbours thought he was being tortured. This is fairly typical behaviour for him. He has a bit of a spatial awareness problem and won't go through a gap if he thinks it is too narrow.

Today the utility room flooded as the washing machine outlet pipe froze.

7th January 2010

Bobby's Icicle
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

It's so cold today that even Bobby's beard has frozen. A beautfiul sunny day but not warm enough to melt the frozen snow that is left on the grass.
I ventured out today, the puddles at the end of the track have built up ice walls around the edges making them seem deeper than they really are. The local roads were all fine, but we haven't had much snow here. Due to be colder tonight and tomorrow.

6th January 2010

Molly & Buca
Originally uploaded by spinoneuk

Buca is staying away with his friends for a few days. He slept in till 8.50am ... typical. He has had more snow than us so he sent today's picture of himself and Molly enjoying themselves in the garden. We had very little snow today, no more than a centimetre. It has settled a little but not much to photograph so I tried a panoramic stitch which turned out ok but more practise needed!

Thai curry tonight following Nigel's visit to the oriental food shop.