When your brother ignores you - cuddle a sheep.

Cooler weather arrived yesterday with the thermometer holding steady around 35 degrees. The two boyz seemed positively energised by the return of relatively mild conditions. Wilf went racing down the drive,ears trailing in the slipstream, after a rabbit that wandered out of the lavender beds - he showed a turn of speed and agility that surprised me, the rabbit, and possibly himself. I didn't think the old fellow still had it in him.

One of the most interesting things about having two brothers from the same litter is just how completely different their characters can be. This facet of canine psychology certainly holds true with the two boyz. Wilf is fiercely independent, sometimes forgets to run around things preferring instead to run through them, and is always up for an adventure. If Wilf is an athlete Digby by contrast can perhaps better be described as an aesthete. Yes, he likes to play catch and will happily participate in the 'splosh' game but his real love, apart from eating, being the centre of attention and having endless cuddles,is to find a soft toy and retire with it into a quiet corner away from the rumbustious antics of his older sibling. He spent much of yesterday down by the pool in sweet communion with a stuffed sheep from which he would not be parted - despite Wilfs best efforts to steal it from him. Digby has learnt that the only way to cope with his brothers brawn is to outsmart him.

The British Prime Minister has announced this morning that as a result of his policies the worst of the economic crisis is behind us and that growth will return at the end of 2009. That's ok then. I wonder when the campaign for next years elections will begin? Surely, only a cynic would assume it's already started.

Coping with the heat

The boyz , who have coped with the high temperatures pretty well, finally wilted under yesterdays oppressive heat. It was real Atlanta style weather.For the first time ever both Wilf and Digby refused to come out for lunch preferring to sprawl morosely in the air conditioned kitchen and sulk.

Desperate measures were called for. I found an old blue plastic laundry basin in the store room, carried it down to the shade of the pool, filled it with 15 inches of cold fresh water from the tap and then called the boyz down to join me. I threw one of their favourite balls into the water and then stood back to watch what happened. For the next hour they had a fun fest. At first the two of them sat staring into the basin unsure what to do - particularly as that evil element water was involved. Wilf quickly learnt that he could stand at the side of the tub and grab the ball with his teeth but Digby found that it was much messier and infinitely more fun if he actually clambered into the basin to retrieve the ball. He started off hesitantly but after five minutes he was clambering in and out like a puppy. The 'font' and I took an hour out of the day to throw the ball backwards and forwards into the water roaring with laughter at their carefree antics and increasingly dishevelled appearance. Finally,even they tired of the game and two very wet but revitalised dogs clambered back to the house looking for something to eat.

Digbys thought du jour : ' This is the best day the worlds ever seen and tomorrow will be even better '.

July brings with it that peculiarly Italian phenomenon - the summer party. Across the country there is a sudden spawning of adverts for outdoors discotheques ( do discotheques still exist elsewhere ?) where the youth of the region congregate in a large open space to dance the night away to what passes in these parts for the latest hot sounds. Being Italy the noise level at these events is simply incredible and in the weekend small hours we can hear the thump,thump,thump of the music reverberating down the valleys.Tonight the signs promise the joys of the Maurizio Monti show and for next week there's a harder edge with DJ Frankie Knuckles. I can hardly wait.

Digby has managed to steal the new sheep toy from his big brother and is wandering around the garden with it firmly encased between his jaws. Having won a rare victory over Wilf his look seems to say ' this is the best day the worlds ever seen and tomorrow will be even better '. Not a bad philosophy and one I intend to adopt as my own .

'Splosh'.

Apart from eating the boyz favourite pastime is what I call the 'splosh' game. Wilf in particular is fascinated by the 'splosh' sound that is made when he drops a ball into the swimming pool. He can then stand totally spellbound for ages watching the ball bob around in the water. Within a minute of either of us clambering into the pool there he is, ball in mouth, waiting for the game to begin.'Splosh', throw, 'splosh' , throw until we get tired. I say we because Wilfs stamina and enthusiasm for the game always outlasts the amount of time the human component of the family can spend in the pool. Digby's rear quarters seem to be worsening but he does his best to get the ball and enter into the spirit of the game whenever we throw it directly to him.

In the UK a pool is an undoubted luxury. Here it is an expensive but life saving necessity. When it gets above 40 degrees it's the only place to be.

Afghanistan is proving to be yet another problem for the British government. The huge loss of life over the last two weeks caused by roadside bombs has attracted the medias attention to the fact that the UK deploys one helicopter for every 400 troops on the ground. The US marines fighting alongside them have one helicopter for every 33 soldiers. There are huge demands of the government for healthcare, education , unemployment benefits and so on but why send our 18 years olds into battle if we can't afford the equipment for them to do the job properly?

Bundles of energy

It's eight in the morning and already it's hot. The two troubadors are going to be kept in the deep shade outside by the pool until as late as possible this morning to make sure they are completely exercised and thereby avoid a repetition of yesterday afternoon. Keeping two supercharged Polish Lowland Sheepdog boyz inside on a scorching summers day is not the most relaxed of pastimes. Every toy in the arsenal was dragged out to see if it would distract their attention from the one overriding fact that they wanted to get out and chase lizards.Nothing worked.When the books say that PON's are a breed that need lots of exercise they are right.

Thankfully, 'the font of all knowledge' finally made it home last night and Wilf literally flew down to the car in a euphoria of greeting.His paws barely touched the ground as he shot off down the drive. It took four and a half hours for the 'font' to get back from the airport. There was a horrible accident on the motorway out of Rome with tailbacks of seven miles - two meat trucks had overturned on the central reservation, scattering carcasses all over both carriageways. Quite gruseome and just what you need in 40 degree temperatures! We dined outside at midnight and went to bed at two after much rebonding and ball throwing by moonlight.I'm hoping a late night coupled with an early morning start and copious exercise for the boyz will give us humans a quiet afternoon.

Our marvellous doctor in London came out with a sound and simple piece of diagnostic advice. If you're in the northern hemisphere and you are displaying flu symptoms then you probably have got swine flu - ordinarily, the height of the summer is simply not a time when flu is an issue so cases that appear now are pretty clear cut. The spread of the outbreak in the UK is proceeding exponentially.

Early morning happiness.

It's going to be a hot one today so we were up and out by five. The boyz were supercharged after a good nights sleep and were off like a rocket up the hill. There must have been badgers around because they both adopted their guard dog pose as soon as we passed the front gate. The guard dog pose involves them standing stock still with their feet anchored to the ground and their heads thrown back purposefully sniffing the wind. I find myself chuckling away at their daft antics and the canine seriousness with which they go about their morning routine. The two of them are undiluted purveyors of laughter which must be good for our blood pressure.

The skies over Todi were full of balloons for the annual balloonists gathering. In Italy they are known as Montgolfieri and this morning there were fourteen or fifteen of them soaring ethereally above the towers of the cathedral. I stood and watched them for a full twenty minutes while the two troubadors explored the olive groves.

Have just finished Berton Gellman's book Angler on the 'shadow presidency of Dick Cheney'. I found it to be well balanced and more insightful than many of these instant analyses tend to be. On television last night President Obama gave a thoughtful and sensitive response to a sharp question from a journalist about the death of another six British soldiers in Afghanistan - fifteen so far this month. He has a remarkable way of marshalling facts and taking difficult issues head on - skill sets lacking in most of Europe's current heads of government.

While the rest of Europe enjoys a heatwave we freeze

We are both wearing woolens this morning to deal with a bitter cold snap that has arrived from nowhere. Although it's now nearly seven-thirty it's still only 14 degrees and feels as if we're back in Scotland - naturally the two troubadors find the cool weather enervating and have been charging around the grounds as though they are puppies.

We have built a dog run for the boyz in order to let the assorted builders,gardeners,and other tradesmen get on with their work without being constantly bothered by requests for ball throwing . It is situated by the back gate of the pool amid the shade of the fig trees so they get a 360 view of everything that is going on in and around the house.Naturally, they both consider being relegated to the dog run as an absolute insult to their inalienable right as sheepdogs to control the movements of everyone who comes to the house.If dogs could be grumpy then these two would win a gold medal.

Wilfs occasional musing : " To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else".

Morning walk time !

It's my turn to be alone in the house while the font of all knowledge goes back to London for a few days. Being incapable of making anything more demanding than a bacon sandwich I can just about survive two nights on my own. Long ago it was discovered that I could turn even the most foolproof of recipes into a culinary disaster. Pasta takes on the consistency of soup, meat becomes leather and fish becomes simply unrecognizable. I was finally banished forever from the kitchen when my pork roast was incorrectly identified as well done beef. As a result of my severe culinary ineptitude a variety of dinners are cooked ahead of time and all I have to do is slip them into the oven to warm up. It would have worked perfectly last night had it not been for a phone call from an old friend in Chicago who rang two minutes after I put the tray in the oven. After chatting for the better part of an hour I belatedly remembered that there was only one thing I had to remember to do - take dinner out of the range after twenty minutes. Plus ca change...

Come five o'clock this morning the two boyz were raring to get started . In the absence of human company to complain about a lack of sartorial elegance I can throw on a sweat shirt and shorts and be out of the house and on the walk within two minutes. Today is just perfect, sunny but with the mildest and most refreshing of breezes. The porcupines have been snuffling around the house during the night so there were plenty of exciting scents for the two troubadors to follow. They have dutifully escorted me around the grounds ( clearly sharing the opinion that I can't be left unattended for long), watching as I watered the new olive trees and putting the sprinkler on the lavender beds. After three hours of constant activity they are played out and ready for a sleep . I'm ready for a long shower and a dip in the pool.

Washed, brushed and waiting for a trim

Boy is it hot. Seven thirty in the morning and its already 24 degrees - the mercury will probably touch 40 today. The local farmer and his team have just arrived to help us cut the lupins in the fields to use as cattle feed. Their arrival is much to the delight of Wilf and Digby who see this as an excuse for ball games . The two troubadors got themselves so covered in weeds on their morning foray that they have had to be washed and brushed to get the worst of the debris out of their coats. For the next half and hour they will look sparklingly white and fluffy and then revert to their natural dishevelled look as they start exploring again. Later today, if I have the energy I'll give them a summer cut which will make maintenance of the little darlings easier. Their 50% rations diet is apparently having no effect on Wilfs waistline which continues to display a happy and contented curvature.

We sat outside by the pool until midnight last night with the boyz happily asleep by us. There was a thunderstorm far off across the valley in Tuscany. Every so often the night sky would be startled by bright flashes of lightning causing the owls that were nesting in the outbuildings to take wing. I would never have thought it possible that a dozen owls could be in the air at the same time. The sound of their whooping everytime they flew out was beautiful beyond measure.

Later today we'll be going off to Perugia to look at solar panels and wind turbines. We have managed to cut our energy usage by 17% over the last year but I'd really like to get it down by the same amount again.The problem with existing technology is that it isn't really that advanced - solar power is fine in the summer but near to useless in the cloudy winter. Windpower is fine in the winter but completely idle in the long still summer months. The bottom line is that the cost of the two systems is exorbitant . The capital cost is equivalent to something like 130 years of our current electricity usage.

Off to the vets for their annual shots.

It's time for the boyz annual checkup at the vets. I don't like having them injected with a dose of toxic chemicals but the alternative is having them exposed to a variety of mosquito and tick borne diseases that we don't fully understand but which are rampant in this part of the world. We are fortunate that we live on top of a hill where it is too windy and dry for mosquitos to hatch out . Lower down in the valley where water collects in large pools by the river after heavy rain, leischmaniasis is a real problem and tiger mosquitos make life unbearable in the summer.. I'll post later when we get back. It always takes a day for the two of them to recover from their shots so we'll be at home for the weekend.

It's when they look innocent you know mischief has occurred .

Up and out at 5.30 this morning to be greeted by the glorious sight of a family of hares with their long ears bounding through the wheat fields . The two boyz considered giving chase but after a few barks and a half hearted attempt at running down the track after them they decided that it was simply too hot to be expending all that energy. Last night as we were sitting out on the terrace enjoying a midnight glass of wine a large herd of deer wandered through the olive trees in search of forage - naturally our two highly alert sheepdogs managed to blisfully sleep through the entire spectacle.

In the UK the government continues to be beset by troubles - another cabinet minister has resigned. Whatever the merits, or demerits, of the Prime Minister there comes a time when authority starts to seep away and calls for change become irresistible. In Italy the Prime Minister goes from strength to strength despite ever more lurid allegations about his behaviour and his panoply of youthful 'lady friends'.There are even calls for him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. You couldn't make it up!

The two troubadors have returned from their morning expedition and have now joined us in the courtyard. Digby is looking angelic which is a pretty sure sign that something demonic has taken place - we shall doubtless find out what it is during the course of the morning.

Wet and miserable but still ready for a game.

To think it was only a few days ago I was complaining about the heat. Yesterday. we had got ourselves ready to go out to Orvieto when it started to rain and boy do I mean rain. It is as if a personal isobar is connecting us to Scotland and bringing with it heavy, unrelenting, power shower type rain. The donwpours started before lunch and have continued without a break since. This is not typical summer weather in Italy but it does have the upside that I don't have to be out watering in the new olive trees..

The two boyz spent much of yesterday contentedly sploshing around in puddles and digging in the mud. Their pre and post dinner walks were conducted with me dressed in layers of rain gear ,like a sailor on an Alaskan fishing boat ,while they gamboled along beside me oblivious to the wet,soaked to the skin and raring to go. By contrast, this morning when I opened the front door for them to go out they just looked at me as if to say 'are you mad?'. They eventually deigned to join me for a morning walk as far as the nearest field boundary but quickly decided that it was too cold and wet for them to be out and quickly retreated to the house. They are now in their respective spots in the kitchen sound asleep. These two dogs have got life well organised. When it's sunny and bright they are both full of boundless energy . When its dark and overcast they sleep.

Clouds

Its overcast today. After the heatwave the clouds and breeze are a welcome change. The boyz are definitely enjoying the cooler weather and were to be found out on the gravel drive bright and early for their morning charge into the fields. Digby's hip is getting decidely stiffer the older he gets - hip dysplasia is a characteristic of the breed -so we have to try to stop him from over exercising. His big brother has no problems with his hips and would bound around all day if given the chance.

Today is a day for doing all the things that we were supposed to do but put off because of the heat. It's now getting time to plant sunflowers in the fields next to the house. I'm in two minds about them. They certainly look very Italian when there are acres of them to look at. The downside is that acres of bright yellow flowers can become quite tedious in the bright sun and you end up yearning for something cool to look at.

What a night.Guarding done. Time for a doze.

A huge hail storm blew up in the small hours of the morning,roaring through the olive groves, rattling the shutters and causing Digby to retire under the bed for security - he spent the night there snoring away happily (and loudly). The noise of the marble sized hail stones pounding on the roof was so loud that even top dog Wilf eventually came up the stairs to sleep on the floor next to the bed. When dawn broke we did a quick tour of inspection to see what damage had been done. It appears that most of the newly planted trees have survived and the only major damage seems to have been to the walnuts which have suffered dreadfully from the cold winds. After a storm and rain the two boyz seem to find a whole host of fresh scents and smells in the fields to keep them happily occupied. They went out after breakfast at six and have been contentedly barking at rooks and foraging in the woods for the better part of two hours. They have now retired to the courtyard for their customary sun soaking morning doze. After last nights storm and the earth termors of a couple of months ago I now understand why the Bible speaks of the terrors of 'earthquake,wind and fire' - sat on top of a little hill in the middle of the Italian countryside civilization can seem a long way away and the links to our past very strong.

A sheepdog finds a cool place away from the heat

A huge thunderstorm last night. The sky was alive with bolts of lightning shooting horizontally as well as vertically through the clouds. Wilf slept soundly through it all but Digby, being a sensitive soul, went and hid under the bed as the thunder rolled around our little hill. This morning we woke to a wonderful fresh breeze and fields that have turned green again after a good two hour long dousing with rain. Wilf,having rested well, was game for anything and followed us out into the olive groves. Digby by contrast let us know that he was exhausted after losing a nights sleep and propped himself up against a pine tree where he could both doze and watch what was going on.
The new lawn in the courtyard is growing at an alarming rate. I cut it two days ago and it already looks as though it has put on a weeks worth of growth. In Scotland everything about the seasons was temperate and the gardens grew at a slow but constant rate. Here the plants know that they have to grow and bloom before the summer sun cakes the earth as hard as a rock - as a consequence the growing season can best be described as short and sharp.

Time to open the pool

The boyz came face to face with the swimming pool this morning. We close it at the end of September when the heat starts to go and usually open it up again at the beginning of May. This year we are well and truly behind schedule but at seven this morning,after what seems like dozens of phone calls,the pool maintenance team finally arrived to get it ready. In this part of the world, with the temperatures hovering around 40, a pool is an absolute must.

The boyz treat the pool with great respect. Wilf has twice in his life managed to fall headlong into the pool when he wasn't concentrating. On both occassions he had all the bouyancy of a stone and had to be fished out. Digby has fallen in once and now gives it a wide berth.

Oxford in the sun

We had to go back to the UK for an old friends wedding so on Friday afternoon we loaded up the car with blankets and dog bowls and put the two boyz into the kennels for the weekend. We flew BA out of Rome on a gloriously smooth,punctual and comfortable flight, spent the first night in London and then hired a car and drove up to Oxford on Saturday morning. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky and a healthy 22 degrees. Oxford was looking quite beautiful but apart from a healthy number of American day trippers from London,clearly suffering from a lack of foreign tourists despite the low level of the pound. Driving up to the wedding on Sunday morning through unspoilt little villages on empty roads I'd have to say that the English countryside has a beauty all of its own when the weather is this good.

After the refreshing sunshine of the home counties it was a shock getting off the aircraft in Rome last night. Italy is enjoying/suffering a heatwave (depending on your view) and a wall of hot,moist air hit us as we walked down the jetty to the terminal. It was more like Atlanta in August - hot,humid and tiring. There is more heat to come. Todays temperature are set to climb to a debilitating 40 degrees. Anything below 30 I can cope with, but when it gets this hot everything needs to be done by eight o'clock in the morning - after that it's simply too hot.

The boyz were up and out with us at five this morning - absolutely delighted to be back into their normal routine. I think they enjoy a night in the kennels but find three nights away from home to be a bit stressful. They have had a quick bath this morning to restore their coats to something approaching pristine whiteness - how they get so filthy in the kennels is something I never understand. Wilf seems to be licking one of his paws and uncharacteristically grumbles if I touch it or wash it. It's possible a grass seed has worked its way under the skin next to one of his claws - a trip to the vets is called for later today.

We're back from Oxford, the boyz are back from the kennels,it's nearly ten at night and it's still 35 degrees !

At the weekend we went back to the UK for a wedding of an old friend. The weather in Oxford was perfect and the town was full of American tourists wondering why the Brits compain about the weather.While we were away the temperatures here in Umbria got to 38 degrees - that's 100 or so in old money. We picked the two boyz up from the kennels on our way back from Rome airport - they are not happy with this heat. They are currently sitting out under the trees munching on ice cubes and displaying a cool indifference to the family that deserted them.Canine disdain!

Coming down the drive I notice that the weirdest plants I've ever seen have sprouted all over our newly laid grass. Will post more tomorrow - it's too hot to blog.

Who designs security systems?

After last months robbery and injuries we have had a new and improved burglar alarm fitted. It promises to be all singing and all dancing , The man who installed it says it should be able to detect any bad'un getting to within fifty metres of the house. After the first night of living with the new system its clear there are some problems with its design . Firstly, the control panel looks as if it has fallen off the Space Shuttle and requires a doctorate in electrical engineering to operate it ( by the way, why is it that instruction manuals are written in some strange language that approximates to English but excludes all the important verbs ?). Secondly, the infrared detectors which have been carefully set so that they won't set of the alarm when a hedgehog wanders past have clearly got a mind of their own. Every time a hedgehog wanders past they go off. I put it down to teething troubles, the better half used a different phrase ( which I won't repeat ) at one o'clock this morning , then at two thirty and again at four. My first job this morning is to get the engineer down here to fix it.

It's another 33 degrees day ( 92 to those of you in the US ) without a cloud in sight. The two boyz have had their usual morning rosh ( rush out, saunter home ) and are now settled under the trees in the courtyard wondering what mischief lies in store for them. They had another coat trim yesterday to try to improve on the first attempt which left them looking rather unkempt.