Bouncing Bertie brings you...

...Spring in the Park

And spring in his step.

I want you to know that I might be well into middle age, and slowing down a bit, but I have not yet totally lost my bounce! 

(Likewise my owner, who is about the same age in dog years...)

...And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And bounces with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth (nearly).

Oh the joys of spring! 

It is spring isn't it? Gail took her car to the garage yesterday to have the winter tyres removed and the regular ones put back on. The old mechanic looked surprised at the request and, clearly deeming it premature, asked "Ye're nae fae Scotland? D'ye ken fit month it is? "

Do wish us luck for the drive across the Highlands to our Torridon cottage this weekend...

Hoping you too are celebrating Nature Friday with Arty, Rosy and Jakey.

PS Our thoughts this morning are with all the families affected by the terrible terrorist attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Bertie worries about the primroses

Nature's Tricks

I thought I'd wear my tartan scarf,

To brighten up the winter gloom.

How unexpected then, to see,

For colour, I had company,

A clutch of precious yellow blooms.

Insistently proclaiming spring,

Our primroses are all confused.

For surely we shall soon have snow.

What then for such a pretty show?

Nature can be so hard and cruel.

We're thrilled to be taking part in Rosy and the LLB Gang's Nature Friday blog hop. Why not jump aboard! 

Spring in my step at least

I'm pleased to report that I went for a lovely walk in Glen Tanar yesterday, with Gail and her nice friend Alison.

As I'm being kind to Gail at the moment I shall not complain about the ridiculously premature Spring fur-cut she gave me earlier in the week. (You'll have spotted in the photo above that we have newly fallen snow on the not very high hills, and that Alison is sensibly wrapped up in woolly hat and over-trousers).

We only walked about four miles, even though I would happily have covered double that distance, I was feeling so bouncy.

Spring, Recovery and Earth Day

It’s been a horrid winter – my paw’s been awfully sore,

But spring’s now in the air and in my step.

So with keen anticipation, I’m standing by the door,

As I was weary, aching, low, now I am full of pep!

A brand new day is dawning here in sunny Aberdeen,

And I see no point in lingering inside.

The world beyond awaits us, unsullied, fresh and green,

And I’m all bushy tailed, bright eyed!

I bounce past granite houses to the gates of Duthie Park,

I greet my pals and savour every smell.

Oh I am truly joyful; life is once again a lark,

So I pause for just a moment to give thanks that all is well!

PS I am so proud to have taken part in Louis Dog Armstong's Earth Day Challenge. Click here to see all the entries.

And finally, with my Boffin hat on, I would like to congratulate these 28 Very Good Dogs who yesterday took part in the March for Science.

Spring? FAKE NEWS!

Ode to So-called Spring

Really? Winter's over?
Please present your evidence!
The London-centric media may declare it so,
And talk of balmy days, but we have snow
On higher ground.
The case that Scotland is another country
Climate-wise at least, makes sense.

I’ll grant you, for the pre-work park walk
My collar-light’s required no more.
And by midday my square dog shadow
(Should the shy sun grace us with a beam or two)
Is less elongated than before.

But down by the North Sea
(The clue is in the name)
A fierce onshore gale cruelly exposes
The folly of last week’s over-zealous grooming session.
Oh how I wish those furs were still attached,
All seven ounces of them…

It’s true, brash ranks of daffodils
Are now amassed on southern facing banks.
They breed ‘em tough at these high latitudes.
But as for me, tho’ born of Buchan stock,
I’ll keep my Fair Isle jumper on
Until my precious wiry fur’s regrowed.

PS Thank you dear friends for all your kind messages about my paws. Delighted to report they are feeling loads better now. 

In the Park and In the Pink

OK, so this last one is on the way home from Duthie Park.

All Stripped, Spruced and Spiffy for Spring

Pups! Ever wanted to see your human emitting quantities of slobber worthy of our late and much missed friend Mango?

Just ask them to read out loud the title to this post, several times over, as fast as possible.

You might want to wear a raincoat.

The Bouncing Boffin Springs into Action!

Blogging friends,

I know that many of you have been lying awake at night and thinking "oh, I do wonder when Bertie Boffin is going to resume his excellent and so very informative series of science lectures. We were most enlightened by his unique take on thermodynamics, geology and quantum physics last Autumn and are hungry for more".

Well, now that I have been officially confirmed by Mayor Frankie Furter in my position as 'Scientific Advisor' to Blogville (an honour which surely confers an added layer of authority and credibility to my youthful pronouncements), I feel duty bound to redouble my efforts at educating the canine community in all matters scientific....

Spring has finally arrived in Aberdeen (yes really!) and this has set my mind to thinking about the contentious topic of Climate Change.

I have been reviewing the available literature on this subject, and have arrived at the conclusion that important gaps in the data still need to be filled, and that we as a community can contribute.

Now, I hesitate to criticise my fellow scientists, but I do feel that, when considering the issue of warmth and cold, humans have persisted with too limited an approach, focussed on measuring temperature changes in terms of degrees Centrigrade and Fahrenheit.  I propose to broaden the analysis of climatic conditions by considering possible dog-relevant alternatives. This is where YOU come in:

All I'm asking is that you leave a comment on this post, to tell me about your own personal indicator* that Spring is in the air. Southern hemisphere friends will have to think back a few months. Also please tell me whether, according to this indicator, Spring in your part of the world is arriving earlier or later than it used to. To complete my database, I will also need to have some idea of where you live.

Later in March, when I have gathered sufficient new data and had time to perform a detailed analysis, I shall present my conclusions in a paper, which I hope to submit to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. As is the fashion in science these days, all those who have made even the smallest contribution to the paper (e.g. by leaving a comment) will be listed as a co-author.

I am highly optimistic that, given the global reach of the dog blogosphere, this collaborative research project will be truly groundbreaking.

It will without a doubt be novel!

*Examples of indicators could be: the first day I venture out without my winter jacket, or, the last day my human positively enjoys the warm feeling in their hands when picking up my poop. And please remember, top level science requires creativity! 

PS The more data points the better the analysis, so please also encourage all your friends to participate!

Climb every mountain?

Come on Gail! Oh come on, over here, COME ON, COME ON!!!

Look outside the window! All the snow is gone. It doesn't even feel cold. It must be nearly Spring.

And don't imagine I've forgotten what you promised last year. You absolutely promised that come Spring I would be allowed to climb a Munro.

[Readers, you know what a Munro is? A Scottish peak over 3000 ft high. There are 283 of them.  Between you and me, it's my ambition to 'bag' every single one, like boxer dog Kerry did a couple of years ago.]

So Gail, look, I've even found this book on your shelves. Called, yes you've guessed it, 'The Munros: The Scottish Mountaineering Club Hillwalkers Guide'.



Now what do I see here, scribbled this inside the book? A list? In your handwriting, Gail, if I'm not mistaken?

Lochnagar
Mount Keen
Beinn Alligin
Slioch
Sgor Gaoith
Stob Choire Claurigh
Stob Coire an Laoigh
Stob Coire Easain

Oh, is that so? Seriously? You're telling me that my predecessor Hamish the Westie in his younger days climbed each of those peaks on your list. All the way up to the top and him with such little legs?

Wow!



So these Munros would be, like, no problem at all for an eager, fit and bouncy chap like me, eh?

What do you mean a fine line between 'bounciness' and 'recklessness' Gail? Oh, you're just saying that for the first time, perhaps we should try a nicely rounded Munro, not one of the one with jaggy edges and precipitous drops.

[I guess Gail is frightened of heights but doesn't want to admit it. I'll have to humour her for now.]

Well OK then. How about Ben Macdui? Looks good eh? Scotland's second highest mountain. Dramatic and imposing, yet suitably curvaceous...

Yes, that's the one for sure. What are we waiting for?

COME ON! 

Oh what is it now?  Must we really wait for longer days too?

Sigh.....

And now I am getting a lecture from Gail who has reached for another of her books* and is reading aloud from it:

'Beginners, not unnaturally...want the startling view, the horrid pinnacle - sips of beer and tea instead of milk. Yet often the mountain gives itself most completely when I have no destination, when I reach nowhere in particular, but have gone out merely to be with the mountain as one visits a friend with no intention but to be with him.'

All well and good Gail. BUT I STILL WANT TO BAG MY FIRST MUNRO!


*'The Living Mountain' by Nan Shepherd.