A new painting I have started.

Lying on the sugar can mulch in the sun is the place to be on a cold winters morning if you are a cat or a dog. The "Puschka" the cat likes the vege garden and the "Couch" the dog has chosen the rose garden with the ornimental duck for company. The cat about, 16 years old has never welcomed the dog about 5 years old and the only contact it has ever made with the dog is a swipe across the nose if he got too close. The two gardens are seperated by a fence, mainly so the dog doesn't dig in the vege garden and that suits the cat to have his own private garden. The cat, a Devon Rex is the strangest natured cat we have ever had in our lives. He has never liked being nursed but will park himself on any lap that appeals to him when he chooses. He can drive you up the wall with his talking. He will starve himself rather than eat anything that doesn't appeal to him at the time, though that may have been his favourite food last week. We do have a foolproof test to see if he is on his last leg of not. If he hasn't eaten for a few days and is almost skin and bones then we buy expensive whitting fillets, fresh (and only fresh not frozen) from our local supplier and if he goes berserk and eats up to 4 fillets at once then we know he's likely to be around for a while yet. It usually gets his appetite going again. He likes to open cupboard doors and is pretty good at it. If there's room he will occuply it too, until he is found or pops out for a snack. I think the Rex (Royal) part of his breed has gone to his head. But we love him. Enough about the cat.

Couch on the other hand has a good bark to keep strangers away from the gate but he is the gentlest and lovable animal and gets on really well with kids. Even kids who have been afraid of dogs up to date take to him. The sugar can mulch on the garden must be nice an warm to lay on as the Great Dane only laid it around the roses a few days ago and this is the first time the dog has chosen to lay there. It's also nice and close to the gate so if he can get away with it he can spot and bark at any other four legged animal who goes past. He sort of makes up for the difficult nature of the cat. He's not a million dollar dog but a three thousand dollar dog, yes. He took a liking to Bauple nuts (Macadamias) from a tree we had growing - would crack the shell and eat the kernal. However, a couple slipped down uncraked at different times, caused a major blockage of his intestines, 1.5 meters o which had to be removed as if was going gangreous and he would have died a painful death. The tree has been removed. He would love to be a lap dog but unfortunately at 28 kg + that's not an option and he has to settle for his head on your lap and receive the necessary pats.