Wednesday 26 March 2014

Haircut day has arrived.

At last it is the day for Tess to have a haircut.   No matter that I always make the appointment for late March, expecting the weather to be a little kinder by then, the hair cut day always seems to coincide with a cold spell.   And so it is today.   Not that she seems to notice.   She only has one thing on her mind when she steps out of the back door - RABBITS - and there are plenty of them around at the moment, so she should be preoccupied.

To show you the transformation which will take place later this morning, I have taken a photograph of her in her present state.  It is not a good photograph - she was totally disinterested (she is never a Prima Donna) and even refused to look in my direction.   Still, at least you can see the length of her hair.   Later in the day - after my afternoon at our Poetry meeting, I will post a shot of the smart, new Tess for you to compare.

On the subject of our Poetry afternoon, always one of my favourites, so far I have only chosen two poems.  Several times this week I have come across the Kipling Poem "The Smuggler's Song" (watch the wall me darlin's while the gentlemen go by) so I am reading that, although we have had it many times before.  It is an old favourite.   Also Hildred (day by day on my side bar) quoted the first verse of a Christina Rossetti poem about the coming of Spring. It is a lovely poem, so I am reading that too.    Now I must look for another two poems to take - always a lovely occupation over a cup of coffee.

See you later in the day with an 'after' photograph. 

Well, here I am later in the day but alas no photograph.   She would not stand still and in artificial light there was too much glare, so I will try and put one on in the morning.   She certainly looks (and smells) considerably better, although I like her best after about a fortnight's growth of hair.   As to wearing a coat to keep her warm - we tried that and she absolutely hated it.   When the farmer took her for her afternoon walk (after the haircut) she chased so many rabbits and got half way down so many rabbit holes, that he finally had to put her on the lead and literally drag her home.   So I don't think she really felt the cold.   When I came in after Poetry, she jumped on my knee and had a good nap.   I must say it isn;t often I can bear her on my knee because she eats sheep poo and usually smells awful - but today she only smelled of shampoo.

And speaking of our Poetry afternoon, as usual it was my favourite afternoon of the month.  We always go to friend W's and sit in her lovely conservatory, where there is plenty of room.  Today there were only eight of us.   We managed only three poems each but had plenty of time for discussion in between - not deep discussion, just a light talk about the poet and/or about the poem. I can't remember all that was read but there was poetry by The Prophet, Khalil Gihlbran, Douglas Dunn, Sir Walter Scott, Rupert Brooke, Philip Larkin, Charles Causley among others.   Friend S always reads lovely funny poetry - a brilliant one today which had us all in fits of laughter and which often lightens the atmosphere after a particularly sad poem.

Throughout the afternoon the rain poured down on the conservatory roof - we didn't care at all. W's conservatory has under floor heating, we were warm and cosy and amongst good friends.  What more could you wish for?

17 comments:

Heather said...

Tess looks adorable - hair cut or not. I recently bought a copy of Kipling's poems just to rediscover The Smugglers' Song. I had learnt it at junior school and couldn't remember all the words. It's one of my favourites. Enjoy your afternoon - it is so good to share a passion with like minded people.

MorningAJ said...

Is Home Thoughts from Abroad too obvious? It's nearly April.

A Heron's View said...

You know I feel for Tess :) do you have a coat for her ?

Elizabeth said...

Buster's haircut day will NEVER come at this rate!
I look forward to seeing Tess's new 'do'!

Attila said...

How about Kipling's Roman centurion's song? I love the bit that goes something like.... for me this land, that sea, these airs, those folk and field suffice. What purple pomp can match these changeful northern skies, black with December snows unshed, or pearled with August haze, the clanging arch of steel grey March or June's long lighted days?

and...will you e'er forget, the scent of hawthorn in the sun or bracken in the wet?

jinxxxygirl said...

I love how you fill your day........deb

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Hi Pat. Burst out laughing. Saw the title of your post on my blogroll, and thought the haircut was for you!

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Hi Pat, me again. One of my favorite poems is Night Journey by Theodore Roethke. First lines:

Now as the train bears west,
Its rhythms rock the earth,
And from my pullman berth,
I stare into the night,
While others take their rest.

Do you know it?

Tom Stephenson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tom Stephenson said...

I see your doggie has the same barber as me.

(missed out the r in your before)

John Going Gently said...

Toms got a bigger bite though x

Cro Magnon said...

For a moment I thought it was Tom's wig.

Em Parkinson said...

Tom and John need to get a room I think.

Snippet needs a haircut SO badly too Pat. Unfortunately that means me doing it!

Dartford Warbler said...

Hope Tess is not too chilly now that the cold winds have returned!

I do like the idea of a group specifically for poetry. Yours sounds a lovely, relaxing afternoon when the words can just wash over you.

mumasu said...

Pat, there is a band I absolutely love called Show Of Hands. They wrote a song called The Napoli. It's about a boat which went aground a few years ago on the (I think) Devon coast and people were flocking there and pinching all the cargo off the beach. At the time it was on the News. These lines are used in it as comparison to smuggling in times gone by. I did not realise they came from a poem. I have just looked it up. It's really good. Thanks for that :)

The Weaver of Grass said...

There has been no time at all to take an 'after' photograph - sorry. I will take one over the weekend when the weather is set to improve and we should be able to get out of doors. Thanks for visiting.

Terry and Linda said...

Your pup looks as cute as a little bug.

❤⊱彡 Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com