Most mornings I get up first. I let Abby out of her crate and I put the kettle on. I make myself some breakfast and sit down at the table. And Abby lies on the couch or her cushion or goes outside or plays with her toys … for exactly as long as I am actually eating.

As soon as I've moved on to just drinking my tea and reading my book she sits down behind me and whimpers. And whimpers and whimpers and whimpers until I get up and move to a couch.  In the winter she settles herself on my lap but in hot weather she stays on the floor where she can see me. Generally with today's toy of choice under her chin.

Sometimes I'm strong and ignore the pathetic sounds that come over my shoulder as I sit at the table but most of the time I'm a pushover. It's much more comfortable to read and drink my tea on a couch anyway.

We spent this afternoon out on a lake with Rob's parents. It was a warm day but the wind picked up a lot while we were out and by the time we came back even the smaller bays had whitecaps. The waves were that beautiful emerald colour they only are when the weather is a little rough. We spent a bit of time in a well sheltered bay drifting around while Rob's dad tried a bit of fishing. As the wind picked up we could see the birch and poplar trees along the shorelines dancing; the pine trees continued to stand still.

Abby was a pretty good boater. While we were going fast and had plenty of spray coming over the bow she lay down on the seat with her head in my lap but once things slowed down she was up and climbing around. When Dale started fishing she seemed to seriously consider jumping over the side and taking a swim. Fortunately for those of us who wanted to stay dry she's not all that keen on deep water.

A few random pictures from around our yard last weekend:

Last year's fruit and this year's buds on the crabapple tree.

What I think might be a tree growing out of the gravel on the side of the house. I should probably do something about it before it gets bigger.

I don't know what this stuff is but it shows up all over the place in the spring. It has an interesting primeval look to it.

My rhubarb waking up.

An unintended self portrait taken while trying to photograph my loyal companion watching me from the other side of the window.