O is for Outdoors and Other things

On July 8, 2019July 7, 2019 By geordieroscoeIn a to z challenge, garden1 Comment

Outdoors is definitely my favourite thing.

I’m Roscoe, and we’re working our way from A to Z through the alphabet. My mate Bertie does alternate weeks with me.

We spend most of our time indoors, in our runs, up next to Mam’s working space. But summertime, we go outdoors into the garden, if the weather’s not too hot, not too wet, not too cold, and not too dry. Or too dark.

Most days Mam sets up our run around or between the vegetable patches, with their own little fences surrounding them. She says it ‘maximises the use of the panels.’ I know we get bigger runs when she does that. I don’t know if that’s what ‘maximises’ means. Bertie generally gets his own run, because he fights with Biggles if they are left together. We get on with both of them.

Summer snoozing

Yummy leaves

Social setting

Between the veg beds

Bertie’s run always joins onto ours. We have a sort of meet and greet area. We’ve got that indoors as well, so it’s not vital. Biggles likes running around with us, though, and we like him. He’s a nice chap, keeps himself to himself while still being sociable, like.

Over the weekend she decided we’d better get to work on the grass elsewhere in the garden and we had one under the tree and the other next to it, spreading out onto the grassy area, which is still a bit sparse. It’s recovering from drying up last summer.

More mowing

Under the tree

On the grassy part

Mowing the grass

Saturday we were with Biggles in the very shady patch. Sunday we were in the other one (which is bigger) with Bertie. We got to work on the grass on both places, but clearly Bertie needs more help to mow his than Biggles does. But then, he doesnt pay much attention to the grass. He spends a lot of time bothering me. He’s a right pain in the grease gland at times. Later in the afternoon Mam put me back with Biggles, which was nice. Biggles appreciated my company too.

(Sigh) Outdoors. I like it a lot. I sometimes stand at the door when Mam’s out picking our breakfast, thinking how nice it would be to go out straight away. But I don’t. Not till Mam says the time is right.

Then I can go and get the feel of grass underneath my feet, the wind in my ears, and the sun on my back. I laze around listening to the birds singing, and the little rustling noises of things in the borders, like frogs, and toads, and insects.

Yes, I love outdoors. Although I’m not so keen when it rains.

Next week, Bertie’s back with something beginning with P. I’ve no idea what.

Have a good week.

love

Roscoe xxx

It’s spring! We have proof!

On March 25, 2019March 24, 2019 By bertie bootsIn garden2 Comments

Bertie here, full of the joys of spring!

We went out in the garden for the first time this year at the weekend.

I thought it was a bit scary, all that sky above my head, so I hid under my tent. I still ate the grass I found there. I thought it was a bit cold on my feet, but nice under the shelter of the tent.

Biggles ran around with Roscoe and Neville! I know he’s been spending time with them on the floor, and more time than I have. I usually say hi and good-bye to Roscoe at floor time. Sometimes we get to bump noses, but usually if Mummy’s got my tent out I’ll go into that to avoid any confrontation. If there’s something we don’t argue about we can spend a while longer together these days. But I didn’t realise that Biggles had actually made friends with them. Turncoat. I knew there was a good reason I didn’t like him.

Biggles emerges onto the greass

Roscoe intent on the grass edges

Bertie hides under the tent

Neville and Biggles eat from tents while Roscoe turns his back

Bertie still hides behind the tent

View of the runs and the garden with Nev, Rosc and Bigs out in the open

Here are some pictures of us out on the grass. The white thing is the netting over the new seeds. Mummy’s sown carrots, salad leaves and something else for us in there. On the left is the bed with the veg that’s been growing all winter; swiss chard which we get for breakfast some days, curly endive (the same) and broad beans which will pod in a couple of months, Mummy says. And on the far right, behind the lavender, there are baby pea plants growing. That’s baby plants, not baby peas.

Next week we start the A to Z thing. I’m very excited about it.

See you in a couple of weeks,

Bertie

PS Did you see my interview with Joshua?

PPS. Mummy says we can come off our special low fat diet pellets because it’s made no difference to our weights. This is the latest chart.

Mummy’s taken our runs in :(

On October 22, 2018October 21, 2018 By bertie bootsIn garden, Hygiene4 Comments

Mummy took our run panels down at the weekend, even though it was sunny outside. She said it was just too wet for us, due to the heavy dew, and lack of sun on the grass. I know what she means: the last few times there’s been sun in the sky but not shining where we are. It was okay, but if the grass is wet then I want to stay in my tent. Or the tunnel.

So that’s it for this year. Maybe we’ll get out on the grass in March. Mummy says we do some years, but this year it was cold and wet right through till early May. It’s something to do with climate change changing things around.

I saw Roscoe told you he and Neville had baths. I didn’t have a bath then but I had my tummy washed this week. Just my tummy. I’d got it all sticky during the night. Mummy didn’t ask questions, she just stood me on the side of the big white sink, put water and soap on my tummy and rubbed it so it all went bubbly, and then held me so the water ran over my tummy to wash it clean again. Then she wrapped me in a light towel, and we went and had our normal cuddles.

Apparently Auntie Shirley and Uncle Barry are coming to see us on Tuesday. That’s tomorrow. I expect they’ll look at our teeth too. I like Auntie Shirley and Uncle Barry but I wish they wouldn’t make us show them our back teeth. Mummy says it\s better than having to go to the vet for teeth work. She thinks Biggles may need some work on his. Mine will be perfect, of course.

The garden run has been taken in

On October 16, 2017October 13, 2017 By PercyIn Happenings, Health2 Comments

The report from downstairs is that Mummy has brought the garden run panels in. The small ones live in a canvas bag under the table, and I can confirm the bag is full of the run panels. The large ones are packed in the cardboard boxes. I can’t tell whether the boxes are full or not, but I expect that Biggles and Oscar are right.

It’s sad that we won’t be going out in the garden again until spring. We had a couple of afternoons out last week, because it was warm and sunny, and not too damp. Midge and I made friends with Roscoe and Neville, who are really nice chaps.Maybe if there are some really sunny dry days Mummy will put a small run out for the deserving few. But I suppose it’s only just over two months till the winter solstice, and we have to get used to it.

Percy in the sun

Roscoe, Midge, Neville & Percy

Percy

Roscoe and Percy

Biggles and Bertie, sperated by a fence

Mummy seems to be trying to give us extra floor time to make up for it, but she sometimes doesn’t remember, or she’s too busy with other things. Or it’s just too late when she comes in. Never mind, we still get pickings of grass every now and then, and readigrass most other days. I like readigrass. I don’t think Bertie’s decided whether he likes it or not. He’s a funny boy, that one.

I’m finally going into hospital on Wednesday to have my lump done. Mummy says I’ll just have a nice deep sleep while Dr Sally finds out what’s going on inside the lump, and she’ll either sort it out if she can, or leave it if she can’t. I’ll probably have a sore cheek when I wake up, and the nurses will look after me until Mummy brings me home. I might feel a bit poorly for a while. It’s just to be expected. She’ll be looking after me and giving me tubefood if I can’t eat easily on my own. And she might put me in the small cage on my own so to keep the operation site cleaner, and not disturb Midge so much when I get my extra feeds. I’m glad I’m going to have something done to it. It’s a bit of a nuisance. I hope Dr Sally can fix it. But if I have to have a lot of fuss afterwards, I’m glad Mummy waited so that I had a nice quiet summer out on the grass.

I’ll let Bertie tell you how the operation went next week. Although Mummy might tell you as well.

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T for Tunnels #AtoZChallenge

On April 24, 2017April 20, 2017 By KevinIn a to z challenge9 Comments

Hello! I’m Kevin. I’m a ginger and white guinea pig and I look after both George’s Guinea Pig World and our Facebook page. Percy and I have been sharing the workload for our A to Z Challenge this year, and I’ll be doing this last week.

Our theme is “Our Favourite Things” – and I hope you’re not tired out from all this blog-visiting! I’ve had an upset tummy for the last couple of weeks, but I’m feeling a lot better now.

T is for Tunnels…

… although it could also be for TENTS.

We have lots of tunnels, some soft and cosy ones, some cardboard ones, and some covered with dry grass which we can nibble. There’s also a blue fabric one, the same as our tent fabric, which we use out of doors. Tunnels are lovely to snuggle up in or run through, and they make a great shelter when we’re in the garden and fancy a snooze.

Hugo takes a break

Hector’s tartan tunnel

Fred and George with new chubes

Kevin in the tent

Dougall mowing

Fred and Victor

Victor rests

Tents and tunnels in the garden

Midge in his tunnel

Oscar in the old green & purple tunnel

George and Fred 6 weeks old

Snuggly Dylan & Dougall

When Mummy first got guinea pigs, that was Fred and George, she used to carry them around in the cardboard tunnels called chubes, which she thought might be safer if she ever tripped over. Later when she got the tents, she realised that not only are they good for sheltering from the sun (and rain if she forgets to bring us in and it starts raining), but also, for carrying us from the house to the garden and so on. And then when she did that, we all knew what was what, so when she shakes our tents at us we come and get in them to be taken in (or out). Mostly. Sometimes if we really don’t want to come in she has to be a little stern with us. But we know when she really means it.

She’s learnt from our Looks at her when we want to come in. I think Fred taught her to watch for his Look, and I managed to give her the same Look, which she understands. So we’ve done quite well at training Mummy over the years.

Here’s a moving picture of Dylan playing with his tent and tunnels in the garden, and Dougall too.

And here’s a picture of Midge coming into his tent at the end of floor-time in the morning.

Come back tomorrow and see us doing something Unusual!!

We’ve been going outside

On May 9, 2016July 29, 2018 By PercyIn garden3 Comments

Mummy’s been very busy this week. I thought it meant we’d be stuck indoors. But it was so warm and the evenings are nice and light. So when Mummy came home, she put us out in our runs.

I run around with Oscar, just like in the mornings. He’s very bossy, though. Then today, Midge kept bossing Kevin. Kevin didn’t like it, and Mummy changed the run so Kevin had his own space. He was happy then. Midge kept biting the bars to get to him. I don’t know what’s up with Oscar and Midge. I hide in the tunnel when Oscar tries to be bossy with me.

They’re just being boars, Mummy says. Bores, I’d call it!

George's Guinea Pig World

Tag: garden run