Quickly made this video of our adventures in the snow today … I hope that you enjoy it!

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This was the first time that we let Phoenix off lead in the park, and he loved it. He is such a winter weather dog and now he is asleep on the rug!

What is this box being stuck in my face?

Out on a walk ... hopefully my next home will have its' own yard!

Watch me go !!!

Look at me fly ...

GGGGOOOOOAAAAALLLLL !!!!

Come on slow pokes ...

For more images of one of Phoenix’s last trips to Port Meadow, click here.

On a recent rete discussion, the topic of whether small animal guillotines had been collected at any of the various collections of scientific and medical instruments.  This was raised because one had been recently been added to the collection at the University of Copenhagen.  One would not expect them to be common, but it appears that they were/are still very wide-spread.  There is one at the Smithsonian and in many other collections, according to the responses on the list.

This message also garnered a bunch of responses, including some very interesting ones from actual users of similar equipment … including how to instantly kill a small animal by whacking it against the edge of a table.

Just in case anyone was wondering, they are still available for purchase.

On the weekend before my birthday, we grilled out for the first time this year … made some lovely kebabs on a little disposable grill.

Also took some photos of our little flowers … they brighten up our patio nicely!

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Waterslide through the Shark Tank

I have always wanted to go to Las Vegas, because of the food, shows, and general displays of extravagance!  The new £30-million pool complex at the Golden Nugget is clearly that!  Consisting of a large pool, shark tank, water slide through the tank, private cabanas (Mon-Thu rental of $175 per day), waterfalls, and a bar … this is really a major complex.  To see more of it, check out the cheesy video of the pool complex.

Guess this is another thing to go on the list of places to visit …

via BudgetTravel.com

The Cage of Death at Crocosaurus Cove

What else could you want to do on your vacation than go swimming with an 18-foot crocodile?

Well, at Crocosaurus Cove aquarium in Darwin, Australia, you can spend 15 minutes in their Cage of Death.  All that divides you from the 1,700 lb. reptile is a couple pieces of study acrylic!  More details can be found at crocosauruscove.com but they recommend that you make reservations for the cage. Read more »

Last Monday was the May Bank Holiday and so we took a lovely walk to the Meadow.  Phoenix got to play with his new toy … a 1p frisbee from M&S’s anniversary sale.  He liked it, especially when we were playing keep-away from him!  More pictures …

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Since the weather has gotten better, we have been able to take Phoenix on several nice long walks on the weekend and in the evening.

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Okay, the weather was so nice last week that we had to take full advantage of it over the weekend.  So after our cycle to Abingdon on Saturday, we took a little picnic to the University Parks on Sunday.  To make up for leaving Phoenix at home on Saturday, we took him with us!

At one point, to try to tire him out a little, I took him across the river to the ‘Little Mill Pond Mead’ to run around off the lead (dogs are supposed to be kept on the lead in the parks).  Phoenix had other ideas and tried repeatedly to cross the river back to Jill … it was both hilarious because he was running up and down the bank looking for an easy place to get into the water and frustrating because he was not listening to me!  He did get a little energy out but it was not enough to make him lay down in the sun and sleep … there was too much going on around us in the parks for him to do that!

Also, it was the first weekend of punting season and so there were a few people out on the river having a go … many of them were not that good at it (or just out of practice), including Raymond Blanc, who we saw punting with his family.

Overall, this last weekend was a great weekend and I hope that we continue to have wonderful weather!