The main reason that I didn't make it to the Iron Heart party this year was because I got myself a dog. This is Disco, he's a Peruvian Inca Orchid.
He's currently about four months old, and probably about the size of a Whippet. Like his owner, he's also completely bald.
I had a guest hound, Tex, for the first half of this week. He's a Peruvian Hairless puppy, about eight months old. His owner had fallen ill a few weeks after getting him, and he'd gone to stay with her friend. Unfortunately, after a few months in hospital, she passed away. I went to pick him up in Wagga Wagga, which is a couple of hours from where I live.
Here's Disco meeting Tenor the Azawakh, with Tex in the background. Azawakhs are a really rare sighthound that were originally kept by the Tuareg people in North Africa. They can be a bit prone to biting, as they were kept as guard dogs, but Tenor was friendly. He also quite liked Disco.
I made a stop about halfway home because the weather was hot, at over 40°C or 105°F. My car's air-conditioning had been unreliable for months, which didn't help, and the compressor blew up halfway to Wagga.
Peruvians come in three sizes. Disco is about 64 cm or 25" at his withers, which is at the top of the large size, whilst Tex is 50 cm or 20", which is borderline between a medium and a large. Unlike a Poodle, the sizes exist more as a spectrum. The dogs have the same father, but Disco's mother is a large, whilst Tex's was a small medium.
The heatwave continued all week. I took the dogs out on Tuesday morning, and they cooled off in the river. Tex decided that swimming was quite fun, apparently he hadn't done it before. Disco doesn't generally go in any deeper than he is in the photo.
I had to drop Tex off at the airport on Wednesday afternoon. The heat built during the day, so I headed to Melbourne in the morning, as the weather was much cooler, and we went to the off-leash dog beach.
Disco tried to steal a ball.
Tex had a ball running through the water...
... and he got plastered in sand about an hour before his flight!
I did wash him off before taking him to catch the plane.
Tex is a lovely pup. He's gone back to his breeder, and I think that she's planning on keeping him long term.
Having two dogs was a different experience, and I've only had one before. I think that Disco enjoyed having a playmate, which meant that they entertained each other, but handling two on a walk was much trickier than one.
This is a Kookaburra. They're a relative of the Kingfisher that's native to Australia, and they're about the size of a crow.
They're hunters, and I saw one today that had caught a small snake. That's the large worm in its beak. It's not a great photo, as I snapped it with my phone on maximum zoom.
The Aurora Australis was visible from outside my house this evening.
There's an area of native bush or woodland in the park near where I live, and there's some wildlife that frequents it.
Yesterday I saw a couple of older gentlemen on the bridge across a creek that runs through it. It turns out that they were watching a Platypus. It climbed out onto a log, and I got a rather poor photograph with my phone's camera.
The sighting came about half-an-hour after I'd been verbally abused by a woman for having my dog off-leash in an off-leash area...
I saw an Echidna back in December. They're a spiked marsupial that resembles a Hedgehog or Porcupine.
I've seen a couple of Kangaroos, and several snakes. I don't have any pictures of them, because I'm normally trying to stop my dog from sniffing them or following them into the undergrowth.
I got my pair of Sailor Moku Denim Pants from Papa Nui a couple of months ago, and the Australian summer has been really hot (over 40°C or 105°F last week), so they haven't had a huge amount of wear.
Continuing the theme of clean and dirty, here is Disco on Sunday afternoon posing after winning Best of Breed at the Royal Sydney show. I should cheapen the victory by pointing out that our rival failed to turn up, after she unfortunately injured her knee. But the advantage of a rare breed dog is that it is likely to win its class by default.
And here he is on Monday morning after he spent an hour chasing a Pitbull and a sheep around a small farm on the outskirts of Sydney. It was probably the highlight of his weekend.
Disco got a lot of attention at the show. I probably had to explain what a Peruvian Hairless was hundreds of times over the two days, because it's a fairly unique breed. Well, except for the Xoloitzcuintli who were further down the aisle...
Disco enjoying his stay in a hotel.
And since everyone is doing before and afters, here he is at three months old.
I've still got the Mountain Parka, and occasionally wear it. Here it is being modelled with Flash, who I was walking at the Greyhound Adoption Programme on Saturday.
I was in Melbourne today, and I dropped by the IWC boutique to take a look at the new Portugieser in Ceratanium.
I like the aesthetic, it looks very contemporary on a rubber strap, and it's very light.
Unfortunately, the legibility isn't great. The Omega Seamaster in black on black ceramic is clearer because there's a mixture of matt and gloss finishes, along with different textures. I think that the IWC needs a less reflective dial.
To be fair, I was feeling the after-effects of dilating eye drops, and my vision wasn't entirely back to normal it might look better next time.
@Denimhead-0 and @northsouthdenimguy thanks.
The Wills has gussets in the back, so that might help. I'm going to email Ship John to see if they have any advice.
I was offered a Wills jacket in 2XL-Long, and I'm trying to figure out if the sizing will work for me.
I had a size 4XL IHJ-104-BLK Oiled Cotton Chore Coat, which was almost identical in the dimensions, except that the shoulder width of the Iron Heart was (according to the chart) 21.3" and the Wills is (according to the chart) 20.75".
My shoulders and upper chest are the pain point in Iron Heart gear. I gave the chore coat to my brother because it was too tight there, and my IHSH-289 sometimes gapes slightly between the second and third button. The Wills is half an inch narrower through the shoulders, but it has a pleated back, and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with it.
@northsouthdenimguy do you have a Wills? If so, what size? Your chest and arm measurements are the same as mine.
@Pinkpan I've got a pair of unworn 463s in a size 34. Interested?
I'm just catching up on this thread, and here's a late entry to the Cartier Santos posts. This is the titanium model, which is lovely, and, unfortunately, it's not mine.
@GraemeE that doesn't sound like a fun pastime. Get well soon.
Disco enjoying his stay in a hotel.
And since everyone is doing before and afters, here he is at three months old.
If the Dale falls through, can I suggest Jenny? She's a 1933 motor yacht built by W.G. McBryde in Helensburgh, currently available on eBay for a quid. The restoration might cost a wee bit more.
More details at Silodrome.
I got my pair of Sailor Moku Denim Pants from Papa Nui a couple of months ago, and the Australian summer has been really hot (over 40°C or 105°F last week), so they haven't had a huge amount of wear.
I had a guest hound, Tex, for the first half of this week. He's a Peruvian Hairless puppy, about eight months old. His owner had fallen ill a few weeks after getting him, and he'd gone to stay with her friend. Unfortunately, after a few months in hospital, she passed away. I went to pick him up in Wagga Wagga, which is a couple of hours from where I live.
Here's Disco meeting Tenor the Azawakh, with Tex in the background. Azawakhs are a really rare sighthound that were originally kept by the Tuareg people in North Africa. They can be a bit prone to biting, as they were kept as guard dogs, but Tenor was friendly. He also quite liked Disco.
I made a stop about halfway home because the weather was hot, at over 40°C or 105°F. My car's air-conditioning had been unreliable for months, which didn't help, and the compressor blew up halfway to Wagga.
Peruvians come in three sizes. Disco is about 64 cm or 25" at his withers, which is at the top of the large size, whilst Tex is 50 cm or 20", which is borderline between a medium and a large. Unlike a Poodle, the sizes exist more as a spectrum. The dogs have the same father, but Disco's mother is a large, whilst Tex's was a small medium.
The heatwave continued all week. I took the dogs out on Tuesday morning, and they cooled off in the river. Tex decided that swimming was quite fun, apparently he hadn't done it before. Disco doesn't generally go in any deeper than he is in the photo.
I had to drop Tex off at the airport on Wednesday afternoon. The heat built during the day, so I headed to Melbourne in the morning, as the weather was much cooler, and we went to the off-leash dog beach.
Disco tried to steal a ball.
Tex had a ball running through the water...
... and he got plastered in sand about an hour before his flight!
I did wash him off before taking him to catch the plane.
Tex is a lovely pup. He's gone back to his breeder, and I think that she's planning on keeping him long term.
Having two dogs was a different experience, and I've only had one before. I think that Disco enjoyed having a playmate, which meant that they entertained each other, but handling two on a walk was much trickier than one.
