In Praise of Old Dogs and Cats and Ripe Tomatoes

I'd like to introduce you to Zappa, our grand-dog. she belongs to our son who often works out and about, so Zappa gets to spend quite a lot of time with us. She is a dear, sweet fifteen old cattle-dog cross with a lovely temperament. Sometimes she forgets she is an old lady and romps around like a puppy - then spends three days sleeping it off! And this is our cat, Puss (yeah, I know, very imaginative!) She has reached the grand old age of twenty-one. She's blind in one eye, partially deaf and a bit stiff in the hips, but she still has a healthy appetite and seems happy and pain-free. I've never known a cat with such a sweet temperament - not a mean bone in her body.

The tomato is our first for this summer......judging by all the unripe ones, we are going to have a bumper crop. There is nothing as good as a home-grown tomato.