Baiting

Well it had to happen eventually.  The dog next door barks every single day.  She usually starts around 1-2pm and keeps it up for several hours.  I've never seen or heard the owners take her for a walk,  play with her or even talk to her and when they're home (which is rarely) even when she barks you never hear them call to her.  Max might bark occasionally, and he certainly barks, as we'd want him to, if someone tries to come into the yard, and sometimes at tomcats in the night who venture onto our property.  But if he is barking needlessly and I call to him he comes to me and stops.  I've been loathe to complain about the dog next door as there is little that can be done at her age to stop her short of the owners getting rid of her if the fines and complaints become too troublesome and it's certainly not the little dog's fault.  I have heard vague rumours about the other neighbours being driven mad by this dog and have complained but nothing has been done. (I wonder if the dog's owners have relatives who work for the council? That's country life for you).  I saw in the local paper this week that some dogs in the street behind us have been baited by someone throwing poisoned meat over the back fences.  Now that street backs on to a laneway that runs along the back of the houses in this street, so they're using that laneway to gain access to the backyards to throw the baits.  No dog has died thankfully, but they've been rushed to the vet in a very serious condition.  I have to wonder if it's a fed up neighbour who isn't quite sure where the barking is coming from so is just randomly baiting any dog?  I would NEVER condone baiting any animal, we had a little dog die from this in Gunnedah when our disturbed neighbour threw fox poison wrapped in mincemeat over our fence, it's a horrible, painful way to die.  But I can understand people driven to desperation by a constantly barking dog.  And once this next door dog gets started a whole bunch of other neighbourhood canines often join in till it's like a two street cacophony of pooch music, complete with howling, whining and yelping that echoes through these wide, quiet country streets.  I have instructed the family to keep the gate to the back part of the yard closed at all times so Max can't get up there.  He has the house yard and side yard to run in which is plenty of room for a little dog, and he gets walked regularly also.  Why do people keep dogs if they can't care for them properly?  I was never a dog lover, always preferred cats, but I do love our little loyal, loving Maxy who is coming up for nine years old.  He is well cared for and spoiled as he should be, and rewards us with good behaviour mostly.  I have noticed the dog next door has been quiet the past few days, perhaps the newspaper story scared them.  What worries me now though, is that once someone has started this type of behaviour, that others will jump on the bandwagon and do it too, knowing they probably won't get caught.
I did my $8 standing rib roast last night, it worked well in the oven bag, and as Phill and I are the only ones who like gravy, I left the shallots and garlic cloves in the pan and served the gravy like that.  The Yorkshire puddings were a nice addition on a cold night.
I made a banana bread recipe out of the latest Weight Watchers magazine, it's made with half white and half wholemeal (I'm slowly trying to convert the family to wholemeal everything) and vanilla low fat yoghurt instead of fat of any kind.  It has a topping of pepitas (pumpkin seeds), sunflower seeds, brown sugar and cinnamon.  The kids and I had some warm and it was crumbly but by the time it had cooled it was a lovely firm, but moist texture and we were able to slice it thinly and have after dinner.  I'm going to make another one today for the kids to take to school (if I can salvage any of it!).  I'm also going to make the jaffa cake recipe and some low fat cookies.  Rissoles for dinner tonight, laced with pureed cauli, broccoli and some grated carrot. 
It's cold again today, this Winter weather isn't going quietly.  We planted the first spring seedlings yesterday, just some sweet basil around the small lemon tree in the spaces where last year's were.  I want to get some more tarragon, some flat leaf parsley and another chilli bush but that will have to wait for a trip to a bigger town.  We really need a decent nursery here.  With all the beautiful homes in Cootamundra and the pride I know most townspeople have in their gardens I am really surprised we don't have a garden centre here.  The nursery part of the hardware is given over more to shrubs and bigger plants rather than herbs and vegies.
I'm going to harvest some lemons today and juice them and freeze them in ice cube trays then transfer them to freezer bags so we'll have lemon juice all year.  There are so many on the tree, I might pick as many as I can and take a basket up to the school for whoever wants them, such a shame to see them go to waste.  No nice neighbours to share them with, by the looks on some of their faces they eat enough lemons as it is.
For the first time I haven't felt a looming sense of sadness as the anniversary of Sarah's death approaches.  Usually every year I fall into a deepening black hole until I realise it's near the anniversary.  I have been preoccupied lately with my own health and the lifestyle changes I am making, but also I think, that after 16 years, I have come to a deeper acceptance of her death, and the grieving I do, and will always do, is something that is just a part of me now and takes place without any real conscious thought on my part. 
But then I even forgot to send my sister a birthday card for yesterday, so unlike me, so maybe I'm just losing my memory!