renovating

We don't go to this dog park much, it's a strangely macho place not the owners so much but the dogs yeah definitely. I don't know if the revised design is intended to change behaviour here. 

Samuel Hatty's sister used to live over the road, you might recall. 

warning gross adult content

This is not the adult content precisely though I suppose it depends on your adult imagination. Two things about this, which I saw this morning at I guess around 5:30 am, piss me off. One is that yesterday, there were a pair of women's track suit pants in this same place, and they have now been replaced by these trousers. I'm so irritated that I didn't photograph the pants yesterday. I am also annoyed that of course I will have to go back tomorrow morning to see what's there then. This by the way was in Gracie street North Melbourne - that's the dog park in the background. 

This was Perry last night in the doorway. 

This was him this morning when I got up. That's his water bowl. 

On Sunday we went to Solomon Heights to take pictures for a lecture I'm giving in a few weeks. In this one Perry's stance makes the background look fake - IMO. 

In this image, Melbourne just looks fake, off there in the distance. 

And this is whatever. I didn't look in the crate. 

Here's the gross thing. So, for my sins I follow Gyles Brandreth on facebook. Yes, I know he was a tory politician (but you know, Britain is right royally fucked whichever way you look at it) - I just find him very funny, I can't help it. 

Anyway for the last few days Gyles Brandreth's stories have been playing out in my fb feed, and he's obviously been hacked (or he's gone mad or something) and there's just this gross soft porn, it's been like that for days now. I would love an explanation, because I went to his page (tbh I didn't even remember I followed him until I started seeing this stuff) and at least one person has left a comment telling him he's been hacked. But it's been days now, and he hasn't done anything about it (or perhaps his password's been changed so he can't?). Anyway, I don't really care, but I suppose I should unfriend him because despite me just saying I don't really care actually this bugs me. 

perry's guide to the dog parks of regional nsw #1: cooinda park, wyalong

There were no dogs here when we visited on the late afternoon of 17 May 2023. I'm going to suggest it smelt of plenty of them. It is a swanky set up too. Not pleasant surrounds though (unless you like constant truck traffic).

 

perry's guide to the dog parks of melbourne #3: martin reserve fenced dog park, west footscray

The one thing to be said for this place: the locals don't gibber and retreat at the sign of a bit (or a lot) of rain. There is an extensive dirt patch and a lot of birds who fly away when you chase at them. There is also a black dog called Millie who likes to chase and be chased. 

perry's guide to dog parks of melbourne #2: alf pearce reserve fenced dog park, carnarvon road strathmore

 

A place to make new friends and be marvellous in general. There are two sections to the park, which is basically a sandy waste with a few rocks in it. The large section is for the larger dogs and there is a little enclosure for tinies. They can (and do) bark at each other through the chicken wire. A regular (name undisclosed) likes to grab other dogs' tennis balls and eat the white bit. 

Visited: Easter Sunday, very rainy, Easter sucks! 

Rating: 8 out of 10. 

perry's guide to dog parks of melbourne #1: elsternwick park dog off-leash area, st kilda st

 

This park is not enclosed, but there is a lot of fencing on the west side, mainly probably to keep people / dogs out of the lake. 

Very cosmopolitan in terms of visitors. No real features to speak of apart from a lot of grass. 

The lack of fencing is the real problem. Hard to know where it begins and ends. 

Visited: Good Friday, still the shittiest most boring day of the year, thanks Christianity! 

Rating: 4 out of 10. 

dog park

Perry loves the dog park more than anywhere else as far as I can tell. Even if there are no dogs there (this happens occasionally) he still just loves its dogness. I guess it just has an essentially joyful vibe with a little frisson of extra trauma and fear for piquancy. 

The dog owners are the odd ones at the dog park. I'm not going to go into detail with the personalities but if you knew nothing about the relationship between people and their dogs and you were were walking or even driving past and saw the way some of them helicopter their dogs you'd wonder what on earth weird experiment was going on. Personally, I let Perry get on with it - I figure he can work it out. He knows where I am if he needs me and he doesn't need me getting up in his shizzle. But some people really want to be a part of every moment - I suppose that's what it is? I actually don't know and I don't know how to ask. 

But then, all the dogs are different of course and maybe some of them have behavioural or even physiological issues that need attention. I don't know. I only know what it looks like.

How's your week been? Mine's been very busy, there are projects about to reach fulfilment after a long gestation and I can't wait. And new projects to begin I guess which tbh I can wait for, lol. 

perry's wednesday morning

Perry and I went to the dog park twice, once on the way to the polling booth in Mt Alexander Road and, you guessed it, once on the way back. He still hasn't 100% got the hang of the dog park but I think he's getting there. It's clearly very stimulating judging by the extreme sleep he's undergoing at this moment. 

We got all the way to the polling booth (I want to vote early) and we were then told that Perry couldn't come in so I didn't vote today. It doesn't matter massively to me when I do it as I know who I'm voting for, but I think Perry was a little annoyed about his first exposure to democracy, judging by the way he pulled at the lead, bit it, lay down and refused to walk further, etc. Actually on reflection I think it might have been his failure to eat much breakfast that might have caused this response. Who really knows.