The pup is now officially a Munro Bagger  He did his first Munro last week - Sgor Gaoith (3668ft, 1118m) in the Cairngorms. He loved it and the views were brilliant that day - all the way to Ben Nevis, so could see the six highest mountains in the UK, apart from the 2nd Ben Macdui which was hidden behind Braeraich (3rd highest). It's great he can come out on the hills with us now.

The week before he did his first Corbett, so he's getting a good taste of mountains! I'm sure he'll be notching up a few more peaks over the summer.

On Saturday Corbie and myself met up with fellow lab owners at Strathclyde Country Park near Glasgow. It was great fun! There were eleven labs in total and they were having a great time running about and splashing in the water.  Hoping to have another soon at Balloch Park, on the shores of Loch Lomond.  A lab breeder came with four of her labs (nicknamed the Hooligans!), so we were chatting about showing and breeding.  I think all of us standing chatting with our doggies must've been likened to a school playground with mums and their children!

It's my dad's 60th birthday in August so trying to sort out when I can go down and keep everyone happy.  There's a labrador get together that the lab forum I moderate on is organising near Birmingham the weekend I'll be down and my friend has said I can travel with her and her lab, which would be great as there's no way I can do the 1000-mile round trip from here and back plus a drive to that.  I really want to go as so many people I want to meet who I've done portraits for adn there's a fun dog show, which Corbie would love . I would really like to be there for dad's actual birthday which is a Wednesday. Trying to sweet-talk other half, and hoping I can go down for almost a week with the pup and he comes down for the weekend. 

Got an interview with Perth & Kinross Counil on Thursday, not looking forward to it as my mind goes blank at interviews.   I guess it's lack of interview experience, having only had 3 in the last 14 years. It's only a temporary job until the end of August and 18.5 hours a week. I would be nice to have the money coming in as we're really scraping the barrell (if it wasn't for one of my blimmin' loans we wouldn't be so bad) but Graeme said he would rather I did my portraits. Think I will have to sign on as been over a year and I haven't done it, so I think I derserve some of my hard-paid taxes back!! But I'm not going to sponge! Have applied for a job with Visit Scotland as well.

Have a couple of pet portraits lined up which is good, and the sun is shining today and it's lovely out.  I got rained on heavily yesterday morning when walking Corbie by the river.  I went out again about 7.30pm with him and it was lovely down there!

All hell will be breaking loose here soon if a dead swan is confirmed to have the 'deadly' H5N1 bird flu virus.  There is no risk to humans, yet that doesn't stop the media scare-mongering. I'd better start stock-piling the freezer full of chicken before that gets taken off the shelves. 

Apparently there is a two mile restriction zone around where the swan was found (Cellardyke, Fife - about 35 miles from me as the crow flies )! The birds are the only things that need to be kept away, but I can't see that happening.

The media just love this sort of thing.  I'm guessing that BBC's Reporting Scotland will be devoted to that tonight. Hopefully Jackie Bird (no pun intended) will come up with some funny quips related to that, the story just lends itself to it.

I'm sure I heard that to get infected you have to be in constant contact with them like working with poultry, etc?

Anyway, enough about birds....

Following recently blogging trends I may also move from AOL to here. Seems a nice set-up but slightly confusing with editing my details.

My aol blog is currently here: http://journals.aol.co.uk/karenh74/BlogofAStrugglingArtist/