Two doggie incidents to do with Thunder.

Yesterday there was a very large thunderstorm in Bowral. It scared Bernie's dog, Buddy, but not Lena, who seems not to be frightened by thunder and lightning.

Anyway, by coincidence there was a fine example of a Slime Mould*** growing on Bernie and Dorothy's lawn during the day.This is one of those fine yellow foam-like structures which goes under the name of "Dog's Vomit" Slime Mould.

It was in peak condition when I first found it, - full of very fresh foam-like substance. The weather was hot and humid. Perfect for Slime Moulds.

Later in the afternoon, after the thunderstorm I went back out and inspected the Slime Mould and it had transformed itself into a dark, nearly black, blob of something barely able to be described. The outer surface was now black with spores, and what had been a creamy yellow "blancmange" substance had now turned to what, as a parent, I can only describe as a cacky-yellow colour underneath. It looked very nasty indeed, but, hey, that's all right - it was doing its job - reproducing itself.
I suspect that the thunderstorm would be important for this Slime Mould to spread its spores.

*** Slime Moulds were once regarded as Fungi, but these days they are classed as a separate Kingdom of creatures, which are closer to amoebas than fungi. They move around. They do not have the same cellular material as fungi do. This species, probably Fuligo septica, appears to be universal in distribution. It is classed within the Amoebozoa.

*****

And now for the bad news and the good about thunderstorms.

When I returned home this morning, after being away for the weekend, there was a lost and frightened dog on my front verandah. Presumably this little dog had panicked in the thunderstorm, yesterday.

I had never seen this dog before - a small, red, long-haired Terrier. From doing some research it is likely to be a Cairn Terrier. The dog was nervous, and clearly wet and tired. I offered it some food, but it did not accept it (straight away). Lena offered her a friendly welcome too. But the little dog went away.

Anyway, after asking around the street, I tried the Robertson Supermarket, and asked Neil if anyone had lost a small red terrier. Yes, yesterday.

I went home again, to see if the dog had returned and sure enough, it had, and had eaten the food I left out for it (smart dog - pretending not to be interested at first). Good. That meant I was half-way to winning its confidence. I quickly went back to the car and got the rest of my lunch, a Chicken sandwich from the Robertson Village Bakery.

The little dog was very hungry and she and Lena helped me eat the rest of the sandwich. By this time, the little dog had been enticed inside my house, and was safe.

And I quickly called the owner, who was happily re-united with "Ginger" shortly afterwards.

It turns out "Ginger" had walked some 2 Kms from her house, which is actually visible from my back deck. But she was in need of some TLC, which she was clearly about to receive from the very relieved owner.

A good news story. Being a dog-person myself, I understand how special that moment of reunion can be. I was happy to help out on this occasion.