Welcome to "Man with two dogs" - the family website for dog owners and dog walkers.

IT'S INTERESTING to see the countryside in a way you don't do normally, so I jumped at the chance to take a boat trip down the coast from Fishtown of Usan south to Buckieden. This is where the cliffs and rocky coast end and the sands of Lunan Bay begin.

I HEARD the yellowhammer long before I saw it. Macbeth and I were out for the morning walk, and I could hear its insistent wee song. My mother used to tell me to listen carefully and I'd hear that the bird was actually singing –  a little bit of bread and no cheese'. When it's a bright, sunny morning and not a cloud in the sky, and you're feeling well with the world, it's easy to recall the childhood things your mother told you.

 DOGS DIE in hot cars' was the banner headline on the back cover of last week's  The Big Issue'. I was much impressed that the magazine should be giving dog owners such a timely warning in the summertime. But, never assume! – it's actually the name of a band.  Pretty close to perfection', commented the magazine.

 LIVING HISTORY' regularly drew howls of despair from our children as we marched them into old churches, castles and other ancient piles. Promises of how much fun it was going to be fell on deaf ears!

SUMMER HAS some catching up to do, it seems to me. The summer solstice has passed which means the longest day and shortest night are gone for another year. And Midsummer's Day has been celebrated so we should be enjoying warm sunny weather such as we had this time last year, instead of the cold and rain we've had over recent days.