September
Posted: September 19, 2015 Filed under: birds, coast, countryside, dogs, flowers, food & drink, food for free, holidays, life style, miscellaneous, Uncategorized, we love, weather and wildlife | Tags: bird watching, brambles, burghley horse trials, dog, food fairs, fruit, fungi, harvest, indian summers, jam, ludlow food festival, Max, minimoon, orchard, sandringham game & country fair, september, walking, wedding Leave a commentSeptember is my favourite month for many, many reasons.
The end of September always makes me a little sad but but I am always looking forward very much to the next one.
It is filled with lovely things for us:-
It is the month we take our main annual holiday
Walking – The Shropshire Way
It is the month of Burghley Horse Trials
Burghley Horse Trial – Burghley
It is the month of harvest
Harvest – Northumberland
It is the month of Sandringham Game Fair
Horse Boarding – Sandringham Game Fair
It is a month when we do most of our walking
Walking – The Lakes
It is the month when the best fungi appear.
Fungi – Fly Ageric
It is the month of Food Festivals across the country. Ludlow being our favourite.
Ludlow Castle
It is the month for Bramble picking & making Jam.
Brambles
It is the month of Indian Summers when the heat has left the sun but the cold months are not showing themselves yet.
September Sun – Ford Village
It is the month we got our hound and collected him when he was just 8 weeks old.
Max
And it is the month we got married
September Wedding – Rings
There’s Magic Everywhere
Posted: May 8, 2013 Filed under: countryside, local interest, miscellaneous, we love, weather and wildlife | Tags: countryside, dog walking, east anglia, equine, foals, pets, ponies, spring, walking Leave a comment
bunty and her baby
Spring has definitely sprung.
In the last couple of days, the world has changed and there is new life and wonderful stuff everywhere.
It fair lifts the soul.
genevieve and gabriel
We have seen so many different birds that seem to have been hiding until now; yellow hammers, hobbies, shelducks and lapwings to name but a few. The crops are visibly growing overnight and before too long the oil seed and beans will be waist height.
There are blooms and butterflies everywhere and I could not love this time of year more.
The loveliest thing we have seen though was the arrival of 2 foals on the nearby farm and both at the same time.
some of gabriel’s first steps as he warms up in the morning sun
They are simply gorgeous and it is such a privilege to catch them within hours of arriving in this world. This little colt and filly arrived in glorious sunshine on Monday and we have watched their gangly little legs get stronger by the day as they feed and get used to this strange & noisy place.
confidence comes with each step and each minute
Imagine the challenge when all those inches of leg and neck have been folded tightly in a warm dark are suddenly sped into this bright frightening world.
The first day, the mares were a bit spaced out from the delivery and you could do just about anything you wanted with them and their offspring. But as they regain their strength and the bond between the dam and foal develops, the mare will more often than not put herself squarely between you and her precious little one.
gabriel sticks by mum’s side
They are getting bold and confident even after just 2 days and when they aren’t gambling about between feeds they are laid out enjoying the warming sun.
what’s that?
I could watch them all day and their smell is completely addictive (anyone who has spent time around our equine lovelies will know exactly what I mean).
24 hours later gabriel is already steadier on his feet
Jenny Wren
Posted: April 7, 2013 Filed under: birds, countryside, local interest, we love, weather and wildlife | Tags: birds, countryside, east anglia, Flora and Fauna, RSPB, Troglodytidae, walking, Wren Leave a comment
watching out
One of my favourite birds is the Wren.
This gloriously sunny weekend was very welcome and so was the sight of a Wren while we were out on a walk.
dotting around near her nest site
We were severely chastised by this particular Wren who I suspect is trying to build a nest near to where I had chosen to sit.
I love these pretty and perky little birds, not just for their size but how their size is completely disproportionate to their bravery.
We are vast mountainous creatures compared to a Wren but there is little, if any hesitation when it comes to telling us off .
If we have had the temerity to step over the invisible line that surrounds and protects her little haven, we will be subjected to a barage of chipping and chatting that comes with an urgency and tone that leave little doubt that she is cross!
I wasn’t disappointed.
It is completely hilarious and quite disarming. I hope she settled back to the job in hand none the worse for having to stop what she was doing to tick us off for getting too close.
on the look out again
Hamlet Hound
Posted: March 22, 2013 Filed under: dogs, we love | Tags: dog, dog food, dog habits, dog walking, dog walks, dogs, Hamlet, jack russell terrier, JRT, london, pets, terrier, terriers, walking Leave a comment
he hides his face sometimes when he sleeps
Hamlet has been with us for about 6 months now and he seems settled, always delighted to see us and he is eating really well.
His appetite has, historically been a barometer for the state of his emotional health (read bonkers!). If he is off his food, he’s not a happy little dog and it signals a decline into a state of madness.
obsessing over a ball
This madness manifests itself in serious grumpiness, cowering, loss of appetite, endless licking (like anything!!), lots of sleeping and lots of barking. I truly believe he shows all the signs of severe misery!!
Hamlet is prone to being grumpy and a grumbler at the best of times but the level increases tenfold if he is fed up. Even when he is happy, he is prone to obsessive behaviour and a ball or toy is guaranteed to bring that out in him. I don’t think some of these things will ever change.
Old age is also starting to present itself and he is slowly losing his sight. There is milkiness to be seen in his eyes now and I think he gets startled and scared easily because he can’t see properly.
He has responded positively to our routine though and I think our relatively quiet and peaceful house suits him very well.
He’s a little treasure and we love having him with us
the ears say it all
When he is happy, he is a complete joy; he can’t wait for his mealtimes and will take your fingers off for a crumb given the chance, he stands expectantly at the door for his walks, he strides out and is even happy to see other dogs (that almost never used to happen!!!).
We put him on a raw diet the same as Max’s for ease and it seems to suit him, he looks fit and happy, he is slim and full of beans (between monumentally noisy sleeps!!).
He is still fundamentally the same weird little dog he has always been and I’m not surprised my sister misses him as much as she does.
lovely rheumy old eyes
tourists
Posted: March 18, 2013 Filed under: art, holidays, local interest, london, miscellaneous, we like, we love | Tags: England, hungerford bridge, I love london, london, london eye, london sights, national theatre, parliament, River Thames, sight seeing, south bank, Thames, Tourism, walking Leave a comment
the fabric tree at the national
We are very lucky living in London.
Everything is here and I love it.
the centurion at ‘the savoy’
There are wide open spaces, incredible amounts of wildlife, galleries that are free to enter, ever evolving architecture, a busy river, a comprehensive transport system, more restaurants than you can shake a stick at and some of the best tourist attractions there are in the world.
I spend a lot of time in London at meetings and on sites but I am guilty, like most London residents, of not taking advantage of anywhere near enough of the amazing things that sit on my very doorstep.
classic scene of parliament from the south bank
As usual this is only put to rights when we get visitors who want to take in the sights.
JC’s sister and her other half joined us for a weekend a few weeks ago.
the wonderful london eye
And it gave us the perfect chance to soak in some sights.
We don’t see them often enough and it is a real shame as we get on really well. The boys used to hang around in the same groups when they were troublesome teens and JC’s and his sis have been pretty close in the past.
Both ‘kids’ were bought a weekend away by JC’s mum for Christmas. A great present that took us off to the gorgeous countryside along the Thames in Oxfordshire and theirs brought them down to London to see us.
the under side of the hungerford bridge
We saw the inside of a few pubs & coffee shops but we did lots of walking. Even though it was bitterly cold, it gives you plenty of opportunities to stop off for something to eat or a warming drink. We had a great time wandering along, chatting, sight seeing and generally catching up while soaking in the surrounds.
London is very small really and if you aren’t in a hurry, you can link up with some fantastic sights and catch a few more besides if you look out.
some urban art (this changes almost daily)
There are lots of surprises.
And it is constantly changing (whether through your perception of it or actually changes).
You should look up too, there are some wonders and delights above the eye line that lots of people miss in their mission to get somewhere particular but a wander and a gander is to be recommended.
the courts of justice (constantly featured in the news unfortunately)
Some of your discoveries may not be quite along the lines of what you expect as I found at the royal courts of justice where some eejit had grafittied my name (nearly). Great fun for a photo but a real shame to see it.
grafitti by one of he doors at the royal courst of justice
Especially when there is some incredible graffiti around the city that has become a tourist attraction in itself.
beyond here lie dragons
We covered miles and caught up loads as well as seeing some bits of london that we haven’t seen for a very long time and enjoyed some of the great things that it continues to offer.
I can’t actually wait to do it again.
some delicious street food in the piazza
there’s a slot going on….
Posted: January 13, 2013 Filed under: we love, weather and wildlife | Tags: country sports, countryside, deer, deer slots, dog walking, Game, Hunting, Outdoors, roe deer, shooting, walking, wildlife 2 Comments
roe deer slots
When we walk the dog/dogs at the weekend, it is evident that the place is teaming with wildlife. We see some of it but mostly we are left with only signs of vast amount wildlife that is in the area.
There are deer living in the trees, grazing on the crops and moving through the cover. Their footprints (or slots) can be seen everywhere, especially when the ground is soft.
tiny slot and a mammal print
There are badgers, muntjac, hares, foxes, rabbits, predatory birds, herons, pigeons, pheasant, owls and partridges to name but a few.
tiny slots from young roe deer or possibly muntjac
The deer are the ones that we look out for most as there is always a chance that you will see them. We know some of their favoured spots and the regular routes that they take in their day. We see small groups, singles and larger family groups but lately they seem to have been even more shy than usual. We know they are occasionally hunted in the area and that might affect their numbers slightly but they aren’t hunted a lot and should be quite comfortable in the area and certainly not small in numbers.
Deer are jumpy and shy at the best of times so they are never really relaxed for long. They are constantly looking out or moving on if they don’t like the look or smell of something.
slots that show assymetric growth from an injury or something else
We recently found out from someone (who knows lots about this kind of stuff) that an injury to a deer when it is young or something else has interfered with it’s growth creates asymmetry in the antlers which can be seen in their hooves too.
uneven antlers
The lop sided nature of the antlers is one of the things that hunters prize.
running
Deer look so serene when they are grazing or gently moving around their territory but they are spectacular when they running. They can move at great speed.
The photo of the slots above was taken this morning in the frost. The dips at the back of the hooves are the dew claws and although these tracks aren’t fresh (they are a few days old), the slots show that the deer were running when they were made. You don’t always see the dew claws as hopefully they are grazing or wandering about, rather than running from some perceived danger
We have a tracking book that shows all these kinds of interesting details that you miss most of the time and you could make it a lifetime’s work just studying the tracks and trails of any one species.
I find it fascinating and I love the fact that they have been out there before you in the silence of dawn or the depths of the night, quietly going about their business and sensibly getting out of the way when us humans appear making lots of noise!
An Old Boy
Posted: January 3, 2013 Filed under: countryside, dogs, friends and family, funny, we like | Tags: border terrier, dog, dog habits, dog walking, dog walks, dogs, east anglia, Fizz, Hamlet, Heston, jack russell terrier, labradors, london, pets, terrier, terriers, walking Leave a comment
max and hamlet
I have blogged about my sister’s terrier Hamlet before. He’s been around for ever. We think he is about 12 or 13 but no one is quite sure.
His eyes have recently become a bit milky and we think it has affected his sight but he is fit and generally very well. He is, however, very, very grumpy.
having a cuddle
His grumpiness has got him into trouble in the past but it is kinda how he is and that is it. To be fair to him, he is only grumpy with other dogs, he clearly loves people and he especially loves men. His diminishing sight and overall grumpiness hasn’t been an issue really until recently when Fizz came to join his household.
Pupinksy
She’s young and has boundless energy, I think she jumps into view and scares the bejesus out of the old fella. She gets told off A LOT. Add that to the fact that Heston, who also joined this previously ‘one dog’ household is as tenacious in his attempts to annoy Hamlet as Fizz is in her attempts to annoy Heston and the end result is that no one in the household, especially Hamlet, was happy anymore.
We took him for a few weeks at the end of the summer to give everyone a holiday from each other and hoped that when he went home, order would be restored, Fizz would have settled down and the grumpiness would have subsided slightly. Unfortunately for all concerned, it was even worse.
After struggling for a couple more weeks, my sis & Kit made the very difficult decision that perhaps Hamlet really needed some peace and quite and that a new home might be the ticket for the Old Boy.
He is undoubtedly grumpy and he has nuclear rancid breath that could render you speechless from 20 paces but JC & I didn’t hesitate to offer him a home and told my sis that he could come to spend his dotage with us and Max. He wasn’t to go elsewhere under any circumstances.
Max, our 4 year old JRT, winds him up sometimes and isn’t always pleased about sharing us but we 4 all to rub along fine and have settled into a new slightly different routine but it seems to suit.
There is still enough space for a cuddle on the sofa.
There is still enough space on the back seat of the car.
And there is still enough food to go around.
settling down to an afternoon nap
We have spare leads, spare beds, spare bowls and many more things that have made the transition an easy one. Also, we know Hamlet, he used to come and stay with us for his holidays before we had Max and he absolutely LOVES London.
We are all happy with the set up and I am sure that Hamlet and Max are happy, fit and well in this new arrangement.
My sis called around over Christmas and it was the first time Hamlet had seen her and Kit in a few weeks. He was clearly DELIGHTED to see them and stood at the gate for a while after they had left which gave me a few moments cause for concern.
We subsequently went for a walk with them and a full quota of dogs and everyone had a great time. Hamlet is still spritely even though he grumbled a few times it was evident that he was enjoying himself. I did think he is probably missing his original pack and you have to ask yourself if you have done the right thing for the old fella.
there will be snoring soon
It was very clear at the end of the walk where he wanted to be and who he was going home with! He practically made a run for it!
He’s on our sofa dribbling and snoring quite loudly as I write!!
missing in action
Posted: October 24, 2012 Filed under: countryside, dogs, local interest, we love | Tags: border terrier, dog, dog habits, dog walking, dog walks, dogs, east anglia, Hector, Henry, patterdale terrier, pets, rabbit warren, rabbits, terrier, walk, walking, working dogs 4 Comments
Hector looking very pleased with himself
The farm terriers decided that staying down a rabbit hole on sunday was much more fun than coming to a call.
After 2 hours of walking, stalking, whistling and calling, Patby very reluctantly had to abandon his desperate search for Henry the Border Terrier and Hector the Patterdale Terrier to attend a very important birthday lunch for his eldest daughter and her lovely man.
gotcha
We got the call at about 11 am asking us if we could pop along to where they were last seen hoping that we might be able to find them and take them home safely.
We are pretty fond of the farm dogs (and Patby and Gaga!!) and are always willing to help out where we can because we enjoy an enormous amount of generosity from the farm and feel that we should say thank you as often as we get the chance to by our actions.
nearly home
So, not wanting to let the scent go cold, we donned our waterproofs, got the walking sticks out (expecting a bit of hard going), armed ourselves with whistles, leads and shovels (in case they really had gone down a burrow, gone to ground and needed digging out! It happens with terriers A LOT!).
We weren’t sure how long it would take us but we’d had a hearty breakfast and were happy to stay out there for as many hours as it took, Patby and Gaga needed to know that the boys were safe and were quite frantic about having to leave before they knew they were safe. It was important to get a result as soon as possible so they could relax and enjoy their special lunch.
dirty and clearly tired
We parked up in the yard near where they were last seen and planned our manoeuvres.
Imagine our surprise but complete delight when we hadn’t even stepped out of the car and 2 very dirty and very wet little terriers came cannoning around the corner looking very pleased with themselves.
a lot of the dirt transferred to the car. Quite a skill!
It was tempting to fib and say that it had taken hours of hard slog to find them and hadn’t we done well but we just knew that the most important thing was that they were safe. Patby and Gaga were distraught and really had to be told as soon as possible so they could relax and enjoy their day.
There is still a great sense of good that comes from a successful mission and finding 2 little troopers that were missing in action even if we didn’t do much more than turn up!
life’s a beach
Posted: July 29, 2012 Filed under: coast, dogs, friends and family, life style, we love | Tags: border terrier, dog, dog walking, dog walks, Dorset, Hamlet, Heston, Holkham, jack russell terrier, JRT, July, Ma, Max, norfolk, Overstrand, scuba, scuba diving, spring tides, Teesdale, Tide, walk, walking Leave a comment
oh I do like to be beside the seaside…..
We love Norfolk! We’ve mentioned it before and it was our choice of destination for our minimoon, we have friends that live there, friends that love going there and my sis has just moved there.
We are used to having my sis and niece and their 2 dogs on the doorstep and we really miss them so went to visit today.
in he goes
I’m fine!!
again! (Max obviously thinks he is bonkers)
It was a chance for a catch up, to see their new home and to get out for a nice afternoon walk with the dogs.
Kit, liz’s other half is a Norfolk boy through and through and apart from having a love for this gorgeous county, he also has a pretty good knowledge of the place. We had some coffee on arrival, a snoop around their lovely cottage (classic flint built with red brick koins at the corners), brunch then a stroll at Oversands.
I absolutely love the coast and particularly our beaches. JC and I used to spend every spare minute that we had walking the Dorset jurassic coast or the hills of Teesdale and Norfolk combines bits from both so it firmly has my affections. Add to that, long sunny days spent running around naked on Holkham beach when we were kids, and I am a bit smitten. Oh to be able to afford to retire and move there for a life of loafing!!!!!
I’ll get it
it’s just there
it’s moving away (notice max has scarpered)
got it!!
I’m fine!!
I’ll just surf in, ok?
see, I told you I’d be fine
These brief interludes are not quite enough but they are so glorious.
There seems to be a long period between low and high tide and the amount of water being moved by the tides at the moment which sounds like they must be on spring tides (all connected to the phases of the moon). I know things like this from my diver coxswain days scuba diving and boating around the british coast (that’s a whole other post!!). Anyway Kit and Liz disagreed on when we should walk but we were ready to go when we were ready to go.
all mine
The tide had just started ebbing but with no real urgency which Kit had warned us might be the case (you see, local knowledge) so we had a bit of scrambling rather than a walk on the way out and we didn’t stay dry!
Needless to say the dogs absolutely loved it and didn’t give a single jot about the tide.
there ya go!
I have blogged about my sister’s fabulous but elderly terrier Puppy (official name Hamlet) who is about 12 years old. He is an interesting character and typical of a terrier which means he is not necessarily an easy dog. Heston, who is my sis’s other dog (a 2 year old border terrier) and Max (who was 4 in July) are ‘young pups’ relatively speaking.
I ‘SAID’ it was mine
That’s as maybe but the old boy is far and away the braver of the 3. He tackles impossibly large rocks, he has survived an unexpected tussle with an attacking badger, despatched more rats than you can wag a tail at and he has also survived a kidnapping by a local camp of gypsies.
He loves the beach as I think we all do but throw something into the waves for him to retrieve and he enjoys it even more.
I’d better keep it over here
He really is fearless in the waves and just when you think he is out of his depth and could be in trouble, the little chap just surfs back to the beach to do it all over again.
I actually think that he would do it until he dropped like a stone.
I’ll have this too just in case
little blue ball
Posted: March 13, 2012 Filed under: countryside, dogs, holidays, we love | Tags: beach, best beach, brancaster, dog, dog walking, fetch, retrieve, walking Leave a comment
just out of reach
bounce
mine all mine
We were away this weekend for a very much needed break but also because it was JC’s birthday.
When asked what JC wanted to do or where he wanted to go, I think it was easy – the norfolk coast.
Any time that we get to escape to the beach it is a treat for us all really. I love it, JC loves it and Max, our JRT loves it too.
Watching him tear about the sand after a ball or a bird (Max that is – although JC has been known) is great entertainment and just the tonic we need.
It was quite windy over the weekend and the ball seemed to travel a bit further than usual but, oh what fun!
Who would think that a small piece of bouncy rubber painted blue would hold the potential for such joy?
I sometimes think Max would retrieve it time and again until he was completely spent.
We usually have his favourite treats to give to him as incentive to fetch his ball but this time we didn’t have them and he seemed to need no kind of encouragement and just kept going time after time.
Eventually he got sand in his poor little eyes which has meant a trip to the vet before so, much to Max’s reluctance, we headed back to the car and off away from the beach.
All being well, we will be back again soon!
chezlah 