A bit of a damp week

Sunday 23rd July to Saturday 29th July 2017

I didn’t think I had much to share with you this week, as we’ve had quite a damp, showery week. But it turns out I have more than I thought, including 3 bits of video.

So I’ll start last Sunday, when I took Teddy down to Lake Pier at Hamworthy. It used to be a favourite destination of Max’s, but since they’ve started charging for the car park I haven’t been back. Anyway, it wasn’t a particularly nice afternoon: fairly breezy with squalls of rain. I don’t think Teddy has been to the beach before as he didn’t seem to know what to make of the waves.

He did find the seaweed quite tasty though (you would think he was never fed).

And he had a great time chasing the wagtails along the beach and then the seagulls into the water. Monday we actually had some sun for our walk over to Upton Heath, and Teddy made a new friend at the pond: a young German Pointer. Here they are having a great time.

Tuesday was another nice day and I decided to take Teddy out to Wareham Forest. We hadn’t been there long when we met two 13 week old French Bulldog pups.

They wanted to play with Teddy until he started chasing them and then they got scared, so I put him on the lead and walked him on.

As I said, it was a very nice day, as you can see from this photo of Teddy approaching the Dragonfly Pool (on the left).

And here is said Dragonfly Pool, looking rather lovely in the sunshine.

I took Teddy for a slightly longer walk today and chose I route I used to take with Jez and Max but which I don’t think they’ve been up to walking for the past 3-4 years. It bought us back along the side of Decoy Heath.

Although it looks like grass it is mainly bog, covered in grassy hummocks in places and reeds. Walking along Teddy spotted a crow out on the heath and took off after it. He was doing fine until he fell into one of the boggy pools, at which time he came to an abrupt halt. Just look at the state of him afterwards.

All that mud can make a little dog quite frisky though.

I tried to wash him off in the Gruffalo Pool but he wouldn’t go in, choosing to run after a horse and rider that I thought was far enough away before I let him off the lead again. Fortunately no harm was done but I’ll have to hold onto him for longer when we meet horses in future.

So I arrived home with a very muddy dog, and had to bath him, which he did not appreciate. I had a nice clean, dog afterwards though.

After that the weather got worse and it was either overcast or raining and I didn’t take any photos until we went to Delph Woods in the rain on Saturday afternoon. We had had strong winds overnight and I came across a fallen silver birch tree alongside the stream.

With all the rain Teddy looked very bedraggled and sorry for himself.

Even the lake looked pretty dismal.

So we were happy to get back to the car and the dry.

I’m hoping for slightly better weather in the coming week. Perhaps I’ll be able to get some of my washing done.

Teddy settles in

Sunday 18th June to Saturday 24th June 2017

That said, my first photo this week is not of Teddy, but of my Dad as it was Father’s Day on the Sunday and we bought him over for lunch. It was also the first time he’d met Teddy. So here is my Dad in the garden on Father’s Day.

This week has been a scorcher (well, for the UK at least) so a lot of our walks revolved around taking Teddy out early in the morning and then in the evening, with an afternoon walk in Delph Woods where there is lots of shade and water. As I went to my Dad’s on Wednesday morning it meant I got the afternoon Delph Woods walk that day.

To date Teddy has only been dipping a tentative toe in the ponds we take him to while he has a drink. But where it’s hotter he’s getting braver. Here he is at the lake.

Wet dog.

At the end of our walk we sat in the shade on the cricket pitch for a while, so I took a portrait of him.

He’s such a good looking dog. On Friday I sent away a DNA test for him, so we are eagerly awaiting the results.

Teddy’s first week home

Sunday 11th – Saturday 17th June 2017

Teddy has settled in very well during his first week with us. The first two nights he slept on the sofa in the living room as he wouldn’t come upstairs. On the Monday he discovered he could do stairs after all and spent a lot of his time running up and down them. After that he slept on a duvet on the floor for one night, and then on my bed thereafter. We have to watch him first thing in the morning though, as if you don’t take him outside quick enough he can’t hold it any longer and wees on the carpet. He hasn’t learnt how to ask to go out yet.

On Teddy’s first full day with us Chris took him for a walk in the morning and then in the afternoon I took him over to Upton Heath. We walked over, as I used to do with Jez and Max when they were younger, and then walked up the Roman Road and out onto the heath. Here is Teddy at the top of the hill.

Looking into the camera.

It was quite breezy, and every now and then as we walked down the hill he’d stop and gaze out across the heath. Well, he is a sight hound after all.

And here’s another one of him.

I’ve not been taking photos every day. But as the temperatures started to rise we took Teddy out early in the morning and then to Delph Woods, where there is lots of shade and water, in the afternoon. This was taken on Wednesday afternoon when it was time for a drink in the stream in Delph Woods.

Another close up.

And one more of him in the woods.

On Thursday afternoon I took the EOS 6D into the garden to get some photos after Chris bought Teddy home from his walk.

And my favourite – Snoozing with his head in the daisies.

On Friday morning it was overcast and I took Teddy down to Lychett Bay. No photos of Teddy from today, although he did have to try out the seaweed, but a couple of the boats down there. As you can see the tide was out.

And I quite liked this photo of a rowing boat.

And lastly, a photo from Friday afternoon which shows just how much Teddy is settling in.

That’s it for this week, but I hope you’re going to enjoy my new adventures with Teddy.

It wasn’t supposed to rain today

Sunday 21st August 2016

This afternoon it was quite hot and sunny, so I thought I’d take the dogs to Delph Woods where there is shade and water. And what happens? It immediately clouds over and we arrived there in the middle of a short shower of rain! Fortunately it soon stopped.

Our walk at the Delph was slightly different today, but we still started off heading for the lake.

Jez soon joined Max in the water and after she had cooled off she came to stand on the bank while I continued to throw Max’s cones so that he could have a swim.

She soon got bored with just hanging around, though, and decided to try and eat a tree instead.

Today, instead of heading straight for the scout field I walked in the general direction of Gravel Hill. I normally avoid going over this part of the woods as if the dogs run off after deer it’s a bit close to the road. As the road is currently closed, however, I thought I would take the opportunity.

There is another small ponds here which, although it can tend to be a bit mucky, currently has waterlilies flowering on it.

We walked around this pond before eventually heading back to the scout field. En route I took this photo of Max.

And here is Jez on the scout field.

We sat and played on the scout field for a while, then walked down to the stream. After that we headed back to the car and home.

A year ago today

We went for a walk on Upton Heath.

Jez and Max in Delph Woods

Saturday 16th July 2016

Today was a scorcher, so in the afternoon I took Jez and Max to Delph Woods and I knew there was shade and there would be water for them. Although we did walk through the woods all of the photos are taken on the Scout field, with the exception of this first one of Jez cooling down in the lake.

Max went in the lake too, but his tail was splashing the water around too much for me to get a photo of him, so here is a photo of a sopping wet dog waiting for me to throw his ball after he’d been in the lake.

Here they both are on the Scout field.

Jez likes to sit around and hassle me for treats. Meanwhile I throw the ball for Max. You can see there is a cricket match going on in the background.

I also eventually manged to get some decent photos of Jez, who normally walks off every time I point a camera at her.

And this one.

And lastly, just look at that tongue!

She’s no doubt preparing to beg for more treats.

A year ago today

Well, actually a year ago yesterday. We went for a walk round Lychett Bay.

We go to Delph Woods on a hot Sunday

Sunday 5th June 2016

Today was hot. There was no doubt about it. Even this blackbird took the opportunity to have a bit of a sun bath.

It was also a bank holiday week-end, which meant places like the river and the beach were going to be crowded. So, despite the fact they had been there with Chris is the morning, I took the dogs to Delph Woods in the afternoon. For one thing, there is lots of shade there.

For another, there is lots of water for them to cool down, which is precisely what Jez is doing here.

Of course, Max went in the water too, but he just wanted me to throw his cones for him.

After the dogs had cooled down in the lake we walked to the Scout Field and sat down. We’d only been there a few minutes when our friend Judy came along with Jasper, the lurcher.

Here’s another photo of Jasper.

We sat in the shade talking for ages, while I threw the ball for Max.

Who duly bought it back.

Meanwhile Jez posed nicely for me.

And then, when we decided we’d been there for quite a long time, we walked back to the car with Judy and Jasper. A lazy, but very pleasant afternoon.

A year ago today

I think I made a mistake yesterday and post a photo from a year ago today (Lychett Bay). So today I will post from 2 years ago today again, when Jez and I were staying with my Dad and took a little trip out to Keyhaven in Hampshire.

Another trip to Delph Woods

Sunday 8th May 2016

It was very hot and sunny today so I needed somewhere to walk the dogs where they could stay cool. I decided the beach was out, as it would be packed, and it would be quite a long walk for Jez to the pond on Upton Heath. So we went back to Delph Woods. We parked in Broadstone at one of the entrances to the woods, rather than in the woods themselves as Chris thought the car parks would be crowded as Broadstone CC would be playing cricket. As it turned out they weren’t, but where we parked meant we had a short walk to the lake and the dogs’ chance to cool down.

From the lake we progressed to the Scout Field again, and I took lots more photos of the dogs, although mainly of Jez. I’ll just share a few here. Here’s Jez with a very big stick.

And Jez lying in the shade with her stick.

Jez looking up at the ball.

And Max looking up at the ball.

Happy dog.

Very happy dog.

Cheeky dog.

We spent about an hour on the Scout field, then walked to the stream and then I had to get Jez back to the car, which wasn’t easy as she wanted to head back to the main car park rather than in the opposite direction where we were parked!

A year ago today

We were at Upton Country Park where I caught these ducks snoozing.

Hot and Sunny in Delph Woods

Friday 6th May 2016

Being a Friday I went and did my grocery shopping before I walked Max. Today, however, Jez decided that she would like to come too. It was a hot and sunny day, and I thought the walk in the heat to the pond on Upton Heath (where I had been intending to go) would be a bit far for her, so instead I took the dogs to Delph Woods. This is where Chris takes them most days. The advantage of it, on a day like today, is that Jez doesn’t have to walk very far if she’s not up to it, plus there is a lot of water around.

So I parked next to the cricket pitch and Jez promptly decided to take a rest in the shade behind the sight screens. So I played with Max for a while until she was ready to move.

Eventually I got her to the stream on the other side of the cricket pitch, and from there to the lake where both dogs had a bit of a cool down (although they had both been in the stream too). Then we headed back to the scout field (so called as it’s sometimes used for scout camps). Here’s Jez sitting in the shade there.

And one of her lying down.

And here’s Max showing us just how long his tongue is.

We hung around for quite a while and then eventually headed back to the car. Half way across the cricket pitch we met a young dog called Bella. She is 18 months old, a Staffy/Ridgeback cross and was very friendly and lively. And it was at this point that Jez, who struggles to walk properly a lot of the time, let alone run, decided to play with her. I’m not sure that it’s that good for Jez, but she has to have some fun in her life, so I let her play. She could only cope with it for a short time, and then had to lie down and rest. Anyway, here’s a photo of Bella coming to see me, with Jez lying down in the background.

And after that we went back to the car and then home.

A year ago today

Sheep at Upton Country Park.

Christmas Day 2015

Friday 25th December 2015

I had originally planned for Dad to come to lunch today, but he decided he wanted a nice quiet day at home, so this year it was just me, Chris and the dogs for Christmas.

We had a nice relaxing morning, which started with coffee and shortbread biscuits in bed. Max desparately wanted a bit of biscuit. Here he looks imploringly at Chris, but notice he does not attempt to help himself from the box. He’s a really good boy and knows he’s not allowed.

After Chris had eaten his biscuits Max turned those pleading eyes on me.

You can’t really resist, but he only gets a little bit of biscuit broken off of ours.

Then it was time to get up and put my Christmas socks on.

They’re getting a bit old now. We opened presents and enjoyed a cooked breakfast. Then both Chris and I sat down at our respective PCs: him to work (!) and me to edit photos. Max commenced the all important job of destroying his Christmas presents.

After lunch we all went to Delph Woods together for a walk.

As you can see, it was a bit wet and muddy.

Here’s Chris with the dogs by the pond.

And, as is becoming traditional, one of the trees by the Scout field has been decorated for Christmas.

Back near the car park we met our fried Jasper, the lurcher, with his owners and their son. And then we headed home where, after watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom we settled down to a lovely dinner of slow roast pork. Oh, and not forgetting watching Dr Who, of course.

A year ago today

Sitting down to Christmas dinner last year.

Max comes too

Friday 3rd July 2015

Sorry for the delay in posting. I seem to have been struggling with my motivation a bit recently, I think mainly down to the fact that I’m not very happy with the photos I have been taken. Where I walk in all of the same places (and in fact fewer of those now that the dogs are getting older) they seem to be all a bit samey. I am starting to look at some online photography courses though, so am hoping they will get me out of a rut.

So back to Friday 3rd July, and we were starting to try and take Max out for short walks. That pretty much means an afternoon walk in Delph Woods. Chris and I have been taking it in turns to do the walks, and today it was my turn (it also explains why there was no post for yesterday).

Once I managed to get Jez out of the carpark we headed through the woods to the cricket pitch where Jez had to have a rest.

After a while we walked on round the edge of the pitch and I managed to grab this shot of a dog chasing it’s ball across the cricket pitch, which I thought looked quite good in black and white.

We then made our way to the scout field where we sat in the shade. I took the opportunity to take some photos of the dogs. Here’s Max…

…and Jez …

… and finally the two of them together.

They were taken just before I spotted a tick walking across Jez’s chest. I quickly pinched it off her and disposed of it.

So after about 20 minutes or more on the scout field we made our way back to the cricket pitch. En route I found a bit of branch that some tree surgeons had recently discarded and gave it to Max to carry. Jez soon decided that it was something she should investigate though.

And that was about it. We eventually headed back to the car (it took ages to get Jez off the cricket pitch) and came home after about 2 hours of walking nowhere much.

A year ago today

Dad, Jez and I went for an evening walk on Mudeford Quay.