At last, a bit more sunshine

Sunday 13th August to Saturday 19th August 2017

Normally I take Teddy over Upton Heath on a Saturday, but as we went to the Dorset Dogs Festival instead I took him over on Sunday afternoon this week. We were greeted on our arrival by this beautiful Red Admiral on the path.

We turned left into Longmeadow Lane woods where the beech trees were looking lovely in the sunlight.

Then we made our way up the Roman Road before turning onto the heath and heading towards the viewpoint. En route I spotted this pretty little Grisette. I rather liked the setting with the moss surrounding it.

We walked down the hill and eventually came to the pond where Teddy set about eating the soil – something he seems to like to do quite a bit here. Jez used to lick the soil here too, so I’m guessing it’s full of minerals. Perhaps I should try it!

From there we walked around the lower heath where I spotted another Grisette.

Finally we walked back along the Roman Road before heading home. Monday morning, of course, we were back there again. And once again Teddy was sticking his muzzle in the soil, as you can see.

Tuesday was a lovely sunny morning so we headed out to Morden Bog, which is looking beautiful where the heather is in full bloom.

In this photo you can see Decoy Pond.

And here’s a photo of Teddy in the heather.

We walked on and as we headed towards Henry’s Pond we met our friends Tink and Twig. We walked on round with them. At one point they disappeared into some shrub. I heard a rustle, and then a young roe deer popped out onto the path between me and Teddy. I don’t know which one of us was more surprised. It ran off into the trees on the opposite side of the path and after thinking about it for a moment Teddy thought he’d follow. But he was a good boy and came back when I called, after which Tink and Twig re-appeared and took off after the deer in totally the wrong direction, so Teddy had to follow them. The next time we saw Teddy he was a really long way away, still chasing the non-existent deer. So we walked in his general direction with me calling him, and after a short time he came running back to me. I was so proud of him!

After all that running, though, the dogs were hot and had to cool down in a bit puddle.

And finally for Tuesday, one last view of Decoy Pond and the heather taken from the top of the hill as we headed back to the car.

On Wednesday morning I went to see my Dad, and in the afternoon I took Teddy over to Canford Heath.

Unfortunately I struggle to find good photos on Canford Heath these days, but I quite liked this one of the trees along the path that runs next to the Crematorium.

And here’s a slightly different view, taken as we walked up the hill from Steeple Close.

And so onto Friday and another walk on Upton Heath.  Along the old railway line the honeysuckle is now in bloom.

But there are no other photos from Friday. We did meet Charlie, the dog walker, though, with 6 dogs so Teddy had a good play.

And, of course, Saturday afternoon it was back to Upton Heath. As usual on a Saturday we walked up the Roman Road, across to the viewpoint, and then down the hill. Today, as we passed to two pine trees on the hill, the sky behind them was fabulous.

We continued on to the pond where Teddy spotted a pigeon on the far bank.

And then I threw him a stick and he started to play.

I don’t know what he thought he was doing. Although he picked that stone up at the end he immediately dropped it and then went back to digging in the deeper water. He was doing this for nearly 15 minutes while I sat watching him and laughing.

And then we walked on around the lower heath, along the Roman Road and came back to the car. And although he spotted the ponies along the way and showed an interest he came away when I called him. I’m sure it won’t always be like that though!

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.

The inner puppy starts to show itself

Sunday 25th June to Saturday 1st July 2017

That’s obviously Teddy I’m talking about. The estimate we’ve had is that he’s between 12-18 months old, but we think it is most probably nearer 12 months as, now he’s feeling more confident at home, we are starting to see a lot of puppy behaviour. Of course, this means we have to keep our eye on him all the time. In addition, he is requiring more house training that we would have liked, but we think we’re getting there.

On Sunday afternoon I took Teddy up to the top of Upton Heath for our walk. Here he is heading down the hill.

And here’s a panorama from a few yards further down.

Being a site hound, though, he loves to stand and gaze out over the heath.

I’ve also got a couple of bits of video of him today. In this one he is playing with his toys in the garden.

I find it interesting that he likes his toys as when we first gave them to him he didn’t seem too sure what to do with them. Now he loves them though.

He also likes to race around the garden at times, and is in the process of completely destroying my lawn.

Of course, after all that running he’s usually worn out – so much so that on this occasion he had to lie in the shade to have a drink.

Mind you, at least in that photo he’s drinking from his bowl. You see, he’s also worked out that he can drink from the fish pond – and eat the fish food!

At least Jez and Max used to limit themselves to only eating the fish food that had fallen on the ground.

On Saturday I took him for another walk on Upton Heath. I had intended to do a long walk around the back of the heath, but as we arrived we met a lady with 3 dogs including a saluki cross (which she had muzzled, and a young wolfhound. So we walked with her. Well, I say walked. For the first time I let Teddy off the lead for his walk as all he wanted to do was play with the saluki cross. They spent their time racing backwards and forwards at top speed and he had a wonderful time. Here he is with the lady and all 3 dogs at the pond.

And he’s getting a lot braver when it comes to the water.

I’ll leave you today with photos of Teddy doing one of the things Teddy likes to do best, apart from playing and eating that is. Teddy likes to lounge and snooze. So here he is on the sofa in my sitting room.

Having a snooze on the sofa.

And snoozing on my bed.

And we have news. We’ve had his DNA results back and it turns out he’s not a lurcher, he’s a longdog. He his 50% Saluki (Persian Greyhound) and 50% Greyhound. His parents were both Saluki/Greyhound crosses and they both had a Saluki and a Greyhound as their parents. So now we know. It was a bit of a shock. We thought he had deerhound in him, although I hadn’t ruled out Saluki, and possibly poodle. But as a friend said, they are both short-coated breeds, so where does all of Teddy fluff come from?

Jez has another hydro-fit appointment

Friday 24th June 2016

I’m sorry there’s a bit of a gap in posts this week, but I’ve had a busy week with few walks. On Tuesday I had a physio appointment in the morning, and then Chris took the dogs out in the afternoon. Then Wednesday morning’s I go to see Dad. We did go to the Country Park on Thursday but I don’t have any photos. So that brings us to today and this morning it was Jez’s turn for physio. Here she is all alone in the water walker.

She was joined by the vet and her treatment began. She is getting a lot better on the treadmill which is turned on for slightly longer periods (but only 30-40 seconds at a time). It’s also faster than it was to start off with so Jez has to stride out more. Here she is demonstrating how good she is at it now.

I’m really pleased with her progress though. She’s walking much better and wants to walk further.

A year ago today

Jez, Max and I went to Wareham Forest.

Jez goes to hydro-therapy

Friday 3rd June 2016

Today was Jez’s first proper hydro-therapy session. I packed up her rucksack with towels and a bag of chopped up chicken for treats and we made our way over to her vet’s in Bournemouth. We got there really early, which was great as we got to spend time with this little chap. Meet Copper, a 13 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Eventually it was our turn and we went on through to the hydro-therapy room where Jez had a rest while we waited for the vet to change into her wetsuit bottoms.

Jez wasn’t keen on the shower treatment but was happy enough to walk into the water-walker when the time came.

She wasn’t even too put out by the noise of the walker filling with water.

That is Aly the vet gently massaging her.

I also took a bit of video of her, including right at the end when Aly turned the walker on.

She really coped very well with it, but was quite tired afterwards. We’re going again for another treatment next week.

A year ago today

Max and I went to Upton Country Park where we saw the heron.

Jez came too

Friday 25th March 2016

Jez wanted to come to Upton Heath with Max and I this morning. She came with us to Upton Country Park yesterday too. The problem is that she is having a lot of difficulty walking. She is struggling to control her back legs, so wobbles all over the place, especially on uneven ground. Yesterday I kept her walk relatively short, and I did the same today. But having seen her walking yesterday, today I took some video of her to send to her vet and physiotherapist.

You can see the video here, if you wish.

She is a happy little dog though, and, as I said, has chosen to come out walking. And I would point out that we do not think she’s in pain, although she does have painkillers and anti-inflamatories every day to help with her arthritis. Here she is by the pond.

And here’s one of Max in the long grass.

And that was about it for today. As I said, I kept the walk reasonably short and then came home and edited the video. Later that night both her physiotherapist and vet got back to me. They agree it’s neurological and have told us to rest her.

A year ago today

Max and I went down to the River Stour at Eye Bridge.

Henry and Addy

Monday 25th January 2016

Max and I went over Upton Heath this morning for our walk and met Dawn, with Henry and Addy, our two English Pointer friends. Poor Addy, she so wants to be friends with Max and all he does is growl at her when she gets in his face. Once we start walking, though, he’s fine.

So we met on the old railway line and then walked round to the pond where all 3 dogs were playing: Max in the water with his cone and Henry and Addy mainly running in the area around the pond. Here, Addy found something interesting to sniff while Henry looks on.

And here are the two of them reflected in the far side of the pond.

We left the pond and walked on around the lower heath. En route Addy found a big stick which she bought with her. Unfortunately she had a bit of trouble at the gate.

Eventually Dawn picked up the stick and gave it to Addy the other side of the gate and she started carrying it around again. Unfortunately, while Dawn and I were wandering along chatting, Addy came dashing up behind us with her stick and then ran straight between us. The stick caught us both behind the knees before breaking in two!

A year ago today

Jez, Max and I had an afternoon walk on Canford Heath.

A grand day out

Saturday 18th April 2015

Normally when someone comes to stay I like to organise at least one day where we all go out together (that’s the visitor(s), me, Chris and the dogs). Today, as it was lovely and sunny, albeit with a cold wind, I thought a trip down to West Bay (Bridport Harbour) would be nice. Many of you will know it as the place where the TV series Broadchurch was mainly shot. Coincidentally, as I write this they have opened a new Broadchurch Trail around the town.

I’ve got loads of photos, but I’ll try to pick the best ones. The others you will find over on my Flickr stream.

So here are those instantly recognisable cliffs along the East Beach. As you can see, the sea is fairly rough.

Here’s another view from the end of the new sea wall.

I took this photo as I didn’t think it was particularly advisable of those girls playing on the rocks.

What I didn’t realise was that there was to be drama, not from the girls on the rocks but from one of those in the sea behind. She got swept out past the end of the rocks, and the local guys did a brilliant job of rescuing her – one of them risking his own life going in after her. At the time it all kicked off I was filming for Chris, so I quickly moved the camera and captured a lot of the action. Chris has posted it on his You Tube account.

Eventually they got her up the rocks and the coastguard, paramedics and ambulance arrive. I believe she was ok but the coastguard report to the local paper said she was slipping in and out of consciousness when they got there.

So, back to more mundane matters. Here’s a view of the East Beach.

And here’s Jez (shaking), Max and Chris on the beach when we got there.

Jez looks very happy coming out of the sea.

And, of course, Max was in his element.

There was a little lagoon at the end of the beach and Jez thought it was great. Here she goes to investigate what the children are up to.

It was lucky there was a sheltered area as Jez doesn’t like the waves if they are too rough, and as I said, it was a bit windy.

So, onto the harbour.

When we got there it was low tide.

But by the time we were ready to head home the tide had come in.

Up river a little way is the chalet used as DI Alec Hardy’s home in the second series of Broadchurch. Sadly he wasn’t there today (it’s recently been sold).

After that I had an ice cream and then we headed home, although we did stop off for a drink at a very nice pub in Burton Bradstock on the way home.

That’s Chris with Irene, Max and Jez under the table in the shade.

And finally for today, I took the coast road towards Weymouth on the way home, so we got some lovely views of Chesil Bank, the Fleet (the water inside the Bank) and Portland Bill (off in the distance).

It had been a lovely day, and best of all I didn’t have to cook when we got home as we got a take away.

A year ago today

We went to the River Stour where I took this photo of a Little Egret.

Of squirrels and seagulls

Monday 30th June 2014

A couple of days ago I thought I would move Dad’s bird feeder since the bush it was next to has grown a lot and the feeder was effectively nestling in a large conifer. So I spent some time trying to knock it into the ground in its new position, and then washed out the feeder and re-filled it. I don’t know why I bothered. As well as attracting all of the local magpies, the feeder has become a magnet for a female grey squirrel and this year’s litter. So the squirrels climb up the pole and then hang upside down to get at the feeder. Unfortunately their weight has caused the feeder to topple over. The squirrels are very happy – me, less so.

This is Mummy squirrel stocking up on the nice nutritious bird food I’ve put out.

And this is one of the young squirrels.

Another shot of a young squirrel, this time standing up.

The poor youngsters kept trying to get to the feeder. Here one tries to creep up on Mum.

Mum was having none of it, though. Sorry but I don’t seem to be able to embed the video from Flickr any more, so to view the video please go here: https://flic.kr/p/obZG7Y

After a little while I had another go at putting the feeder pole back in the ground, this time a little more firmly. I also put out some mashed potato that was left over from lunch. It wasn’t long before the seagulls arrived.

But this Herring Gull just couldn’t work out how to get at the food.

And one last Herring Gull photo for you today – my favourite of the bunch.

It seems to give this impression of him stalking towards me.

A year ago today

More wildlife, this time from my garden. It’s a bee on one of my geraniums.

Happy Year of the Horse

Friday 31st January 2014

Actually I’m not sure if that’s what you’re supposed to say given that it’s the Chinese New Year, but Happy Year of the Horse anyway.

Today dawned cold and grey again (although the thermometer in the car said 6.5C today, as opposed to 3.5C yesterday), so both Chris and I were surprised when Jez decided she wanted a walk this morning. I took both dogs down to the Baiter and Whitecliff Park for their walk. Well the car may have said 6.5C, but that thermometer is obviously sheltered from the wind. Down on Poole Harbour there was a strong, very cold wind. I was really pleased I was well wrapped up. This photo was taken down the Whitecliff Park end of Parkstone Bay.

Jez was pretty sprightly this morning, and hopped over the sea wall to go and explore the long grass up in the corner (as she likes to do sometimes). She also decided to have a bit of a paddle.

At the base of the sea wall, a small group of turnstones were huddled together.

Until Max came along, that is.

But they soon settled down again. Which was a bit of mistake, as then Jez spotted them.

Poor things. They decided to fly a bit further away after that.

While I waited for Jez and Max an elderly lady I meet down there came along with her little dog, so I chatted to her for quite a while. That gave Jez the opportunity to do her posing routine on one of the pillars.

And then she sat down (well, as close to a sit as she gets unless she slumps to the side).

A bit further on Max waited for me on the steps.

We’re on spring high tides again, so what with that and the south westerly wind, the bit of beach Max normally likes to play on was covered by the sea again. We could at least get to the edge of it though. Poor Max, I threw his cone, and he tried to drop it for me and the waves took he. He looked hard for it but couldn’t find it.

After that we walked along to the bit of beach by the Baiter car park, where I threw another cone for him for a while. Then we headed back to the car, which gave Jez the opportunity to chase off a large flock of Canada Geese which were on the grass.

Today has been a bit of a first as well. We escaped the rain this morning, but this afternoon January is trying to add to its Met Office record and it has been raining hard. So when Chris went to take Max for his afternoon walk he actually declined the offer and refused to move off the front porch. I’m guessing he might still have been a bit chilled from this morning, even though the heating is on today.