A Beautiful Day In Wadhurst

 My sister and I were so lucky to have such beautiful weather yesterday. We spent the morning at Bewl Water and had a lovely long walk around the water's edge. When I say around, we walked for just over two hours, walking for an hour then turning round to walk back. The walk around the water is 12 miles and I would love to walk the whole walk one day. I'm going to try and build up my fitness to this level over the year and walk the whole route. I enjoy a challenge, the only problem is at the moment I have a bit of a niggling pain in one heel and ankle, that I'm not quite sure what it is. It isn't constant and when I am walking it is a bit better, it's when I stop it hurts and I end up having to take painkillers which I hate doing. I'm trying to decide whether it is worth going to the doctors or it may just go as things often do. 

After our walk we drove into Wadhurst to have a pub lunch. We sat in the garden with Cassie who just loves being out all on her own with us. Youngest son says she has "little dog status" as she is so easy to take places the other two can't go as easily. We had such a delicious lunch sitting in the sunshine and the lovely young waitress brought Cassie a bowl of water and two dog biscuits on a tray! I couldn't fault it, I really must take the time to write a review as I feel often only the people who have had bad experiences, fuelled by anger, seem to make the effort. You can see how much she enjoyed herself!

After we had eaten our lunch we went for a walk around Wadhurst which is a really pretty little village. The only fault I could find was that in very narrow streets there as quite a lot of traffic but I suppose that is everywhere at the moment. We even found an independent book shop to browse around who welcomed Cassie which was a added bonus to the afternoon.  We walked around the beautiful graveyard in the local church, that had the most perfect views towards Bewl Water, certainly a very pretty final resting place.

We sat for a while on a carved bench in the church porch. It was ever so moving the inscription read "In Loving Memory Of Annora Violet Watson Smyth Of This Parish Born October 23 1901 Died April 29 1912. These Seats Her Own Wish. Given By Her Mother" There were two identical seats on either side of the porch with the carving of a little girls face on the sides. Little Annora, immortalised for ever in the pretty village she lived her short life in. It was a beautiful place to sit for a rest and end such a nice day. 

It's another sunny day today and the weather forecast is for very hot later. Tom is on and early and when he gets in after a short sleep we are going to go to the caravan for a few days. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and enjoys this sunny weather if you are lucky enough to be able to enjoy it. Back soon. xx

Grooming Dogs And Special Friends

 I was busy all day yesterday, working, weeding and washing. Oh and walking, there is always a dog to walk! There seems to be so much to do all the time, I don't really mind as I do love to be busy but I can't help but miss that feeling at the caravan when we have nothing to do. I often set to cleaning it and polishing dogs nose marks off the windows but the hole van takes half an hour. There is a lot to be said for downsizing! In the afternoon I started a job I hadn't been looking forward to and if Cassie had an inkling of it she wouldn't have been looking forward to it either.

Last weekend when we were at the caravan I decided she must have another trim. It was so muddy when we were out walking and as she is so low to the ground she got covered. It was so hard to get the mud off her legs when we got back to the caravan with limited water and I had to brush the dried mud off later which she absolutely hated. Cassie always hated the groomers. I took her a few times and she did look lovely but the woman was very off with me and told me she had been very naughty, and wouldn't stand still. She developed a fear of my Mum's fan oven hating the noise as they used a hot air drying cage. I decided enough was enough, what was the point of scaring her like this. I bought some clippers and I trim her myself. She still doesn't like it much and she often looks a bit rough around the edges, but she is happy which is the most important thing.

It really reminded me of an incident that happened with my Mum in the 1970s. We had a lovely little Yorkshire Terrier, just like Cassie, called Dougal, who we got on my 11th birthday. In those days Yorkshire Terriers weren't really trimmed, they had long flowing hair and walked along like Dougal in the Magic Roundabout which is why we called him his name. We were watching an episode of The Generation Game and Bruce Forsyth brought his little Yorkie on at the end. It had had a short clip and looked lovely, My Mum was so taken with it she phoned the BBC to ask where he had got it clipped. A few hours later a man from the BBC phoned back and said "Mr Forsyth say's to tell you his Yorkie was trimmed at ..." and gave an address in London. Can you imagine that happening now! My Mum and Dad duly took him to be clipped and next to the groomers was a restaurant. They decided to have lunch there while he was being trimmed. After this every time they took Dougal they would go in for lunch. Years after Dougal was dead and gone they would still go to the restaurant all the time and built up a lifelong friendship with the head waiter and his family until his death a few years ago. He was such a special friend to them. Isn't life funny, I often think this, one chance phone call led to such a long friendship. I was going to post a photo of trimmed Cassie, but she is still sulking a bit and won't look at the camera so here is a photo of Dougal, one of the most special little dogs I have ever been lucky enough to have in my life.

Scarlett is here today so we will busy all day but have lots of nice things planned to do. Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

The Fragility Of Young Lives

 Yesterday Scarlett and I took Cassie for quite a long walk to our local park and beyond it. I have to choose our walk destination quite carefully as there  is only so far she can walk happily and then it starts to become a bit of a chore and I can see she's not enjoying it so much. Cassie is also happy to walk at her pace where as Tess and Layla start pulling and get fed up. On the way we were walking along and a young man of about 20 was walking behind us. I stood to the side and let him pass as we were walking quite slowly. We passed the usual pleasant comments you do as we passed and I noticed how smart he looked. He was wearing beige trousers a very smart shirt and a straw boater hat. He looked wonderful, just as if he had stepped out of the 1930s! Scarlett who has a loud clear voice and has not quite learned she shouldn't pass remarks said loudly "He is very handsome!" Such an old fashioned word! I saw his face brighten and there was definitely a spring in his step as he walked on down the pavement. When he had gone I said to her kindly that even though he did look very nice she shouldn't really pass comments to people like that. She looked so crestfallen and said "Mummy said I mustn't say unkind things to people only kind things." I was at a total loss as what to say really as she is right, but doesn't really understand yet that social restraints mean we can't really be shouting things like "You look nice!" to people in the street. It's a shame we can't though as I'm sure it may brighten people's days. 

We walked round the park and then all the way along the path that takes us almost to Sutton where the path ends so we have to turn round and walk back to the park. It was so full of wild flowers and the grass was so long it was a nice exciting walk for Scarlett and Cassie too. I think the path belongs to the rail company but they have extended the park into it to make a bit of a wildlife walk along the edge of the railway track. There is a chart to show how many different butterflies have been seen but sadly we couldn't see any.

When we got back to the park Scarlett wanted to sit on a bench for a while and she told me she wanted to go and sit on the bench she had seen something had been left on as we walked past. Off we went to find the bench and as we sat down I realised it was a memorial bench to a young 15 year old who had died in the most tragic circumstances in the park a few years ago. I don't usually walk on that side of the park so had never noticed it before. The item left on the bench was heart breaking "What is it?" asked Scarlett who's reading isn't good enough yet to know what it said. "It is something put here by someone who loves their brother very much." I said. That seemed to please her and we sat on the bench and chatted about the squirrels that were running about in the park but I suddenly felt ever so sad at the fragility of young life and wished we had never sat there. 

Next to his name on a plaque was added another plaque advertising Child Line and The Samaritans. Who knows what pushed him to that point but I couldn't help but think if maybe we didn't have some of our social restraints and people really could say things like "You look nice" to people in the street instead of negative things on social media which can hurt people so much, life might be a bit better for young people.

I worried all day yesterday about my friends son who had been knocked off his moped in a hit and run but last night found out although he is hospital with several broken bones he is doing well and hopefully should recover without and lasting effects. My friend is so kind and forgiving, he said the young man who drove off handed himself into police later in the day and he actually felt a bit sorry for him as he only just passed his test and had the car a few days. He said this young lad made a terrible mistake driving off and the lasting effects of that may actually be worse than for his own son as he is now facing so many serious charges. As my friend said "One really bad error of judgement can ruin your life forever." 

I have a day at home today with all the usual things to catch up on. Little Todd is still with us and gained 1g yesterday! I know that is a pitiful amount but at least he didn't lose weight! Eldest daughter looked at him and thought there would only be a 50/50 chance of him surviving and then it is very hard to release him after he has been fed by humans from such a young age. Oh well I'll deal with each problem as it comes along. Have a lovely day everyone what ever your plans. xx

A Busy Day Of Rescuing Birds And Neighbours

 Yesterday I  proved to myself exactly what I had written about yesterday. It's very hard to work from home without being distracted, at least it is in our house! I settled myself down at my desk to work.  I was slightly distracted as a friend of mine and his wife were hiking Helvellyn and along Striding Edge in the Lake District and he kept sharing the most stunning photos in our Whats App group, but as he seemed to only stop about every half an hour to send a photo for us to comment on and encourage him to keep going I kept quite focussed all morning. I caught up with a lot and was feeling very productive and pleased with myself by lunch time. A young woman in Croydon has contacted me asking if I would like some photos her parents have found in the loft of a house they have moved into in. Apparently the previous owners had lived there for decades and decades and although they have contacted them they are not interested in collecting the framed photos (can you imagine!) so the new owners have been trying to find a home for them. The local museum aren't interested either so after an internet search they have found my website and asked if I would like them. I'm not getting my hopes up too much as often people contact me and then nothing materialises, but I have offered to go and collect them so hopefully I will have a few more interesting photos to research soon. 

While I was sitting eating my sandwich and watching the news, Tom phoned and said he was on the way home with a baby pigeon he had found. His work garage had brought in pest control people over the weekend to kill all the pigeons who were roosting in the eaves. Tom had found this little pigeon sitting all alone under a bus which was parked in the corner of the garage. While he was finding a box so the office staff could keep an eye on it during the day until he came back to the garage one of the other drivers said "Just stamp on it, it's only a pigeon." The whole story made me feel so sad, as human beings why we feel we are so superior to animals and why some animals seem to be right at the bottom of the line of caring. The long suffering office staff, they are used to looking after waifs and strays for Tom, looked after the pigeon all morning, and then Tom bought him home on the bus. "How is the dove we looked after?" they asked. Tom promised to send them a photo of her living happily in our aviary. When Tom arrived home I had sorted the cage out and set it up for the poor little chap. He had called him Todd as he found him all alone. That's Todd Sloan which means alone for anyone not familiar with cockney rhyming slang!

I sent this photo of him to eldest daughter who before she became a police officer worked in the, now closed down, London Wildlife Hospital for two years so is quite an expert with this sort of thing. She says it is very borderline whether he will be able to feed himself as he still has some of his yellow baby feathers and will still have been fed by his mother but just learning to feed himself. I tried syringe feeding him as I have had lots of practice with hand rearing baby cockatiels but he just refused to open his beak, hand rearing really needs to start before about three weeks old to be successful, although I have had some successes older. In the end I tried him with softened oatmeal biscuit and later some warm scrambled egg which he did pick at a bit. He's still alive and picking at his food again this morning so I hope he will survive. He spent the evening sitting on my knee on an old towel watching the first half of the England match, so at least even if he doesn't survive he is warm and cared for, which is more than all his poor family. 

In between all this pigeon drama, our lovely jazz pianist neighbour came round as he had accidentally locked himself out of his house and asked if we could help him get in. His house is completely double glazed and it seemed like an impossible task, what an earth do people do in this situation, I had never really thought. In the end he asked Tom to smash the tiny little window in his front door and as Tom has long arms he managed to reach in and open the lock, of course then a glazier has to be found to make his house secure again and between all this and baby pigeon feeding the rest of the day passed by and I didn't get any more work done. While all this was going on my friend made it to the top of Striding Edge and I missed commenting on the dramatic photo of them posing with their dog in triumph! 

With baby pigeon Todd safely back in his cage, I was recounting all the days dramas to youngest daughter, who was sitting watching the second half with us. It was a nice end to the day even if not at all as I had planned. I suppose a life has been saved, our lovely neighbour was safely in his house and England won. I just had to share this photo of Tess and Layla watching youngest daughter eating crisps during the football match. You can see who gives the dogs unhealthy snacks in our house!

I'm off to my Dad's this morning. My sister is taking him for a blood test first thing this morning and then I am going round a little later and we will do his shopping and have lunch with him and then all the other little jobs we have to do. My six monthly blood test at the Royal Marsden is due this week so I will have to try and fit that it too at some point. At least the sun is shining. Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

At The Caravan Site And A Trip To Bewl Water

 What a beautiful part of the world it is along the Kent, East Sussex border. I have visited there lots of times but in the last few days have completely fallen in love with it. Thank you so much to everyone for wishing me well on our break away, your best wishes have obviously worked as with the sunshine and countryside it feels as if we have arrived in paradise. The area may even be overtaking Scarborough for me! We have popped home for a couple of days to catch up with a few commitments and look after Scarlett tomorrow but I'm missing it so much already.

Our little corner of the field is so peaceful. As it has been very warm we have been sleeping with the caravan windows open at night. In the morning I lie there, breathing in the fresh air coming in the window and I can hear a cockerel crowing in the distance. It is the only sound I can hear apart from the birds singing. 

All we have done is walked the dogs and sat and relaxed. We visited a place called Bewl Water which is a reservoir in The Bewl Valley which straddles the Kent, Sussex border. It was constructed in the 1970s  and supplies water to many of the towns around the area. It was so beautiful, we had one of the nicest walks we have ever had with the dogs. 

There is boating, water sports and fishing or you could hire a bike and cycle or walk the full 12 1/2 miles around the perimeter. It was a perfect way to spend a morning.

By the time we got back to the caravan we were all exhausted but a nice exhausted. The dogs are really enjoying the outside life and being with us all the time. I just wish I could replicate this life, in every day life. 

Our internet connection is terrible, I managed to post some photos on Instagram but they took about an hour to upload and pages just won't load. However very quickly I realised that was part of the benefits of being here, no TV, no internet, what coronavirus? There is also a poor little crow that can't fly very well. We have called it Master Crow and Tom drove down to the local Co-Op to buy some sausage rolls to give it. So it is just like being at home really! Have a lovely day everyone. Back soon. xx

Putting On Weight And How To Lose It

 I think I may have to give our Too Good To Go bags a miss for a while. They have been so good and saved us so much money but Tom and I have put on weight. There are always pastries and doughnuts that I don't eat but Tom loves and always crusty bread which is so hard not to eat slices and slices of. The other sort of food I have been eating a lot of is prepared salads like coleslaw and potato salad. I hate waste and as they are at their sell by date when we get the bag we find ourselves piling more on our plates. I'm also eating more processed food than I would normally buy. In the last few weeks I have put on a few pounds, not too much in itself but if it carries on every few weeks goodness knows where it could end up! I have tried to convince myself that it's the weight of my brain growing with all these new Welsh language skills! Sadly I know this is not the case so these bags will have to be a bit more infrequent I think. 

There is one way I find of eating that always makes me lose some weight and I discovered it when I had to go on a special diet before my treatment for thyroid cancer. As I had to have an iodine free diet there was a lot of foods I couldn't eat but one group of foods I had to cut out completely was any pre prepared foods and I'm sure this was the reason that I lost weight. I felt so well while I was on this diet I promised myself I would never eat processed food again. Of course they have crept back into my diet a bit as it is hard to avoid them totally but after watching a TV show the other night about how these foods alter our brain I think I will have another go at cutting them out an hopefully lose the few pounds I have put on. In one way is is so simple, if you look at a food label and it has more than five ingredients or ones you can't even pronounce don't eat them, but that is very hard in this day and age I'm afraid. If you look online there are some people who take a 100 day challenge of the 5 ingredients or less rule in pre prepared  food and I really admire them but I'm not sure if I would be able to do this. 

I've been trying to persuade the rest of the family to join in too as it would be so much easier if we were all doing it, but it's been falling on deaf ears I'm afraid. Youngest son was happily munching on a doughnut out of our Too Good To Go bag while I was explaining it to him. "You're looking at this all wrong Mum" he said "There are only two ingredients in this, a doughnut and sugar!" Now you see what I'm up against!  I will allow myself the odd lapse, especially when we are at the caravan, but I'll let you know how I get on. 

One of last years cubs seemed to have returned to the garden again as there is another young fox, but not as young as our cub, hanging around. Yesterday afternoon was so lovely and sunny youngest daughter fell asleep on the sun lounger in the garden and when she woke up the male fox was happily sitting in the sun too, just a few feet away from her, not a care in the world. I have bought a toy for our only fox cub with our Pets At Home delivery and thought I better buy a new one for Tess and Layla to play with too. I don't want them feeling left out! The trouble is as breeds they play in such different ways. Tess wants to play with the toy and tug it and chew it, but Layla just wants us to throw it for her, then she brings it back and carries it around all day. I think I better buy another one as Layla is certainly not giving it up!

I'm going to my Dad's house today to do his shopping and I'll be checking some of  the curtains I have made for the caravan too. Today is going to be very warm, which is lovely after all the rain we had in May. So it looks like it's onwards and upwards into June! Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Cassie Goes Visiting Neighbours

 It was another nice warm day yesterday. I worked on my websites in the morning and then in the afternoon set to tidying up in the garden. It was so nice youngest daughter lay on the sun lounger with Cassie our Yorkshire Terrier sitting with her. Cassie is an absolute sun worshipper. If there is one patch of sun in a little crack anywhere she will find it and be asleep in it. I had to smile as I was working away to see them both stretched out in the sun. Two sun lovers together! Youngest daughter took this photo of Cassie, face up to the sun, one of her favourite positions to be in.

We had to be very careful though as the foxes have dug a tunnel under our fence into next door's garden and it is perfect for Cassie to crawl through if we don't keep an eye on her. The day before while youngest daughter and I were up in London, Tom was out getting the washing in and obviously not keeping the close eye on her I always do, as she got through into next door. She turned a deaf ear and ran about refusing to come back through the hole while Tom was calling her, much to his annoyance. Then there was a lot of drama for a long time as next door were all too scared to pick her up and pass her back over the fence! In the end, one of them braved picking her up and she was unceremoniously dumped into the laundry basket and taken back inside in disgrace. It was pointed out to Cassie that this is why yesterday, she had to wear her harness and be tied to the sun lounger while she was out there. Not that she looks particularly bothered! 

It doesn't seem quite so sunny today but I think it may brighten up later. Tom and I are off to B&Q again to buy some waste pipe and screws (how exciting!) and then we are going over to my Dad's house to work on the caravan. I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday what ever you are doing. xx

Food Too Good To Waste

 It as really windy again yesterday morning with some heavy showers. I managed to get the second curtain for the caravan awning cut but not pinned ready for sewing as it took me so long, checking and double checking. It has been made so much harder as the original curtains were enormous. I thought when they first arrived they must have been curtains for French doors, but I was checking the length yesterday and we live in an Edwardian House with very high ceilings but they would hang from ceiling to floor. It has made them really hard to cut and manage but I am so thrilled with all the fabric. 

The other task I put aside five minutes for yesterday morning was to check my Too Good To Go app on my phone. I used it a few times before the first lockdown but then deleted it off my phone as it wasn't really worth keeping it on. A month ago I thought I would give it another go and I have bought a couple of takeaways for the rest of the family. You buy £12 worth of food the restaurant or shop advertises and collect it near the end of the day for about £3 or £4, it is to help reduce food waste and also boost local businesses. You can buy one, two or three meals if they have them available but it is a mystery bag and as I don't eat meat the take away option hasn't been any good for me as so far no vegetarian restaurants are taking part. The rest of the family have loved it though. I had decided to try the shop at our petrol station which is an M&S local selling other brands as well and has a little cafe. I purchased my bag for £4 and my collection was booked for between 9 and 10 pm. 

I spent a few hours of the afternoon gardening. There always seems to be so much to do at this time of the year. I re potted my hydrangea my eldest daughter had given me for my 50th birthday. I realised it must definitely need it as I have had it 11 years this summer! It was really heavy to move about but I'm glad I finally got it sorted out. I have lots of plants I will be putting out from the greenhouse in the next few weeks, poppies, echinops, and hollyhocks and am looking forward to seeing how they will do. I kept Cassie up there with me while I was working but tied her to the garden chair on a long lead as she would chase the poor foxes if she was loose. They walked by a few times looking a bit worried at the sight of her, but she only growled. She may be little but terriers can be really feisty and she certainly is, even though she looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!

After Tom had got in at 7 o'clock and we had all eaten our evening meal I walked down to the petrol station at about 8.45. It was a nice walk as it was still light and very quiet. I showed the man who works there the code sent to me on my phone and he gave me two bag of shopping and when I thanked him he said "No, thank you this would all be thrown out at midnight otherwise." I'm sure we would be horrified if we saw all the food thrown out in our local area. I was really pleased, all this for £4.

Sadly I heard yesterday evening the young whale in the Thames had been found but had to be put to sleep as it was in such poor condition. The poor thing, it made me feel sad the whole evening. There has been some good news though as coronavirus restrictions are being relaxed a bit more next Monday. I'm going to my Dad's house today to do his shopping and have quite a bit to get through before  To think by the summer things may be back to some sort of normality. No more queuing and mask wearing when we are shopping I hope. It's an exciting thought! Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Walking The Dogs

 Happy Easter Everyone! I didn't really get much done yesterday but I did walk a lot. Tom and I decided we would walk the dogs separately as everywhere will be so busy this weekend. We are hoping to give a walk through the woods near us a go today but the trouble is the whole country is at home and only allowed to be outside. All the millions of people who are normally away on holiday are trying to find places to visit and walk or jog! Joggers are a real problem for me when I am out walking Tess. Someone only has to run by us on the pavement and it awakens that Border Collie instinct in her to chase. Luckily she isn't that kind of snap at your heels kind of collie but she would love to run along too and I'm always worried she will scare someone, as she adopts that typical collie herding run, or even worse trip them up. It is not too bad if she is with Layla as she becomes fixated on her not allowing her to "Stray". Like a sheep she is constantly herding her along. It means Layla can't chase her beloved balls when they are out together which is a shame. Cassie luckily when off her lead just trots along next to our heels so doesn't cause Tess any worries. Nothing will distract her. After having Bud before Tess for 13 years we have learned to live with a Border Collie's natural insticts, but if it is very crowded I have to keep her on an extension lead, so I'm hoping today on our nice long walk all together, it will be a bit quieter. Poor Layla she just wan't to bounce along with her toys when we are walking but Tess has other ideas!

I was really pleased last night to win the auction on ebay for the curtain fabric for our caravan. I had been outbid during the week but held my nerve until the last 10 seconds of the auction and bid £20, my limit, but luckily got it for £17. I can't wait for it to come as I will be able to make the toilet curtains in the caravan and some matching cushion covers too.

I'm making a chicken roast dinner today for us as Tom is off and youngest son and daughter are both here. I'll be having Quorn as I don't eat meat but it will still be a nice special meal together. I hope everyone has a lovely day whether you celebrate Easter or not. xx

Edwardian Gardens And A Much Loved Dog

 It was quite bright yesterday morning and Tom went to B&Q to buy some bricks to start paving over two of the flower beds outside our kitchen and living room windows. Because of the weight of them he only is going to buy 30 at a time for fear of damaging the car suspension! We have tried so many different ways of stopping the dogs running on those flower beds when they are let out of the back door but Layla just can't contain her excitement. She tries to be good for days and then one day she just loses control of herself and that's it, a newly planted flower is ruined! We have decided just to brick them over and put pots on them. I want it to look a bit rustic, not too neat. I have been reading a lot about Edwardian garden design as our house is Edwardian being built in 1908. It has given me lots of ideas. The planted standard rose is first in place on the newly laid bricks. I feel as if I am starting with a blank canvas in this part of the garden now we have cleared out the remaining sickly looking plants, which is a lot of fun.

By the time this was all finished really heavy rain and hail stones arrived so we didn't get round to fixing the wisteria arch. I had asked my Dad on the phone about the problem with the wisteria not flowering and he suggested I just give it a really good feeding with a rose fertiliser or such like which I am going to do. I would love for it to flower this year.

I have opened my present from my family this morning for Mother's Day and I can't begin to say how pleased I am. They have been co ordinating this present and organising it for weeks. It is a framed drawing of my much loved Border Collie Bud who died the year before last. They said as I always joked he was my fifth child (and the only obedient one!) it would be fitting to give it to me today. It has taken pride of place on my dresser and I almost feel he is in the room with me again. 

I hope everyone who is celebrating Mother's Day has a lovely day today and if it makes you feel a bit sad for any reason, and I know no matter how much I will enjoy the day there will always be that feeling now without my Mum,  I hope so much you can think of happy times to help you. xx

Layla The Springer Spaniel

 I have had dogs all my life yet I have never met a dog like Layla our Springer Spaniel. She came into our life in such a strange way. Our eldest son, I have mentioned before, cannot help but find animals in need. I could literally write a book about his animal escapades. What ever country he travels to on holiday he will have some animal drama. If he sees a dog tied up in a yard in miserable circumstances he can't just walk by. When he rented a yard for his buses next to a travellers site he spent as much time sneaking around with food and water as he did working! It was one of the many reasons he gave the place up and moved to his present one and even then within weeks he had found a stray cat as a companion for my Dad.

Nearly three years ago a friend of his mentioned that he knew someone who was getting rid of a four month old Springer Spaniel as they couldn't manage it. He knew eldest son was an animal lover, did he know of anyone who could take her as they were so desperate they were going to put her on Preloved for a very cheap price to make sure she was gone by the weekend. Eldest son was horrified and said that it was such a dangerous thing to do to a dog. It could end up anywhere. He went to the tiny bedsit in Lewisham, South London and paid the price for the little Springer Spaniel that was locked in a cage. 

He phoned and asked could we take her for the weekend and he would take to Springer Spaniel Rescue on the Monday. So Layla arrived. She had all her documents and a pile of equipment. Someone had really wanted her at some point but I suppose the reality of an energetic puppy had been just too much. I phoned the microchip company to make sure she hadn't been reported as stolen and she hadn't been. I think the saddest thing on her inoculation certificate was all the crossings out of her name as she had been passed from person to person. 

That weekend we took her to the park with our dogs, who she she stuck to like glue. I could see her distress as she scanned all the people's faces in the park for someone who looked familiar, it broke my heart. Tom and I looked at each other as we got home and said someone has to commit to this dog. We decided that was that, it stops here.

She has definitely not been the easiest of dogs. Her early experiences have had an enormous, lasting affect on her but I know she is happy. She has terrible trouble focusing and concentrating for more than a few seconds but as I say to my four very individual children, don't conform just be yourself. She is our dog with all her funny little ways. She would never win an obedience class and definitely never win a prize for walking in a straight line for some reason but who cares. She has brought us so much happiness and when I look at this video of her in the park yesterday I can see her life has brought her the same.

It is not quite so bright here as yesterday, but still nice and dry so I'll be out and about again, walking the dogs and gardening. Tom is working again on a late shift. I tend to just mooch about doing jobs that need catching up on and spend the time in the evenings working when he works late. It all feels quite relaxed at the moment so I shouldn't complain at all as life isn't always like it. I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday wherever you are in the world. xx

The Best Of Friends Together

 After me worrying about Layla getting through the new gate I looked out of the kitchen window yesterday morning and saw her looking through it in a worried and stressed way up the garden and Tess our Border Collie had disappeared. I had to rush up the garden and climb through the gap in the fence, sneaking round the garden at the back of our house praying no one came out and caught me. The fact she looked so pleased with herself for breaking through our new fortifications was rather worrying in itself so after Tom returned from the dump an hour was spent trying to make it escape proof. I hope we have managed it but I'm going to keep a close eye on her for a while and I'm sorry for ever thinking Layla was the naughty dog! Layla found the whole incident very worrying and of one thing there is no doubt how much she loves her best friend!

On the subject of the dump Tom was full of praise for how smooth it was taking items there now they have the new appointment system. He was saying he hopes they keep this on after lockdown as it ran so smoothly. However no matter how faultless the system seemed, the workers at the dump were telling him that they have over 100 no shows a week of people who have booked and don't turn up so something like that may make them have a rethink sadly.

We spent the rest of the morning, before the rain arrived, pollarding our plum tree, which we do yearly to try and keep it a manageable size. Pollarding may be a bit of an exaggeration, it's more like pruning the top but it is quite a tricky job with Tom up a ladder, in the middle of rose bushes, and me offering advice "Mind your head! Mind the fence!" We finally managed to complete the job just before heavier rain arrived and at the same time workmen arrived outside our house to do the same job in about 15 minutes to an enormous Lime tree outside. "That's it" said Tom "Next year we're getting a chainsaw!"

There has been lots of announcements yesterday about relaxing the rules of lockdown. The one I am most interested in is when I can see family normally as that is the one that affects me most. The main one that sticks in my mind is the total easing of all social restrictions on the 21st June. Eldest son's birthday! I'm beginning to wonder whether he had a word with Boris! 

A nice day is forecast today and I have a lot to catch up with so I think I'll just prioritise the jobs by importance and work through them one at a time. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever your plans.

Adding To My Worries

 One of the things that has added to my worries during this corona virus pandemic is the rise of dog thefts. Apparently the sales of dogs in the last year have tripled and two out of five of these purchases have been puppies. As demand has completely outstripped supply, prices have soared too and the most popular breeds can sell for £3000 and sometimes up to £5000. This has all led to a really worrying rise in the theft of dogs. It has left me too nervous to walk the dogs on my own in many places. Only 1 in 100 of these poor dogs are ever recovered. It must be terrible to lose a loved pet in this way but I can imagine in a small way as it has reminded me of something my Mum used to tell us. 

When she was young Mum had a Yorkshire Terrier called Molly. She could barely remember a time in her childhood without her. Living in a very quiet area and in days with much less traffic in the 1930s, Molly would sit in the front garden and occasionally wander on to the green opposite their house but never stray further.. She knew the times of the buses arriving across the road and would always get up onto the chair five minutes before it arrived to look out and see if any of her family were getting off the bus. My Mum had so many funny little stories about Molly she clearly really had loved her. Sadly though there was not a happy ending. When Mum was in her late teens and Molly was fifteen she disappeared. She had been sitting out in the sun in the front garden as usual and when they went to look for her she wasn't there. They searched and searched around the area but she was no where to be seen. She said for weeks she and my Grandad cycled all around the lanes near their house calling and searching in hedges and ditches. Sadly Molly was never found and they never knew what had happened although they thought as she had never wandered off before it was more than likely she had been stolen. 

All her life Mum would tell stories about Molly and make us laugh. How she tried to bury the family tortoise or how she would sulk and face the wall if they went to Southport for the day but even 70 years later there was a sadness in her voice if she spoke of how she disappeared. The people who steal dogs could not imagine how many years people will feel sad about their loss.

After Mum died at 92 we found this card in her belongings she had kept all her life. Molly must have been such a special little dog.

The weather doesn't appear as bad as I had feared today so maybe Scarlett and I will be able to get out for a walk. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Beautiful Autumn Days

Thank you so much to everyone who left comments on my last post. They were all so thoughtful and kind, they really lifted me on what was a down day. Bud seems a bit brighter today and we are aiming for small targets at a time with him and intend to make each day as happy and comfortable as possible.
 I went out walking with Tess and Cassie yesterday and it was such a sunny day. The colours are so beautiful at this time of the year. We are so lucky to have so many mature trees around us and I never take them for granted. Our area is named after the beech trees around us so they must have been a feature for years. I collect old photos and they were regularly photographed 120 years ago.

 I think I'm lucky to live in a place named after trees. When I was walking my boots were crunching on all the beech nuts on the ground and I have thought I'm going to look into growing my own beech tree from one of these trees around me. I'm sure I can find a video on Youtube about it! One day if we move I can plant it and watch it grow and remember the lovely walks I have had around here.

 I hope everyone has a lovely day and gets to enjoy some autumn sunshine or spring sunshine if you are lucky enough to be enjoying that at the moment. xx

We Have Walked Miles and Miles

Yesterday was such a lovely sunny day. We like taking all the dogs in the back of the car and they have a run through the woods not far from us. However a few times a week we take them individually for a walk. Especially for the two youngsters it is important they walk on the lead with good manners and they still need lots of practise. I took out Tess for a nice long walk and Tom took Layla. We went in different directions as they are terrible for concentrating on each other and not us.
 Before lunch I took out Bud our thirteen year old Border Collie. We were walking along and I could tell he was just doing it to please me. He has suddenly aged so much. In the summer he was walking two miles easily but it has got harder and harder. We had promised ourselves that when he got to this age we would not allow him to be pulled around by vets in his last months. We had a terrible experience with an old beagle once who was operated on twice and had so many tests at the vets all to prolong his life by two months that I'm sure were misery for him and I still feel guilty about it. Vets seem very happy to do this to old dogs but we have decided it is not happening to Bud.
    I looked down at Bud walking next to me so loyally. To me he is the best dog in the world. He looked up at me with his eyes now cloudy but still so filled with love and I knew from all my experience owning dogs all my life he has not much longer to live. "We've walked miles and miles together haven't we Bud." I said and he wagged his tail. "Haven't we had fun?" I just walked to the end of the road and back home where I settled him on his folded duvet near the heater. We are giving him his favourite foods and going to take him for short walks if he can manage it. He will be loved and cared for and  we will keep him with us looking after him until the end. It is what he deserves after all he has given to us in thirteen years which is immeasurable.

 

Keeping Dogs With A Small Eco Pawprint

It was a sunny start yesterday morning, but by the time I was leaving to meet my sister and go to visit our Dad it was pouring again. However with the way these showers are at the moment when I arrived in Ashtead there was bright sunshine again. My Dad wanted to visit the garden centre to buy some plants for a gap in the flower bed where he had been cutting back and we mananged to fit in a cup of tea and cake there still in warm sunshine. Chrysanthemums bought we headed home with dark clouds approaching and just as we arrived back to his house the rain really set in. It poured and poured! Luclily my sister dropped me off at the station but by the time I arrived at Sutton the trains were all ready being delayed and cancelled. I managed to get my connection but I didn't envy the passengers standing around on lots of the other platforms. I hope they finally got home as the rain carried on heavily for most of the evening.
  I popped into the shop by the station to buy some gravy bones as a treat for the dogs as yesterday was Bud's 13th birthday. Or at least the 1st of October is the day Battersea Dogs Home chose for him as they didnt know is exact age. Bud is a Border Collie and the oldest of our dogs.

Then we have Cassie the Yorkshire Terrier who is 6. Here she is looking very smart out and about in her winter jumper!

  After our beagle Poppy died two years ago we decided to get another dog as Cassie missed her so much and Bud has always been rather aloof. So we got Tess the Border Collie puppy then a couple of months later out of the blue Layla the Springer Spaniel arrived. My eldest son took her from a couple he knew who were going to put her on the secondhand selling site Preloved at a very cheap price as they just wanted her “out of their flat” as she was “bonkers”. He was horrified and told them that it was a very bad idea as she could end up anywhere but they didn't care. Less than four months old she bounced into our life with a string of previous owners and names on her inoculation certificate. Staying for the weekend before my son was going to take her to springer spaniel rescue, we decided we never wanted her “out of our house” and she has settled in perfectly to her new four dog pack. Tess and her have bonded beautifully and are like partners in crime, the happy youngsters who were meant to be together. Here are the naughty pair!

   However feeding four dogs well is no easy of cheap task. We have always fed our dogs tinned meat with mixer meal supplemented with scrambled eggs and vegetables. Not only was this extortionately expensive for four dogs, I was horrified at the pile of tin cans in the recycling bag outside our house each week. I always worry the quality and source of the meat in these tins and for some reason with poor Layla, who has a sensitive stomach and because of her early stresses a nervous disposistion, it just goes straight through her.

   We are lucky enough to still have a fantastic local butcher who prepares pet mince. It is a mixture of the off cuts of all the meat they prepare which is all from sources they are sure of the high quality of and reasonably local. It is certainly not the rubbish, it looks delicious when we cook it! We either feed it raw or put it in tray at the bottom of the oven when we are cooking our meal. They love it both ways. It costs £1 per kilo which although not the cheapest option for the quality is very reasonable. We give them rice, pasta, vegetables or scrambled egg  with it, what ever we have in the cupboard.

  The dogs are looking fantastic, glossy coats, bright eyes and best of all Layla’s wind and diarrhoea has disappeared.  Since the end of the dogs eating a highly processed meat diet which has been transported miles their carbon paw print must have been greatly reduced. Not only this, the dogs are clearly happier and we are also supporting a brilliant local business 

  And finally Cassie who was feeling so lonely has found a new friend to cuddle up with!

  Happily this morning is a lovely start and apparently it is set fine today so I am off to catch up on lots of little jobs that need doing. I hope you all have a great day what ever you are doing. xx

Walking In The Rain

   We seem to have spent a lot of the time doing just that over the weekend. Not that I'm really complaining as I am enjoying these lighter evenings and we have been able to take the dogs to the park every evening in the last week. It's a lovely feeling to know we have months of evening walks in the light ahead of us. On Sunday we took the dogs to Epsom Downs and the rain held off while we walked for miles around the the edge of the racecourse.

   Little Cassie runs and runs to keep up with Bud our Border Collie. The ground was really wet after all the rain and because she is so close to the ground and needs a trim very badly by the end of the walk she frankly looked like a tatty little drowned rat! I felt embarrassed walking back through the car park with her. So yesterday was bath and trim day. She hates going to the dog groomers and I have to drag her in. They are all very nice there but I only have to walk towards the door and I can feel her little heart pounding in her chest. So this time I borrowed my youngest sons beard trimmer and tidied her up myself. It may not be quite as good as them but at least she wasn't stressed and it saved us £25.

  We also managed to fit in our first car boot sale of the year at Dorking which was very successful for building up my Ebay and Etsy stock and I came home with carrier bags full of bargains. This was my favourite find.

    It's a battery operated "Cheerful Dachshund" that walks and barks. It is perfect and looks as it it has never been played with. I think it is from the 1960s. Another find I made is this Wedgwood Jasper Ware pin tray with a panda eating bamboo. Jasper Ware is pretty common when you are out and about but I have never seen this subject on one before.

  And finally something I am going to keep for myself is this hip flask I bought for 40p. I have cleaned it out well with boiling water and I'm going to take it with me on days out as a water bottle in my quest to cut down on plastic. 

   My youngest son laughed when he saw it "You can't drink out of that when you are out Mum, people will think you have taken to day time drinking." he said. Well I'm not bothered what people think and maybe on one of those rainy walks with the dogs a little tot of something isn't a bad idea!

The Puppy Dilemma

    I know a lot of the country has had snow today but it was a lovely bright sunny morning here although I noticed the barometer was quite low which I tried to ignore. I had to dash around before I left for my Mum and Dad's house but it always seems a bit easier when the sun is shining. My sister and I went together today as neither my Mum or Dad are feeling very well. After we had made my Dad some lunch, nothing for my Mum as sadly she is on a liquid diet now, we settled at the kitchen table with old boxes of photos whilst they both had a sleep. We are trying to sort them out and get them in some sort of order. We thought it may help my Dad's memory if we could scan them and get him to try and remember were they were taken and when. It's worth a try we thought.
   After a run round the shops for them (in the pouring rain, I knew the barometer never lies!) I left for home later than usual and it was gone six by the time I got in. My youngest daughter and her boyfriend were telling me how down our little Yorkshire Terrier Cassie has been.
   One of the saddest things that happened to us last November was our old beagle Poppy dying. She was nearly 15 so I know she was a good age for a beagle but we miss her terribly. She was deaf in the last few years of her life but her face would always light up and her tail wag when you stood in front of her. She died two days before I went into hospital and the night of my operation I kept thinking of her and felt like bursting into tears. The only thing that stopped me was if the nurse asked me what was wrong and I replied "I miss my dog" they would have thought I was mad!

Poppy Jan 2003 - Nov 2017

     We all miss her so much but Cassie has taken it the hardest. I didn't really realise that a dog could be depressed but she is showing all the signs of it. We have always had three dogs and it had worked perfectly. Our Border Collie Bud thinks he is a person so he virtually ignores other dogs and Poppy and Cassie would always be together, They would sit cuddled up together all the time. When Cassie was a puppy Poppy would fuss about her licking her like she was her puppy and when Poppy became old and frail it was the other way around and Cassie looked after her. Now Cassie seems bereft she is off her food and sits staring into space, it is so sad. The only time she brightens up is when we are in the park but we can't live there! We had thought of getting another puppy in the spring but I am scared it may backfire and we will make the problem worse. 

It is a dilemma. Does anyone else have any experience of a depressed dog?

  

Always A Dog

I thought quite a lot after yesterday's post how much a family of animal lovers we are. Our youngest son said a while ago that he couldn't imagine life without all the animals we have had but he is sure it wouldn't have been nearly as happy without them. We always talk about our animals both now and from years ago. My Mum and Dad grew up with animals and talk about them still. Every dog, cat and pet rabbit is remembered with pleasure. When I was a child we took our dogs on holiday all the time and all I can remember is walking on the beach or up mountains with a dog. I was so happy.

1960s Holidays With Our Dog

    I wanted my children brought up in exactly the same way and they have been, with long walks with dogs and holidays with dogs on the beach. When we are all together we reminisce about them exactly the same as my Mum and Dad do. 

A few years later and another much loved dog.

   My eldest daughter was telling me she wants her baby to be brought up the same way. She said she will start as soon as the baby is born, going to the park with our dogs and long walks. No ipad for our young child she said firmly. I am sure what ever stage of your life you are at, dogs will bring you pleasure if you are a dog lover. My heart breaks when I see lonely old people on TV saying they can go for days without talking to anyone. Get a little dog, I think, all those people to talk to in the park and a reason to get up and go out every day. If you don't have that love of dogs you just don't but I am so glad I have.

Happy Christmas Everyone

   That's it what isn't done isn't done. The house has had a last minute tidy up, the dogs have been bathed and the presents wrapped. I'll worry about the food in the morning but for tonight we are opening a bottle of Baileys and enjoying a chat in front of the fire. I'm almost too scared to take the dogs for their evening walk incase they get dirty before the big day.

Bud In His Christmas Neckerchief.

Cassie is her usual cheeky self.!

Poppy Has Seen It All Before.

    As if by a Christmas miracle poor little injured Sammy the cockatiel flew across the room whilst I was cleaning out her cage. When I rescued her and put her back for the first time she started balancing on her perch. She needs to steady herself with her beak but it is such a step forward we're so pleased.

   Happy Christmas to every person who reads this blog and their loved ones. I hope you all have the happiest, safest and most peaceful Christmas ever. Jane xx.