River walk

Getting their feet wet

My eldest son, Daniel, wanted a lift on Thursday so I said I would put the dogs in the car and take them up on the Common after dropping him off. Instead he suggested he would take us to some fields at the back of the houses where he was going and so introduced us to a fantastic place that is only a mile from home which I did not know existed despite having lived here for 27 years!

Getting braver

Pip almost swimming!

We parked the car up and walked over a bridge and then through a kissing gate in to the first field which was quite overgrown with just a track going through it. Not a soul in site and the dogs, Pip in particular, loved the tall grass to bound through and sniff out wonderful new smells. Through the next field Daniel took us slightly off track and showed us a beautiful little river, fairly shallow with a sandy beach to stand on. Hugo was straight there, drinking down the clear, sparkling water and even Pip, who is always a little cautious about getting her feet wet, had a quick slurp. We walked on further through a couple of other fields with luscious green grass, completely remote from roads or buildings in brilliant, warm sunshine. It was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't believe that I did not know about this place before - I suspect the locals keep it very much secret! We walked for a good mile and then headed back but made sure that we went back to the little beach we had found on the way through so the dogs could have a drink before we got back in the car. Hugo was straight in the water and you could see the happy look on his face as he waded up stream, lapping the water as he went. He is normally happy to paddle in the water so long as it does not touch his tummy so there was nothing unusual in this at all. Then, much to our surprise, Miss Pip edged her way in too, very gingerly at first but getting braver and braver. She was grinning from ear to ear and found that the water varied in depth and was in raptures when she found a spot that almost covered her. Very gently she raised one front paw and then the other and she was very nearly swimming. In the end Pip was much wetter than Hugo and they had a glorious time, cooling off in the water. An absolutely magical walk which we, no doubt, will be doing again.

Exploring!

A couple of weeks ago someone had scraped a hole in the duvet cover on our bed so I went and bought a new one. At the same time I bought a lovely soft, fleecy throw to put on the bed when we weren't in it to, hopefully, protect the covers beneath. On Friday morning Martin (my OH) had fun and games trying to put the throw on the bed because Madame (Miss Pip) thought it was fun to lie on the bed and then push the cover off every time he tried to put it on but he eventually managed it. Martin went to work and I went shopping - I only left them for an hour but when I came back and went upstairs I found the cover had been scrunched up across the bed. As I pulled it straight I found two holes in it .......Pip!!!!!!!

Hugo has always had a fear of Hoovers  towels and hair-dryers but I have now found another way to get him to vacate the living room - simply produce a brush and he is off in seconds. He stands in the doorway, tail wagging, but refusing to come back in when you call him and then slinks off upstairs.