Procrastinating is a fine art - which I am attempting to perfect

Despite the months rolling on towards spring, winter definitely is not letting go of her grip - mind you, I should not be surprised, it is only just February and I should not rely on the positive (if a little misguided) joy of seeing snowdrops everywhere!

To be honest I am gently procrastinating this morning's dog walk for another few minutes or until at least I have finished my mug of tea - Willow on the other hand has no concept of '𝓭𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓮𝓪 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓶' and is giving me the collie hard eye..... She seems to have forgotten we have both galloped down to the bottom of the garden twice this morning. Me hanging on to my hat and coat as she scampering so far ahead all I could see was her 'tail light'.

The weather is remarkably unappealing today. The sky is leaden grey as the trees tear at the wind making it roar around the house and through the village. Never mind, my mug of tea is still warm and Willow has given up living and has thrown herself back to bed with a most.put.out.sigh. Wait there dear dog, we'll go out shortly I promise.

The house has a rather delicious scent at the moment, the last of the chrimbly Hyacinths are filling the lounge with their final fragrance and the kitchen and dining room are both filled with that gloriously warm spicy perfume that Stocks exude. 

Willow, when she moved in, brought very little with her. We'd purposely not purchased anything before we collected her on the off chance things might be duplicated. However, as I mentioned, she brought very little with her. So new beds, bowls and toys were the order of the day and yesterday a lovely friend who only ever buys 'the best' she can, gifted me or rather Willow, a lovely Kath Kidson dog bed. Her dog refused to use it, choosing to do 'unspeakable things' to it which my friend could not utter without blushing to her roots🫣! She quickly confirmed that the bed had been through the washing machine and so it was clean and ready to use. She does make me chuckle.

However, Willow has fallen in love with the erstwhile 'love-toy' bed. Himself and I wondered if she had ever 'owned' her own things before and we think not. She adores her Kath Kidson bed (sorry dog, the one I ordered for you, and is coming today, is not quite up to that standard). 

The sky at the moment has slipped from a driech silvery grey to a rather puce yellow, I think our walk will require some serious wrapping up and urgent scurrying. Fortunately - I am still drinking my tea and Willow is contemplating the extreme disappointment of a new owner who is a practising procrastinator. 

*******************

Bit Later:
We're back from a blustery buffeting windy walk which was surprisingly enjoyable. There were few other dog walkers about - all bearing the same grimace with damp dogs. Willow and I took the moorland field - which in weather like this is definitely a welly boot walk and we sploshed and slid our way across towards Goose Green Lane. We worked our way around the forest school field, another muddy route, then down through the village and up to the cobbled tram lines before heading for home.

She is napping in HER bed, I have another hot mug of tea and a pebble commission to paint - so, better stop nattering and get on with it.

Have a lovely Tuesday x

Weekend away

We have just returned from a weekend away - Willow's first 'holiday'. It was a gift from work and it made a lovely end to my time there. We were in a shepherd's hut in the Ribble Valley and despite the dire weather warnings for the weekend, it turned out to be mild and almost spring like.

The hut was oh so cosy and warm and comfortable.  We landed quite late on the Friday so could only see the interior but on the Saturday when the sun came up - wow.

We scoffed our breakfast, jumped into our wellies and grabbed a rather excited dog and set out for a walk. As soon as we stepped through the gate and into what felt like a holloway (sunken track) forgotten by time. 

Willow snuffled and sniffed and explored - we felt as if she was trying to inhale the entire track just in case she never walked up one again. As the lane rose up to the moors, we spotted buzzards, kestrels, a kite, deer, hare and squirrels.

The view at the top - if a little cool and blustery - was glorious.

Later we were joined by Youngest and his lovely girl then, after lunch in the shepherds hut, we set off for another walk - Willow was delighted. This time we went down into the valley, following farm tracks and river banks. It was certainly muddy.

Then after a couple of hours, we returned to the hut, put the kettle on, filled a plate with biscuits, cake and mini apple pies and sat and chatted whilst a happy dog fell asleep at our feet. In the evening, when it was just us - Willow suddenly sat up, gave a tiny little half wuff and the smallest and silliest little hamster sized growl which made us laugh. Thinking she'd had a dream we placated her, but no, she insisted that she needed to look outside. So to humour her, I took a torch opened the door and shone it on a fox just on the other side of the fence!

What a weekend!

And one last photo - taken whilst wandering around the village Sunday night - Willow is a nervous little girl and for some reason decided she just.could.NOT walk to the bottom of the garden because there.was.a.SCARY.thing down there (no idea...) we we went for a wander to take her mind off things. And the moon over some of the cottages looked magical.

In which Willow woofs (aka the Dogologue)

 Willow here. Hi.

I was called Coco - but that was past me, I am now 'Willow who Walks' and until a few days ago, I lived in a terraced house in a small but busy market town.

I've just returned from a wet walk with my new human, the spare human is out and won't get back until it is dark, so I keep my human company and on discovering she needs a lot of exercise - I take her out as often as I can.

I used to share my house with five humans, some tall and some very small and they were so busy I had to keep out of the way and it made me very sad and I felt very insignificant. I tried to join in the games but I must have done it wrong as I was made to go to my crate. They were never horrible to me but I felt very left out.

Now, I know I must avoid the cat food plates - my feet take me away but my eyes stare very hard! I know where my treats are in the cupboard, I can point out which is my bag of food, and best of all,  I know the difference between my leads. The red rope lead is for popping into the garden for a piddle while my stretchy lead and harness means proper get out and get muddy walks!

My humans have taught me that chairs are not for dogs (who knew!!) and doing zoomies across the settee is not really an indoor game ... again - who knew!

a brisk rub down and a biscuit just waiting to be nibbled - bliss

But best of all is, when we return from a wet walk, I get a rub down with a warm towel and a biscuit treat to chew in my bed - I think training my human and the spare human is making headway - they still have lots to learn and I am the dog to do it.

However - the cat..... the cat is definitely in charge, even the humans know that! 

said cat in bed coz snowing outside

Slow down and sniff the daisies

Some years ago, with a recently acquired friend, we trogged our way up the side of Ingleborough on a cool damp June morning. After heavy rain over night, drifts of mist slid their way up through the valleys and against the hill. Walking through one of these misty drifts, my friend mentioned that she'd accompanied a serious hill walker who yomped up hills with apparent ease leaving her to gasp and stumble some distance behind. She'd only put up with this as she rather fancied him. 

After a while, she began to dread the weekend walks and wondered despite his 'other charms' and her love of being out on the hills, whether to call time on the relationship. Then one weekend whilst walking in Eryri (then known as Snowdonia) a thick mist descended, reducing visibility to a few feet ahead. Fortunately he stopped and waited and walked with her and whilst they were stumbling along a slatey pathway he started to point out fossils and other interesting items. Showing her bits of forgotten mining detritus and architecture as they loomed out of the thick mist. She was fascinated by the various shades of the slate - not the grey she assumed it all was, but greens, blues and even a purply hue.

the back of winter has been broken - snowdrops are making their appearance known

They soon parted their ways - she fell in love with slow detailed walking and took up photography and he decided he'd like to do mountain guiding as a job and left for Europe. Where this is all going is .... the last few days Willow and I have fairly galloped around the countryside to help burn off that desperate need for her to walk. But today I decided a sniff ramble would do her just as much good, if not more, than the high speed route marches we have done. 

Willow actually feeling a bit more in control of herself

And after an hour and a half of serious sniffing interposed with short stretches of busy collie trotting... I now have a fast asleep (and muddy) dog. Interestingly enough, the last bit home is the worst in her opinion as we have to do a short bit on our village main road and it can be busy which stresses her out. This section, today, seemed a lot less awful for her. I am hoping that her nervous system found today's walk was just what was needed.

PS it also meant I could take photos - happy me 

Another first

 The new normal (so far)

In the early morning gloom, the post breakfast nap (if you are a dog) and the garden patrol (if you are the cat) are well underway.

Yesterday there was a bit of a break through, Willow is beginning to relax - not slowing down ho ho - not slowing down at all! Life is for living at 100 miles an hour but we are definitely finding a new normal.

We managed to sneak in three decent walks yesterday in between the squalls, the wind and hail. The late afternoon walk was timed to meet up with Himself as he returned from work - it is something we used to do when we had Moss and it was his suggestion to continue it with Willow.

Storm Chandra had more or less passed over by the time we left the house, the sky was a strange palette of washed out blues and greys with dashes of gold and light. The houses on the ridge above the village were bathed in this soft battered glow - almost as if they were celebrating 'weathering the storm' and had survived.

As we climbed out of the valley on to the ridge we too were coated in this pale light but we were also discovered by the buffeting winds - and they were cold.

The sun as it drops below the last remains of the clouds

Following a track which is locally known as Ol' Joe's lane, there was some shelter from the stone walls and spindly hedge. The lane briefly opens out to Peter's Meadow then back in to a drovers track where a couple of donkeys occasionally appear in one of the fields. They popped their rather shaggy faces up to see who was walking by but quickly lost interest and disappeared again.

At a steady 'Willow speed' it was not long before we arrived at a small neighbouring village of jumbling houses against a hillside. Over the years I have walked through, I have watched the traditional cottages and houses change hands, get modernised, lose gardens to parking, have trendy doors added, seasonal plastic wreaths and become more expensive to buy. 

Finally, dropping down on to Roslee Road (from the time when wild dog roses grew on the hill side) and into the local nature reserve. We were a little early for Himself and it seemed churlish not to go for a wander around the reserve.

It is not often that the mill pond is entirely devoid of birds but it was today. None on the water and none at the disabled parking waiting to mug unsuspecting visitors for their sandwiches!

There has been sightings of an otter in the pond which is only a few paces from the river which used to feed it when it was a working mill pond but again nothing spotted today. Suddenly we had just enough time to get to our destination and not five minutes later Himself arrived and we bundled ourselves into the van - another first for Willow and she took to it like seasoned (if a little scared) trooper.

So many firsts for this little timid dog - so many more to come. So far she is doing brilliantly.

PS - just discovered that Willow is a snorer! She's asleep in her safe space and snoring like a steam train😆

It's raining cats and dogs☔

It is dark and wild outside. Trees dance and contort in the wind and sheets of rain dash against the windows. Himself has already left for work and the cat who chose to slip outside very quickly returned, spiky and wet then stalked off to bed to sleep off her brief but horrendous outdoor experience.

I am sitting downstairs listening to the wind howl round the chimney and scream past the kitchen.  I, like the cat, have also been out. Willow and I galloped down to the garden and back in record speed. Me because the weather was foul, her because her breakfast was calling her rather loudly!

I am not keen on central ceiling bright lights, so we have side lights, stringed lights or standard lamps in all the rooms. Sitting in the dining room I am gently bathed in a soft yellow glow of stringed café lights above my head and the repeated reflected pattern on the wet window while the garden lashes back and forth outside rather pleases me. 

The last few mornings - even before Willow - I have woken before the alarm, unusual for me as I am not a lark but more of a night owl. However I think I might try and harness this recent 'superpower' as I want to make the absolute most of my new freedom and having a dog who thinks any time is a good time to do 'things' just might help!

Later: Having just come back from a quick dog loop - I am beginning to think that having a dog, in the northern hemisphere, in winter ... is certain type of masochism ........

An increasingly soggy dog with her rather damp owner not far behind

This gentle waffly post about nothing in particular is more about getting me into blogging regularly again than I actually have anything to say!

Hope you are staying safe and out of Storm Chandra, I saw several branches down and a damaged roof in the village.

What do you do with a dog on a day like this? Bearing in mind I can not even blink without Willow going 'GREAT! - you moved - what adventure shall we do next huff huff huff' 😆

What a bum shot

 Thank you for such lovely welcoming words for 'Willow' who seems to have, despite all the upheaval, started to settle and know '𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥' things like ... where the treat cupboard is and where her lead is stored.

Today is my first day of being a free and feral dog owner and it is Willow's first day of having to put up with me - her free and feral walking partner - poor girl. So I thought we'd start as we mean to go on and by 9am after as many chores I could stomach, we set off with plenty of poop bags and a treat or two for her and a flask of tea for me. She could barely sit still as I gathered our supplies. 

On our route we met so many new and scary things - as an ex-town-dog she probably never met 𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔼ℙ  or ℂ𝕆𝕎𝕊 before but apparently the absolute worst are ℂℍ𝕀ℂ𝕂𝔼ℕ𝕊 (who knew?!) however, that is all good, I would rather she had a healthy respect for them than see them as something to chase. Besides I told her that sheep and cows EAT dogs, and as for chickens ... well you don't want to know what chickens do to naughty little dogs..... stuff of nightmares 😆

Nearly five miles later, 28 dogs and their walkers, three terrifying foot bridges, two unfathomable stiles and countless gates later, there is a small and exhausted red and white collie asleep in her crate*.

Backstory:

Willow was wanted (originally) by a family with two biggish children who begged for a dog. A pretty farm collie puppy was subsequently bought and brought home to a small terraced house with no outside space to speak of. People who know collies know that they have energy to burn, brains to keep busy and nerves to temper......

Then an unplanned pregnancy meant a new baby who took up more time than anticipated as she was born with a number of health issues. So Willow was sadly relegated to the back of the queue. This culminated into a desperately needy and clingy dog who had short 'comfort break' walks to the nearest patch of green and then marched back as quickly as possible.  

*When she was being a 'bit much' she was shut in a large crate to calm her down and that has now become her safe space. We have put up Moss's crate with the door open, a soft fleecy mat and some toys so she has her own place to go to when she wants time out and so far so good. 

As far as I can pick up she was never cruelly treated, may be shouted at if she got a bit too 'in your face'. She was fed, she was clean and house trained however she is incredibly timid and this will be her biggest challenge. Feeling brave in her own little skin.

But we are working towards that.

The cat however has discovered that with a timely cross stare that Willow will retreat to her crate for safety! 

And if you are wondering why so many dog 'bum shots' ...  it is all I get to see when we are out on a walk - she can not wait to see or sniff or stare at what is round the next corner.

Lasts and firsts

 So.

Today a thing happened.

Well, firstly it was my last day at work and I left feeling loved and genuinely touched by the many wonderful people who came to say goodbye.

Then......

Meet Willow, 18 months old. My walking boots are never going to look back!

What next?

 A bit of a waffly wool-gathering post today.

The weather is not that nice as I look out, so I shall use the day to crack on with stitching some little felty animals for all the garden and bee keeping volunteers at work. Each one - I hope - representing their characters or their favourite pet or hobby. I have already gifted one and it went down well which was a relief 😊

A little woofly brown dog in a favourite coloured sweater

Tomorrow is my last day at work and I have been inundated with visitors all week coming to say good bye and drop off some unexpected and wonderful cards and gifts. 

Little Lion for a pint sized but lion hearted volunteer

I have a couple of pebbles to paint too - also for volunteers and staff - I must get cracking as soon as I have finished waffling here.

Planning a return to all my previous crafting habits has been a delight and I am trying not to throw myself back into them all - failing at that at the moment! So there is a knitted beanie on the dpns, 11 little felted animals at various stages of being made, marmalade being planned, two pebbles looking at me ready to start - one will be a jack russel the other a bumble bee. 

And - there is my own garden, sadly neglected due to previous work commitments - I found that after a week working either in private gardens or in the walled garden, the last thing I wanted to do was garden, even for myself.

Something I am really looking forward to - being able to walk more but not up and down within a walled garden. Down to the glasshouse to get tools, up to the workshop, down to the hives, up to the cafe, down to the mindful space, up to the compost bays - I could do up to five miles a day three times a week..... I walked myself through several pairs of work boots.....

Be outside but not digging or pruning or weeding or sowing or planting or organising or clearing up but being outside and just breathing.

Don't get me wrong - I shall miss an awful lot from work but I am ready to do something different and that starts tomorrow afternoon....... are you intrigued? 

Watch this space as they say.

Strong armed walking

Recently, between work days, I have borrowed a dog and he's dragged me around the local village pathways.  

I say borrowed, his mum had a small but significant tumble down some stairs and wrenched her elbow and shoulder so isn't up to hanging on to him as he snuffles about.  He is a 'big lad' - a rather portly border collie with an irascible nature and eye wateringly foul breath, however for some inexplicable reason - he not only tolerates Himself and I, but will drag his shrieking owner over to say a wooferly hello.

She obviously adores her dog and it amuses us greatly to see him rolling his eyes as she screeches at him to come in from the garden or to stop pulling her around the corner on one of their multiple (but very short) daily walks. You can hear her ear piercing voice trailing off in to the distance as he determinedly waddles off to read his favourite pee-mails or sniff out any new scents.

He has tried to drag me around as he does her and to a certain degree I have managed to put up some resistance so that I look less out of control (work in progress, work in progress). 

We did try going up a rather steep and at the time very muddy pathway out of the village on to the tops thinking that he could pull me up .... that didn't happen. We stopped for a puff every few steps and I swear I could hear him gasp that he needed to look at the view (me too Jed, me too).

I am off today and am contemplating seeing if my furry fat friend would like to go out - it is raining and I know that he is not keen on wet weather - will be interesting to see if he agrees 😆

Not a particularly spectacular photo - but he does not pose, he does not stop (unless a really stinky scent or a steep up hill then we are both gasping for breath!)

Edited to add: he was desperate for his walk, just got back and I swear my lead holding arm has stretched by 10 cm!!

Gentle sitrep

The day job is about to end - five days left (but who's counting...) Talk about a sea change. 

A voluntary choice to resign several years early which has both terrified and elated me at the same time. And at this precise moment I am at the 'leaping off the cliff with a positive attitude' stage - however, ask me again tomorrow....... next week ..... in 20 minutes time and I'll probably give you a different answer. 

But at the moment - positive. 

Something that has given me pleasure (and still does) is painting and recently I have done a fair few #tinycatpebbles, gentle commissions and gifts. I fully intend on picking up the paintbrush a whole lot more in the coming months - watch this space as they say.

Thank you to old friends and new for taking the time to pop in to say hello and welcome back, thank you - that meant more than you will ever know xx

Are you about to embark on something new?
Is there something that you're planning to start or pick up again?
Are you, as I am, quietly watching the rain outside whilst I take a break from what I should be completing?