Not quite back to square one but ...

Could we have bettered our day out yesterday? Well we were going to have a good try and having moved the van further into the Lake District, found a quiet spot with a goodly selection of pathways radiating outwards in all directions - just perfect!

Boots on, lead clipped, lunch box and flasks filled with a route planned, the three of us set off again. Our walk yesterday - gently came up to over seven miles for us and probably loads more for Willow and today was going to be similar. 

The first bit was lovely, we walked past a little tarn (Wharton Tarn) which seemed to have attracted loads of bird life so Willow was on her long lead, she is still unproven with stock or wild life and I want to be able to haul her back quick-smart if something should happen.

The path then went up and over into a series of farmed fields, although regular keep your dog on a lead signs, there were thankfully no 'bull in field' or 'ewes with lambs' about but again, Willow was on her lead. 

Finally we found a route where she could come off, a wooded area with deer fencing and it gave my arm and hand a rest while she happily snuffled and trotted back and forward on little fast collie feet.

Our path took us above Tarn Hows and despite the sharp chilly breeze, the light and the view were wonderful. We dropped down on to the circular path that follows the edge of the Tarn. This is where things went from lovely to not so good. 

People. Kids on bikes. dogs - on leads - off leads. Prams. Trampers. Mobility scooters and a very overwhelmed Willow.

She went from a reasonably well-behaved-on-a-lead dog to full on stressed steam train, pulling so hard that she was choking herself, I had to hang on for dear life. In spaces where there were small gaps between visitors I would walk her back and forth to bring her 'back to me', trying to reconnect but she was not having any of it and so I had to admit defeat and we frog marched (or dog marched) around at a rather unpleasant gallop.

We got off the path at the first possible exit but it soured the rest of the walk as Willow took nearly all of the return trek to 'come down' off what ever stressed planet she was on. It was like we were back at the very beginning again and it was awful.

Not only did she completely give up all the on-lead progress we'd made, she returned to her previous bad behaviour, trying to steal food, snatching from hands, not listening, not staying or sitting when commanded - her little mind had been fried by too much peopling and we just had to put up with it until we returned to the van.

Once back, it took her a bit to decompress and she eventually fell into a rather twitchy sleep. Now home and in her familiar routine she's come back to earth however we are gently but firmly having to start again. By the end of Monday she seemed to re-find herself and today we have our calm (well calm-ish whirling dervish dilly) collie, happy with her cranky cat and her bed and toys. 

We still have work to do......🐾🐾

South Lakes adventures

Quietly sitting with a mug of peppermint tea, the radio wittering away in the background and both Pan and Willow having post breakfast naps is a far cry from our weekend jollies.

Why do weekends vanish so quickly? They must be made of delicate stuff as they seem to evaporate just as you get in to them - hey ho - makes them all the more precious.

We packed up the van, bundled in an overexcited dog, walking boots, camera and waterproofs and headed .... north. No plans, no prebooked campsite just plenty of maps and poo bags. Zeb (van) led us to the South Lakes after a couple of hours of gentle country lane meanderings.

How's that for a sunset view while you eat?

There is something utterly soul cleansing about cooking then eating a meal as you watch the sunset over water and that is exactly what we did.

Mushroom tagliatelle and salad

Willow has been in the van for one night 'adventures' when we have visited the boys but this was going to be a first vanlife dog jolly and she decided that this was going to be her forever life. (us too sweet dog, us too)

Early morning shadows on the sands

We awoke to a lovely warm spring day and having eaten breakfast and strapped on boots and leads, we set off following tracks and lanes up into the wooded knolls above a coastal village where glimpses of a far off sea just made my heart sing. Willow could not get enough sniffs or sticks and almost burst with trying to do everything at once.

Walking on the old railway track between Storth and Arnside

We had, some years ago, going to walk through a little stony stepped path known as the 'Fairy Steps' while we still had Moss and on that particular day she was a bit weary, the weather was a bit rubbish and the detour to the steps was just a little too far, so we didn't go.

The Fairy Steps

We rectified that this weekend and took Willow. It is such a narrow cleft with steps carved in the gap and was, believe it or not, used as a coffin route. Himself and the dog are slim whippet shaped creatures and slipped through fairly easily - I am more your Labrador type and did find it a little claustrophobic - how on earth coffins were manoeuvred through such a narrow gap we could not fathom. We wondered if they actually lowered them over the cliff edge with ropes and only the coffin bearers traversed through the narrow ginnel.

This made us smile

At the top of the ridge, we sat, drank in the view and I was quietly pleased when a small red and white foxdog leant up against my back and rested. These small moments of trust are so precious.

I know she's a petite collie, but that must have been a huge tree

Along our walk, we met a few folk out, not as many as we had anticipated but those we did meet were very kind about a dilly dog even comparing notes on our loose lead training. I was heartened by a couple of people actually saying they'd used this style of training and that yes it was a long process but it was worth it and to persist.

Waiting for permission to come through the slip stile

It was a lovely day and if proof was ever needed - a small dog first devoured her food as if it was a last meal EVER then fell in her bed and into a deep sleep. Which is amazing - she is such a light sleeper and seems to have one eye open at all time, she was completely out for the count and it was so sweet.

Zzzzzzzzzz

And this was just day one!

In which Willow huffs and wuffs

 Willow here.

Just bin on a walk - only in the village but it was a gud'un as they say round here.

She has been 'torturing' me with 'how not to pull on my lead' lessons - how is a dog like me s'posed to get to my favourite playing field if I don't run there with my fastest feet?? 

So, before I evn got my walk in she made me walk up and down up and down up and down - you get the picture - I was bored out of my head - she has the cheek to say my little walnut brain - huff.

'Parrently Iz doing well, coz she's not usin' the slip chain no more and I'z walking with jus my soft collar an' lead. An' funnily enough we still get to the best playing field and I'z excellent at catchin' and chasin' my second favourite ball. She has lost my best one .....

Now, we'z home an' sitting in the summerhouse, I loves the summerhouse and I am doing the collie-snooze-thing. I fall asleep with one eye open - gotta keep that eye on my human coz you neva know what she is goin' to get up to next, probably gardenin' I s'pose.

An' that fluffy white 'not-dog' is with us and she keeps giving me kisses - what is that about??

Kate here.

Willow has NOT been tortured despite what she wuffs, but she has been getting lots of lessons on how NOT.TO.PULL and finally I think (I hope) the penny has dropped as today's walk was one of the easier ones we have had recently. Her desperation to walk and to play is understandable but exhausting (and to be honest hard work on my hands) however today there seemed such a positive reaction to all the training - better contact between us, she is engaging with me more and responding to my actions rather than just dragging me and determining the speed (fast) and direction (straight to where she can come off lead and play).

Yesterday was the break through day - I felt really mean as it meant that as soon as she started to pull (for such a small and scrawny woof - she can lean in and set her shoulders - difficult to hold her) I would turn away from the park or the playing fields and continue the training - the neighbours must have wondered what on earth was going on - so yesterday - there was a light bulb moment. Today was the pay off. Long may it last!

And yes, that fluffy white 'not-dog' Pan seems to have accepted Willow and will often sit or sleep near her. We, all three of us, a rather odd pack, are either all in the garden or all in the house, together. It is rather nice 🩷🐾

Nothing says SPRING more than ...💚🌿☀️

Nothing says SPRING more than the teeniest tiny seedlings filling my greenhouse and filling my happy heart!

I had a 'date with the dentist' first thing this morning and I promised him that I would not bite him. He gave a nervous giggle and a worried look so I smiled cheerfully (whilst inwardly berating myself for my nervous quip hahah)

As soon as I escaped, me with all my teeth and nerves intact, the dentist with a full compliment of fingers and thumbs - I returned home, clicked on the kettle and with the dog and the cat in tow, went into the garden to decompress. I have 'history' with dentists and although I am fully aware that the modern way of dentistry is far kinder and more patient orientated, I still have nightmarish memories from my teenage years of a dentist from hell....

....Aaaaaand .. breathe - the scent of damp soil, that soft green fragrance with a hit of crisp cold spring air.

I'll have to stop swanning around (still slightly over dressed for gardening) and crack on - the small area I have chosen to be a potager garden needs a fair bit of work doing. It had been a flourishing rhubarb bed which produced more fruiting stalks than we could consume, so last year I dug up most of the crowns and rehomed them leaving their bed looking an utter waste ground - today that (hopefully) will change.

I will however, have to wander around with a thoughtful look on my face, mug of tea in my hand, a rather befuddled dog and supervisory cat as I get my self primed for a bit of physical work 

So - what have you planned for your spring garden?
I want to be able to devote a better level of care to my own garden this year, for years it has had to play second fiddle to my work commitments. I also need to take into consideration my rickety hands - they need a little more care too. 

But I can't wait to enjoy my garden this year 💚🌿☀️

One last thing that really shouts to me that it is spring? 

Watching the Ospreys at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria reunite and raise a new generation of ospreys - https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey-webcam

Mud and Ice

No decent spring walk would not have significant levels of either mud or ice or in the case today - both.

Not a particularly inspiring photo but one that would make a happy Willow wuff 

Her ball, mud, puddles and shards of ice.

The last few days definitely dipped back towards a last wintery flurry and yesterday we had snow and hail on and off through out the day. However, like the most of the uk - today is utterly glorious (if a little fresh still). 

We, Willow and I, set off after a short stint of lead training - can see this will probably be a long term lesson as the pulling has not decreased in any way. I have been offered loads of (not necessarily good) advice including different types of leads and harnesses, but I will persist - she is a collie, they do charge on ahead, they do think for themselves and think for you too, so this is more a battle of wills rather than just obedience training. We'll get there (eventually!)

There is a whole different life in the village during working hours which I knew existed but never was really involved with - until now.

 A sense of purpose and busy-ness by the volunteer gardening force, a cheery chattery-ness of the dog walker (mostly women with the very occasional man - they seem to do the dog routes on the weekends).

Delivery men and posties marching from house to house, the screaming kids from the primary school playground during recess, the surprisingly quiet traffic passing through and the general chatter as neighbours get on with their lives and pass pleasantries over hedges and fences.

 Admittedly today's weather certainly helped buoy the joie de vivre mood. 

I am - still to a certain respect - known as an off-cumdun (which means new comer) in the village, however it has evolved over the years. We were from out of the village when we first arrived and with me being 'foreign' - we did stick out a little. Now we've been living here some time and since leaving work, once again I am the 'new person' puttering around the village and having a red and white collie makes us stand out a little haha.

I wish the washing machine would get on - it is taking ages to chew through the washing today, I want to get the bedding out on the line whilst it is sunny and fresh - the smell of line dried sheets is sublime.

And I shall leave you with a certain elderly princess basking in the sunshine making it impossible to straighten the bed hey ho.....

Celebrating the small stuff

Up early this morning to see Himself off to work gave me the absolute pleasure of being able to slip back into a still warm bed and catch up with reading or replying to comments on my blog. It was rather fresh first thing when I took Willow out however the dawn chorus was spectacular. I listened with clenched teeth to stop them chattering before returning to the warmth of my bed, but not before I used my bird app to help ID all the birds I could hear. 

I was very happy with that list!

After breakfast, boots and leads were collected and a pathway followed. When I used to walk with Moss, I allowed her to 'choose' the route (within reason) and it would vary from day to day. 

The last couple of walks, I have gently allowed Willow the same freedom of choice (again within reason) and today she took us up and round the village along stony tracks and muddy lanes then through a rough field and a scruffy meadow twice - because she knows she can play fetch with her favourite ball there. 

To do that - she would have had to mentally plan the route to be able to return back through the fields without turning back or repeating a track, either that it was a very lucky guess!!

I recently mentioned my love of punchy home made ginger biscuits and I was sent a flood of recipes - so - today I am going to start experimenting with every recipe offered - it is a mission and some one has to do it!! (oooh oooh pick me, pick me!)

Todays photos a mix of our walk, what we found, in the garden and in the kitchen - I do have quite a long 'to do' list but - hey there is always tomorrow!

How has your Monday been?
Are you doing things YOU want to do or are you procrastinating?

glimmers

I am taking a self enforced rest day today - the last week of joyous sunshine and a happy me working in the garden has taken it's toll on my hands and they are rather painful. I am very grateful I learnt to touch type at school and can type with relatively little hand or finger movement.

So the three of us are sitting in the summer house, Willow napping on her duvet, Pan popping in and out or watching the frogs VeRy.cLoSeLy... sorry frogs - we think she needs specs coz she gets so close to look at them. 

Himself had constructed a little fence to prevent an elderly cat from entering the pond area, but the 'old dear' still has quite a spring in her step and with a bit of thought has found a route in.

One of my jobs this last week was to try and thwart her but have failed..... I have just watched her analyse the alterations, think about it, then just jump over a different way and - with equal rickety ease - jump back out... sigh. Back to the drawing board.

It has been a rare pleasure being able to spend a run of gently warm days in the garden. At the moment I am smiling quietly to myself as I watch all the birds using the bird feeding station I constructed on Tuesday. I had had a rusty metal version up for quite a few seasons and each time I looked at it, I gave it a hearty frown. Tuesday was the day of it's demise. 

All the hooks and tray holders were fine so I sawed them off, drilled holes and used one of the branches left over from the cherry tree removal from last week. I tried to take a flattering photo of the new and hopefully improved feeding station - but I just can't get a good one - so you will have to imagine it!

Something else that has made me smile, is the gentle improvement in cat and dog relations - Pan has lived with two other border collies in her life time so this one is just another inconvenience, however Willow has never met a cat and it has taken some weeks for her to stop reacting as 'sharply' as she has been. 

Today I held my breath as I watched a cranky old cat quietly soothe a scared little dog .... Willow is terrified of large men - especially those with loud voices. Our neighbour is both large and loud and he coughs and clears his throat with the explosive force of a snorting bull. And he does it regularly.

Willow was startled, sat up trembling, and Pan came into the summer house, went over and booped noses, stood near until the dog stopped quivering and lay back down, then she went back into the garden. Situation defused.

I can't ask for any more than that...............

well, may be one more thing -

a dog that does not think that walking at full steam-train-speed is 

The.Only.Way.To.Go

What gentle gems - glimmers - have lit your day?🩷💚

How is your gardening growing?🌱🪴🌿🪻🌷🌹

Here is to a lovely weekend - long may the springy weather keep on springing ☀️