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The online diary
started life as a blog of my strange 'other life' with the dog. I
wanted to record some of the experiences that I had as a first-time dog
owner. To access the archive, click on the appropriate month.
The most recent articles are listed
separately.
You are most
welcome to send comments about any of the articles. Record your
comments via the Contact Me page.
A QUICKENING PULSE
Thu 16 Apr 2009
Yesterday I returned
from an Easter break in the Lake District. This was my second Easter in the
caravan. Last year it snowed! This year the first week was mediocre, but
the Easter weekend was dazzling.
Beattie and I enjoyed three lovely walks on the fells (photographs to
follow).
I noted in my holiday
journal signs of spring … the bleating of the young lambs in the fields,
which we could hear inside the van … the persistent croaking of the rooks in
the trees as they built their nests of sticks … bright green leaves emerging
from fattened buds … the haunting cry of the curlew … excited trilling of a
skylark above Sticks Gill … young rabbits scampering about the fields … the
tight buds of daffodils in roadside clumps … the drumming of a woodpecker …
Yes, the quickening
pulse of spring is surely beating after the cold snows of winter. And on
the highest fells pockets of snow persist on north-facing slopes or in the
hidden hollows. Perhaps winter has not quite done with us yet? There could
still be a sting in the tail!
But as I drove south
yesterday with the internal thermometer rising into the high teens, I was
very surprised at the changes in eleven days in East Anglia. On the radio,
someone was claiming to have seen the first swallow of spring and was this
due to global warming as it had been seen on 25th April last
year? I checked back in my own journal. ‘First swallow seen in the front
porch at home 29.4.2008.’ Well, that was comparable. But in 2007 I wrote,
‘First swallow seen at Breydon Water 19.4.2007. Maybe not global warming!
At home the garden had
gone crazy! The lawn looked very neat and tidy when I had left, but now the
grass had grown four or five inches in the intervening period. The back
hedge that was an imperceptible shade of green eleven days since but was now
begging to be cut! Shrubs had burst into flower and the daffs were over!
There was serious work to do! No time to sit and pen these lines during
daylight hours!
Well, maybe I’ll tackle
the garden tomorrow …
POSTSCRIPT: First
swallow seen flying over the 'jungle' on Saturday 18th April!
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Comment from
A
Worried that the garden has gone mad. Hope weather good tomorrow as
you are looking forward to tackling it...I don't think!!!
Oops! I forgot you
might read this!! I'll be sure to be on time to pick you up at
the airport!! derek
Comment from Tracey Lilly
Glad the weather was good. Take it A was visiting her family whilst
you and Beattie tackled the fells.
Yes, A and her sister
were in Venice for a short city break! derek
AMERICANS
Mon 20 Apr 2009
A lot has been spoken
and written about Americans, not all of it complimentary. But whilst we
were up in the Lakes we met two charming natives of that country at the
Badger Bar in Rydal.
Their names were Rose and Jimmy.
We were halfway round
one of our favourite Lakeland walks – the Round of Rydal Water. We called
in for a drink at the Badger Bar, and sitting at the next table were two
people. He was reading a book of poetry (probably Wordsworth) and she was
scribbling furiously on a pad of lined paper.
Rose seemed quite taken with
Beattie and asked about her
breed and name. After some background I gave a handful of dog treats to her
to feed Beattie. ‘She’ll be your best friend in the world, now’, I said.
We had finished our
drinks and were preparing to leave when I said to Rose, ‘I thought you might
be trying to finish an essay with the intensity of your writing. Maybe it
has to be handed in tomorrow?’
‘No,’ She replied, ‘I
am writing my journal. We have just been to
Dove Cottage and there’s a lot
to write about.’
‘I love writing,’ I
told her. ‘I write every day when I am on holiday. And I write about
Beattie. She has her own website!’ Rose asked for the address and I
obliged.
We left the bar and
continued our walk. ‘When they get back to the States they’ll tell all
their friends about my website and I’ll have a million hits a day!’ I told
A.
There was something
distinctly familiar about the guy in the hat walking towards us. We were
nearing the end of our walk and were back on the main road. Of course, it
was the couple we had met in the Badger Bar. What a coincidence meeting
them again? It was fate! They were walking back to
The Swan hotel
in Grasmere. Was this the way? Was there a path along the road?
Apparently, Rose had decided that they were to walk back to the hotel by a
lake. There was a route back on the other side of the lake past Rydal Water
and Grasmere, but they were nowhere near the path. They had just walked
along the main road.
I told
Jimmy that the quiet road off
to the right led back to Grasmere past the
Wordsworth Centre. ‘You don’t
sound too sure about that, said Jimmy. ‘Well, it’s quite a long walk. I
thought you might have transport.’
We offered them a lift
back to the hotel as we were driving that way. They accepted. From
comments that Rose made, I thought our offer had saved an argument. Rose
admitted that she did not know how far it was when she suggested the walk.
Arriving at The Swan,
Jimmy offered us a drink. But I wanted to visit the
bookshop in Grasmere before it
closed and we declined. We shook hands and Jimmy said, ‘If you fancy
dinner, just call in during the next four days.’ It was a generous offer.
We were just pleased to
have met two very pleasant people and were more than happy to have helped
them out of their predicament. It was enough that we had been in the right
place at the right time.
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RABBIT
Tue 21 Apr 2009
Once again,
Beattie has demonstrated her
terrier instincts whilst out on a country walk.
It happened at the
weekend whilst we were walking over the fields towards Somerleyton. The
previous day, there had been a pair of ducks swimming in a flooded section
of the field. Beattie hadn’t seen them, which was a relief, but there was
no mistaking that rabbit! It was the following day and in the same field a
large brown rabbit was sitting hunched up minding its own business. Beattie
spotted it before I did and was off eating up the space between herself and
the rabbit, which seemed quite unaware of the unwelcome visitor that was
about to come calling!
Vainly, I had called
her back, of course, but I knew it was no use. Her chasing instincts had
taken over and all I could do was watch the unfolding drama. As Beattie
bore down on the animal, the poor rabbit suddenly realised what was up and
was off; not with a usual bunny speed – this rabbit was particularly
pedestrian and it was a close run thing to the boundary hedge. The rabbit
just made it through in time and Beattie followed at the double.
I had to move pretty
quickly to see what I expected would be the sorry outcome to the chase. But
as I stumbled through a gap in the hedge, I saw Beattie and the rabbit stood
next to each other a short way off. The rabbit, sensing I was there,
lolloped off, but, surprisingly, Beattie did not follow. She just waited
quietly until I came up to retrieve her.
Why did she not
continue the chase? It seemed to me that this was a rather elderly rabbit,
and perhaps Beattie had realised there would be no real fun in a
high-spirited chase as the rabbit was not really up to the task!
Was it possible that
the chase was the main thrill and not the capture? Or was it that Beattie
realised that there would be no fun in tormenting the elderly?
Whatever the reason, I
was grateful that no blood had been shed. It was another mystery for me to
ponder.
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Comment from AT
Probably had mixie..........she was showing good sense
Hadn't thought of that!
I always thought those rabbits were particularly moribund.
This one did, at least, break into a run! Perhaps it was the
early stages? derek
THE HARE AND THE BEDLINGTON
Sun 26 Apr 2009
I am sure that my
readers will be familiar with Aesop’s famous fable of ‘The Hare and The
Tortoise?’ You will remember that after challenging the hare to a race, the
tortoise won because the overconfident hare decided that he could have a nap
half way round the circuit and still win comfortably.
For Aesop’s purposes,
it was a perfect tale illustrating the point that to make slow and steady
progress in life was a recipe for success. Well, I say, get real, Aesop!
Life’s not like that. It’s a dangerous world out there. Only the fastest,
fittest and wiliest succeed!
Consider the story of
‘The Hare and The Bedlington’, a modern updating of the old moral tale. In
this version, the hare is startled by the sudden appearance of the
Bedlington, and, with a slight head start, dashes for the safety of the
hedgerow pursued by the excited dog. On this occasion the hare does not
obligingly lie down in the mud for a siesta allowing the Bedlington to
pounce gleefully upon the slumbering animal. In fact, the hare is very
quickly nowhere to be seen. The Bedlington, unable to keep up with the
blistering pace, comes to a standstill, and, with chest heaving, looks
around perplexedly, wondering how the hare could have disappeared so
quickly.
It is left to the
amused owner to explain to the poor creature that he may have long legs,
but, sadly, is no match for the hare, who is probably already in the next
county!
The moral of this tale
is, rather obviously, ‘softly, softly, catchee monkey’ (or in this case,
catchee hare)
Hard luck,
Beattie!
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Comment from
sablonneuse
Can you
really speak 'Dog'?? I just bark out the words and
she seems to understand what is meant!!!
Poor Beattie, I hope she wasn't too disappointed. I
think she regarded it as an excuse for a good run!!
BTW, there's an award for you chez-moi.
Thanks, Sandy!
Comment from Tracey Lilly
Much more fun than
rabbit chasing.
At least hares put up a good race.
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Photographs taken with a Fuji MX-2900
Zoom or a Canon EOS 20D
Copyright © 2009 Derek Cockell All Rights
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