Here in the UK we are basking in a glorious early heatwave. We can only hope there is more to come, and that this isn’t all the summer we are going to get this year. British people joke about this all the time, for example, ‘I hope summer falls on a weekend’ and so on. Well I made the most of it yesterday with two beautiful and very different walks.
I did my usual Saturday dogwalk with Meggie & Badger (or Madge as they are affectionately known). I was thrilled to be joined by my friend and her 3 month old puppy Bluebell, out mingling with the big dogs for the first time after her vaccinations. There are lots of regular walkers in the local park so it’s always sociable, but even more so with a new puppy. We had a great time talking to our dogwalking friends and watching Bluebell interact. She was so good and just wanted to play. The other dogs were great with her and it was fascinating to watch her learn. She was allowed off lead for a short while and she ran around madly with Meggie which was wonderful to see. She raced after her ball but has yet to learn that she needs to bring it back – I wonder if Meggie can teach her this important rule?
Later on I accompanied the OH on a walk on the moors to catch the sunset. It’s usually a lot colder up there and almost always windy, but we found it balmy and still. With hardly a cloud in the sky we watched a beautiful sunset at ‘The Hut’. This is an abandoned shepherd’s hut by a large pond in the middle of the moor, inaccessible by car. It’s quite substantial for a hut: stone-built with two rooms and an ancient kitchen range inside. It has a real air of mystery and makes a great focal point for pictures.
We have done this walk loads of times in the biting cold and snow, sometimes we are almost blown backwards by the winds, so it felt quite special to be there in the fresh warm air, after such a long winter.