- This topic has 8 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by
.
- Posts
How my life has changed in the last two years! The day I chose to invite a Border Collie into my life, presently followed by another, was the day my desert boots were forced to take an involuntary sabbatical in the cupboard under the stairs. until my two darlings are both full adults, I’m disinclined to leave them with anyone for anything more than a day or two at most.
so, until that time arrives, I find myself exploring places that I only ever used to drive past, blissfully unaware of the hidden treasures, in terms of rural countryside, literally minutes’ walk from my own front door.
Today, I took Dill and Fennel for a stroll through a small area called Ankerwycke, just a stone’s throw from my house. And I figured if I can’t share with you pictures from SE Turkey or N Uganda, then I’ll take you on a virtual walk with my two tear-away hounds:
Out of the car and along the road to the gate. The sun is beating down, and the mercury is pushing 24C.
We run the gauntlet of the cows. As long as Dill has a stick in his mouth, then he’s perfectly biddable!
Sniffing out the rabbits
… and into the next field and away from the cattle.
Christ, that looks inviting! Maybe even a few carp in there.
The building you can just make out on the skyline near the centre of the picture, is the Royal Airforce Memorial, on Coopers Hill, overlooking the River Thames at Runnymede. Just below the memorial, on the lower slopes, is the site of the signing of The Magna Carta by King John in June 1215. And just along from the memorial is the John F Kennedy memorial.
Race on to the next field…
Glorious English countryside in summertime. Lots of Green Woodpeckers along this stretch of ground.
And into the next field…
Time for a quick shit. My two always go well away from the footpaths and do that kind of thing.
Over the old broken bridge and into the long grass!
We try to avoid too much of this long grass because the grass seeds can cause all sorts of problems.
Trouble is, they love it!
So, out of the field and into the woods…
Dill knows the way.
And into the bottom field
OK, got it.
Slowing down now. Getting hot.
Photocall by the fallen oak.
And a romp in the stinging nettles.
Next field and sharp turn back on ourselves
Over the style (or under the gate)
Looks like an ancient carriageway. Maybe the old road between Staines and Windsor.
The ruins of St Mary’s Priory
Two paths that converge in the wood… so we took the one that smelled the nicest!
The Ankerwycke Yew: According to recent research, this tree is around 2500 years old. Some believe that King John stopped by here on his way to signing the Magna Carta.
The sign doesn’t say “DO NOT PISS ON THE TREE”… So Dill did.
And on we go, down the tree-lined avenue, where the highwayman used to prey on the noble folk.
And eventually back to where we passed through a while ago.
And thence to the field with the cows…
Where Fenn and Dill go into herding stance…
Until called compliantly to heel, lest we incur the ire of the Ankerwycke Farmer
And finally back to the car, which is now like a sauna, after being sat in the sun for an hour.
Fennel and Dill
nice. Speaking of dogs, I googled your site and got this: http://www.maddogphotography.ca/
Anyhow, nice bunch of galleries you got up there. So can you tell us more about the Cherry Brakewells?…
pretty hot..!oh, and here’s Roxanne. Lab/Rottweiler mostly Rottie. She is 12 months and 120lbs.
We had to get her a stronger shock collar because she kept knocking over small people and getting into trouble.Cute doggies. I’m amazed you did all this walking in just one hour, Lee.
There’s a rottweiler in our neighborhood who is not very well supervised. Sometimes he accompanies my friend and I jogging. He’s not trying to knock us over or terrorize us, he just loves to jog. His owners don’t even know he’s gone.
Rob,
A wise man once told me the secret with Border Collies is to exercise their minds rather than their legs. You can try to walk them into the ground, but you’ll just wind up with super athletic dogs that want to run everywhere.
I can tire Dill out physically, just by throwing sticks into the lake for him to fetch. He’s soon bushed, but that doesn’t really satisfy his thinking dogs’ brain.
For that, I find a patch of long grass and throw his stick in there while his back is turned. He then goes in search, using his nose. It can take him some time to find the stick, but he’s never failed yet and that’s just about as good exercise for his brain as I can manage.
Because I work from home mostly, then I get to walk Dill ad Fenn up to 6 times a day. Doing that keeps the boredom in check. It’s Keeping me active, too.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.