Three days of cuddles, walks and chew finding are in store, as the humans have another one of those bank holiday weekends.
Given that the usual weather for UK holiday times is rain, we take the first opportunity on Saturday morning to hassle dad into getting his coat and taking us out.
Our destination is the Finlandrigg nature reserve just outside of Carlisle. The venue was chosen as it has been a while since we have been, we know that it should be reasonably clean and it should be full of sniffs.
As we head off along the path into the wood we come across a bit of a bodged building work. Looking up towards the tree canopy, this bird box looks to have had a new front door installed, by a very dodgy builder.
It would appear that the old front door has been ripped away and a plank, not even cut to size, has been put in place with twisted wire. The new door does not look as if it has even had a coat of paint .
Beware of the bull
Further down the track we came upon a bit of artwork nailed to a gate featuring the head of a beast.
With frightening horns and nose ring, the picture was a warning that big hairy scary things lay just beyond the fence. Thankfully we did not have to travel through the field.
We have been to Finlandrigg on a number of occasions now and every time it is different.
It is now I suppose, nearing the end of summer and we did notice that all seemed very calm, with little happening. All the rush in the early part of spring to make flowers and new growth had stopped, and it was as if nature was taking a pause before winter.
Taking a moment to look around, nothing seemed to be moving and the skies were clear of birds.
The air was silent except for the wind through the leaves and the occasional clang of a branch against another.
Mum noticed that even the hedgerows had been picked clean by the birds, leaving only a few elderberries and the occasional ripe bramble.
The two leggers wondered if nature was preparing for a really bad winter to follow our wet summer.
Mathematical humour
When a notice appears on a gate that reads ‘ Beware of Adders’ you know that dad is going to try and say something silly.
Sure enough within seconds out came the quip – “An ideal sign for the mathematics staff room door….”
He does not get any better, but the sign does raise a serious issue of our safety when in open countryside. Reports suggest that Adders, which are the only venomous snake in the UK, bite dogs more than any other animal.
For this reason we stay on short leads and on the open path, so we can see where we are walking.
This spoils our fun a little, but it is for our own safety as we do not want to get bitten.
Earlier we mentioned that all seemed unusually calm and this was also the case as we left the wooded area in to a wide open clearing.
Purple flowering heather stood about 30cm from the boggy ground whilst the first signs of autumn colours were starting to appear.
No taller than our noses was this small oak tree, complete with tiny acorn growing through the path.
The rich green leaves were starting to fade to the browns and golden colours of autumn. A sure sign that summer is almost over. A summer that has only provided a tiny bit of warm sunshine.
Heading back towards the car we passed through a field bordered by high golden grasses bending in the breeze.
Although we could not see over the tops of the grass, the many trails away from our path and into the meadow could clearly be seen. Forest beasties had flattened the tall stems to the ground as they made their way way across the site, leaving clear paths and trails for us to investigate.
By this time Charlie had managed to find the obligatory swamp and went in half way up his legs….he turned back to face mummy with a proud look of achievement, so with the threat of rain in the air, and quite a bit of mud clinging to Charlies legs we headed back towards the car and the journey home.
Until next time
Buster and Charlie