Doppelgängers

Poppy and Thomas are out in the Forest, when we turn a corner and what should we see …?

I’m sure the owners find it easy to tell these Welsh Terriers apart and I expect they all have their own distinctive smells to Poppy but even she seems a bit bemused.

She sniffs their bottoms (one must remember to be polite!) and then stands apart, not one of the crowd

After a good long walk Poppy is ready for a rest.

Is it time to go home yet?

Back at home, Rafa is waiting to get up close and personal as he likes to do.

You haven’t been out fraternising with dogs, have you?

 

 

Exploring the Forest

Jaffa continues to accompany us on our morning walks (when the weather’s fine, that is – when it’s raining he’s more likely to be found in a bed next to the Aga).

He’s bolder now and into everything. Every bush has to be explored and every tree climbed. It makes for a slow walk for Poppy. If we walk off without him, he complains loudly. Then he appears trotting after us on the track meowing plaintively … wait for me!

But as soon as he’s caught up, he’s scampering up a tree again and laughing at Poppy because he knows she can’t follow. Then he runs down the trunk and leaps to the ground from six feet up. Ready for the next one now!

This is a forest. There are a LOT of trees. You can’t climb them all, Jaffa!

Back at home, his sister Zanzi is working her way round all the trees in our garden. She’s not interested in walking with a dog. At least not yet!

 

 

 

 

 

Walking the Cat

Jaffa has taken to accompanying us on our morning walks with Poppy.

The first time he came with us we thought it was because he hadn’t been up for his breakfast and decided to keep us in his sight to make sure we came back to feed him!

But today he’s followed us into the woods again. This is a whole fascinating new world.

He trots along behind Poppy, occasionally sprinting past her or disappearing into undergrowth.

We’ve had overnight rain and he’s not too keen on the muddy bits. There was none of this gooey stuff last time he came here.

Now they are even walking side by side

 

 

 

 

Bark for any sign of Life

Two years ago, we attended an event called Bark For Life. It was a 5 km walk with dogs in the Forest of Dean to raise money for Cancer Research. Loads of dogs turned up with their owners, some of the children entered the fun competitions at the start and we had a wonderful walk in the woods. Poppy had a brilliant time making friends and finding plenty of doggy bottoms to sniff.

After the walk there was hot soup, tea and cakes, a band playing and a general air of jollity. Everyone agreed what an enjoyable event it was and a great cause.

So this year when we saw it advertised again we took Poppy along to support the event. The sun was shining, there was a warm breeze and the trees were full of colour. A perfect day for dog walking. But when we arrived there was no sign of any activity at all at the venue.

Where are all the other dogs?

There were a few cars parked around the entrances to the forestry tracks and people with dogs, but they turned out to be just the normal weekend walkers or tourists visiting the area. There was a poster advertising the event pinned to a gate but no sign of any organisers, caterers or music.

You don’t know what you’re missing …

What a shame! We still don’t know what happened today but Poppy had a great walk anyway. She’s been sleeping it off ever since!

Snow Dogs

Poppy and her friend, Sky, are playing in the snow. The forest is a winter wonderland. Branches have been crashing down everywhere from the weight of the snow, but it all looks a beautiful fairytale scene.

Poppy even wants to tackle her Grand National fences, hardly visible under the snow. But there’s no racing cancelled here in the forest!  She clears the jumps, ears flying and coat flapping, looking like superman on a mission to save the world.

Superdog!

Out in the open field, Poppy burrows down to sniff out something fascinating beneath the snow and emerges with her muzzle covered in the white stuff. This is better than all those wet, muddy tracks of late. Puddles can be fun but snow is just bliss.

There’s something down here – I know there is.

Mmmm, tasty snow!