Just Exploring!

 

We have been exploring some new walking loactions recently, and having a lot of fun in the process!

My post COVID breathing complications seem to be much better and my medication is working well; so well in fact that I managed to climb Bellever Tor a few days ago and because I felt so great afterwards I have more Tor walking planned in the very near future.

When I head out to explore different walks from my usual Dartmoor jaunt, I always seem to head towards Cornwall and the coast but the truth is that Dartmoor is HUGE and I have only just scraped the surface of it. 

What I do lack, however is a little confidence - 99% of the time I am walking alone and on Dartmoor that can be scary. The weather can change so quickly and make the landscape look so different in the space of minutes and there are hidden bogs in places that people and animals can fall into and an abundance of ledges for me to fall off. There is also no mobile phone service on the Moors so it all makes for an interesting walk! I absolutely love it but I am always very cautious going to new locations, probably overly so. What I have decided I need is a decent lightweight waterproof rucksack that I can carry my essentials in, or Stanley if his little legs get tired, so I'm on the hunt! If anyone has any suggestions of brands I could look at please message me. I'd appreciate it!

Anyways, here are some pictures of our recent walks. I hope that you enjoy them as much as the dogs and I enjoyed the walks.

We found SNOW in May! It was a 12 degree day but the deeper into the Moorland we got the more snow we found!

A Walk with 7 Poodles.

 

A couple of days ago we met up with some of our friends for a walk in a 4 acre private field. There were 7 poodles in total and we all had a blast, it was poodle heaven!

Here are a few photos from the walk - the dogs are my 3 - Stanley,  Edna and Peggy as well as Rusty and Casper who belong to our friend Louise, Inca who belongs to Jade and Otis who is a pup from Edna's last litter. 

Rusty- the red standard stole the show; at 11.5 and despite having a few health conditions she was well up for chasing balls and running with the youngsters. Seeing an older girl living life to its fullest was just brilliant.

I may well use the enclosed field for future puppy meets. It was a fantastic facility with plenty of free on street parking and meant that all pups were safe and that a big pack of dogs wasn't bothering any non dog people, out for a nice stroll. The only problem was that we only booked an hour and it went so so fast!

 

Goodbye Bowser

Today we said goodbye to Bowser.

Bowser was my next door neighbour's dog and lived to the grand old age of 15.

He was a quirky boy; a big dog in a small dog's body and over the last 5 years or so we have shared many fantastic walks together.

I will remember him best for his love of nose biting and how he became my own personal stalker - he knew the sound of my car when I came home from work and then would be straight outside and following my every move in the garden, just incase I happened to drop a nice snack over the fence for him, and I did, often 🥲

Bowser was a grouchy old sod with the world's most annoying bark. He had a stubborn streak and pleased only himself on walks. It was like he was so happy sniffing around, the world didn't matter and you ceased to exist. He was certainly a dog who knew what he wanted.

Over the last few weeks Bowser's health has declined and sadly today he was PTS to prevent him from suffering as things would not have improved. I am desperately sad for his owners Adam and Jade and I will miss our little friend dearly.

Thank you for the love little guy.

I'll do my best to look after your family.