Back in England (you know, because the last post was about Wales?), I fancied a look at Jack Sparrow Lane (if you're new here, this is why I renamed this little area). It'd been a little while since we ventured down to our favourite lockdown spot. Of course, we've discovered a lot of other favourite spots since then, but I'll always remember that this was my first favourite. Here's the start of it, on Barley Cop Lane, off Torrisholme Road, about half a mile from my house. I used to think this was a 'hill', but I'm much fitter now so I don't notice the incline.
I don't let Miss Freya off here because we're still quite near the road, but I do always bring her on the long lead so that she can have a little bit of freedom. There are a lot of great smells round here for a curious dog. It's also a really good place for doing lead training as there are no other distractions once she's had a good sniff about, so we did a little bit of that. Working very hard on getting her to come all the way back to me when I ask her to.
Down the little hill and round the corner, what's this then? Ooh, someone's parked a horse. We weren't expecting a horse, and last time Freya saw one up close she barked and I had to remove her from the situation to spare the poor horse's feelings. I assessed this situation and decided that I'd let her figure it out for herself. To my utter astonishment, she didn't really bat much of an eyelid. See, no raised hackles? Curious, certainly, but not straining at the lead (the long lead is always taut like that – that's how it works so she doesn't trip over it or get tangled) or being nervous, and no whining.
In fact, she just sat down and watched the horse. This next photo got me the most likes I've ever had on Twitter, at 821, which is not viral, but still quite nice. It made lots of tweeps smile because people really love dogs, don't they?!
Eventually, Freya got bored because the horse wasn't doing anything, so we carried on to look at Jack Sparrow Lane, which was indeed looking its best today. Honestly, it was. That yellowy strip to the right isn't dead grass, it's grass that's gone to seed very prettily. The saplings on the slope have emerged from hibernation and are starting to get their berries. The wildflowers are flowering as well – I've tried to find out what they are, but I can't find them. They've got to be in here somewhere, but I've no close-ups, so I'll have to get some next time.
Those tall pinky-purple things might be foxgloves, but I can't zoom in clearly enough to tell. I'll check next time. Freya loves mucking about here – she bounces around in the grass for ages. You can almost hear her shouting, 'WAHOO!', 'YEEEAAAAHHHH!', 'LOOOOOOK AAAATTTT MEEEEEEEE, MUUUUMMMM!!!!' Bonkers. And brilliant to watch.
My dad and I have been trying to work out what's going on with the corn fields this year. We didn't notice any ploughing or sowing going on, although the corn has come up again, and in straight rows, so that must have happened. But they're sharing the soil with grass. Anyone know what this is all about? Last year, we could see the brown soil between the rows; not so this time. We've heard that approval has been giving for building on this green belt, so we wondered if that might have something to do with it.
Anyway, I turned and looked at this slope that goes up to the bench with a smashing view, and I looked at Freya, and she looked at me. 'We should go up there, eh, Mum?' says she, with her eyes. 'Really?' says I, rolling my eyes, 'do we definitely need to go up there?' I swear she nodded. I hadn't planned to do strenuous exercise today, but as you see, Freya made me do it. And she was wise because I didn't collapse at having to walk up a little hill, or even struggle at all, and it was fine.
This is a little remote-controlled glider, not a plane. Freya was fascinated by it – I didn't think she'd be able to see something so far away, but it was also quite noisy, so she might have been following the sound rather than seeing the glider clearly with her eyes. I don't know ... I've just gone down another Google rabbit hole trying to find out about dogs' eyesight.
We sat on our bench on the new road for some time, chatting, Freya and I. She snuggled in beside me and rested, gazing at the view that we hope will stay a bit green for years to come. Though now that they're going to be building on the green in the opposite direction, who knows – they always win in the end, the developers, don't they? Building houses that no one local can afford, spoiling the view, not giving a toss about the wildlife. Sod 'em!
Anyway, I hope you're all enjoying the weather right now and that it's not too hot for you. Some of you are in very hot parts of the world that would be far too warm for me – the hottest weather I've experienced was 40˚C/104˚F, and that was on holiday in Rhodes so I was able to stay in the pool for most of it. The best temperature for me is 20˚C/68˚F – spot on. You can still wear shorts and t-shirts, but you get to keep some of your energy and don't break out in a full-body sweat just because you raised an eyebrow.
Right, well, I'm wittering on about whatever pops into head again, so I think it's time to stop and move on to writing up the next walk!
Until the seventeenth of Jelember, twonks,
Linda + Freya
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