France in May

Oh dear what is happening with the weather? We are in France for the week and normally at this time of year we have gorgeous sunny days and we go back to the UK feeling our summer has really begun. Not this week though. Yesterday was sunny enough but there was a cold wind blowing so it felt more like early April and this morning we have woken up to rain again.


Usually the fields all around us full of abundant growth of sun flower plants, corn, wheat and rye but right now the corn plants are small, yellow and not looking good and the farmers haven't even planted the sun flowers yet. The lanes all round are thick with walnut trees and when we go home after Easter their branches are bare, they are the latest tree to come into leaf here, but normally 5 or 6 weeks later when we get back the leaves are out and tiny nuts are set. This year though the leaves are only just appearing and no sign yet of any nuts.

Our neighbours say the weather has been terrible now for weeks, the farmers are all worried as nothing is growing and their crops will be seriously behind if the summer doesn't arrive soon. It is most concerning if we think about climate change and all the news from around the world that reports unusual weather patterns.

One positive thing for us, selfish I know, is that we have got to see and enjoy our patch of irises this year that we never normally see as they are usually finished when we get down here. A minor consolation and nothing that helps the farmers.

First Camping Trip of the Year

Last year was our first ever year of camping and we enjoyed it so much we're doing it again now. Susie-Belle and Renae last year really took to it well, remember this....

Well we just had our first trip away at the Annual Schnauzer Walk in the Peak District (more on that in another post). It was Twinkle's first camping experience and like the other two girls, is a natural camper. She is still very touch averse and skittish so we were a little anxious how she'd get on being in such close proximity to us for a couple of days, but we needn't have worried, she settled pretty quickly and didn't seem fazed by the change of environment.

Once we were settled at the site, Renae soon showed her where the best bed was.....

...and Twinkle agreed with her suggestion........

The campsite was in a beautiful setting in the middle of nowhere, very peaceful, just what we all needed.......

The weather is just like last year...terrible....it rained Friday night but we managed to pitch up before it started and Saturday morning it was dry'ish but chilly. But in the tent we were surprisingly cosy and comfy. Renae however couldn't understand why she was zipped in and wasn't allowed to get out and muck around in the muddy field.......

.....but by Sunday the weather had dried out properly and early morning playtime with our schnauzer friends Rupert and Watson was in order.....

....Susie-Belle took it easy in the tent a lot of the time, she is happy as Larry there......

....and when it was time to pack up and come home, Twinkle was ready to give a hand and drive back....

We had a lovely weekend and are planning the next one sometime in June, with any luck we may get a warm weekend camping this summer....didn't manage it last year so we're not holding out much hope as the weather is scarily similar so far.

Normal? Who needs normal?

I saw this today on the Positive Outlook's Facebook page and it chimed so loud with me when I think about Susie-Belle and Twinkle and how they are truly amazing dogs. They have suffered, they have endured and yet they can forget all the negatives in their past and move forwards into enjoying their lives with us. This is amazing. They may never be normal dogs, but they will always be amazing.

Weekend plans

 

Last weekend was hectic to the point of exhaustion. We are overhauling our garden in an unplanned, chaotic way. This is typical when we do anything like this, we start with what we think will be a small job and then before we know it, it has evolved into a major event, usually involving lots of mess and effort. Last weekend we had to shift tonnes of topsoil and rubble, well assisted by our schnauzer supervisors of course. I'll post pictures of what we've done, when it's looking good and worth sharing, which it isn't right now!

 

This weekend I am not moving far from this chair as I need to do something a lot more sedentary, a lot more enjoyable. I am book writing. The deadline for the book is now looming large in my mind, I am into the last few weeks and I still have a lot of words to get down on paper to meet the requirements of the contract, but also to do proper justice to Susie-Belle's story.

 

So whilst Michel continues the hard graft outdoors - the garden is not finished yet - I'll be sitting tapping away at my computer, hoping writer's block stays away and Susie-Belle, Twinkle Berry and Renae keep me company.

 

E-Petition to Stop Puppy Farming

Today sees the launch of a new e-petition to the UK Government, designed to get the issues of puppy and kitten farming on the minds of our law makers.

If the e-petition gains 100,000 signatures, it will get debated in parliament. It's a tall order, 100,000 is a lot of signatures, but it is being backed by a very active social media campaign. The petition has been started by Marc Abraham, TV vet in the UK and man behind PupAid, the fun, celebratory dog show held annually to raise awareness of puppy farming and all its horrors.

If you're in the UK, please take a moment to sign the petition and spread it across your own blogs, twitter, facebook pages and groups, the more it's heard and seen, the harder it will be for the monsters behind puppy farming to carry on their dirty business. One day the suffering will stop if we all do our bit.

Sign it and Share It

Pebbles.....not as nice as sand

We took a drive down to the south coast this morning to have a bit of sea air for a mid-week change. The coastline on Britain's south coast is a lot of shingle and pebble beaches with the odd sandy one like West Wittering or Camber Sands, until you reach Dorset where beautiful sandy beaches like Bournemouth are common. For us, this is about two hours drive, so not a quick morning out so today we had to make do with the pebbles of Climping.

Climping lies between Bognor Regis and Littlehampton and is very undeveloped, quite bleak in fact. I like it for swimming as there's hardly anyone around, even on sunny days. But the dogs are never as happy picking their way over the shingle and pebbles as they are hurtling around on soft sand. I thought the tide would be out this morning which does mean there's quite a large expanse of hard wet sand to walk on, but I got the times wrong so it was shingle.

Renae felt quite adventurous and wanted to clamber down, then up the shingle....

Twinkle was most at ease and lead her sisters along for a lot of the time....

Susie-Belle was least comfortable on the stones, she's still a little stiff from her weekend acrobatics and aches and pains....

Twinkle also seemed to love the wind in her ears.....and it was certainly very blowy on the beach....

...it was a nice morning out, even if not as easy on the paws as sandy West Wittering.

Think I may try one myself

After Susie-Belle hobbling all day yesterday and last night unable apparently to go out for a final wee without me carrying her, she's woken up this morning and is bright as a button and no sign of any lameness or problem at all. Don't know what's in the pill the vet gave us, but think I fancy one myself.

She is a very good actress I have to say in terms of being able to look sadly, longingly, pathetically at me (in particular me, can't think why) to get me to do what she wants these days. Yesterday you'd have thought her leg was about to drop off the pitiful look I got when I tried to get her down the garden for a wee. She needed - or so I thought - carrying up and down the garden steps.

I've no doubt she was in pain, she did a horrible squeal Thursday evening when she moved, but I suspect she was a little more capable of mobility yesterday than I thought she was. Think I might have been conned by my special little Susie-Belle who got herself a few more cuddles and carry-rounds than normal :)