Dog Walk

A day off today. Probably just as well as the car's in Edinburgh, I don't drive and buses here are running a reduced service. Really do hope the government sit up and listen this time. Anyway, I'm sure there will be plenty blips on this topic so for the purposes of this entry, here's a bit of what I did do today :

After a planned early start I eventually dragged my sorry self out of bed and took the dog for a walk. After Dandy died a few days ago he's been getting pampered a bit. So whereas before they expounded limitless amounts of terrier energy bounding around the garden (less so lately), we've been taking him for the odd walk here and there.

Now at 14, 98 in human speak (the dog, not me), I kind of thought that a longish walk taken slowly and in stages would give him a bit of exercise and allow me to do some camera play in between. At first it went well. It's been a while since he's been round the network, so he sniffed and sprayed and muddled his way along from grassy tusssock to tree stump and back again.

Then I thought, he's being good why not let him off the lead when we get to the bit of the railway line that's carved through rock. That way he couldn't get his fat rear end stuck in a rabbit hole or head off across any nearby fields. I had, of course, forgotten about the path to the front. Within a couple of recalls Beano decided that he was bored, kicked up his back legs and trotted of at a fairly fast pace.

What else had I forgotten? The dog's nearly deaf and if you don't get him back within the first 20 yards or so, it just isn't going to happen. So, camera in hand I sprinted (no really!) after him along muddy paths drenched in soggy brown leaves and run off from the hill. Luckily no one saw me, I never ended up on my backside and luckily the camera stayed safely away from the mud. Caught up with him in a bit and gave him a cuddle when he turned round, looked at me and came back wagging his tail. No point telling him off. After all he did come back when he realised that I was still there!

So, he's sleeping now, I'm off to clean up the house a bit and then hopefully I'll get a chance to do some more manual reading. Maybe.