Dogsitting

We have been dogsitting a lot recently. Kate has been at work shows while Carl has been in the Middle East so we have had Saffy for a couple of weeks. It made a nice change because usually we have her to stay in the winter, so the walk before work - in the dark and the rain and the wind - is not so inviting. Whereas this time of year the walks have been lovely, the sun has been out, the skies have been blue, and the weather has been warm as well. It has been lovely.

Then Brian's brother has gone to visit his son and family abroad so we have had Megan to visit as well. She is a little Border terrier, about 13 years old, so she thinks she should only do what she wants to. She also hates the laminate floor we have in the tv room, so we have a variety of bits of rug on the floor because otherwise she looks at us as though we are torturing her, and walks like she is on ice. Mostly Brian has been walking Megan in the mornings, but this Sunday he went to London to visit his son so I got both of them on Monday morning. Saffy charging ahead, and Megan trotting in a ladylike way beside me. She does sedate little canters around the field but does seem to enjoy her walks still.

However Saffy was collected by Kate on Monday and they are off camping in Brecon, and Megan is off on Thursday so we have a dog free holiday ahead of us for the next two weeks. It is lovely how you are greeted and loved by dogs but on holiday they are more difficult to cope with than children because you can't take them into cafes, or art galleries, or lots of other places that you really want to go.

Warm and cold water

I went swimming in an indoor pool last Wednesday and did 5 lengths before feeling in need of a breather, then did 16 lengths altogether and felt good after it.

Friday I went into the outdoor pool, same size, on a hot and lovely day. it was cold getting in but it was lovely once past the first - ooh- feeling. However after 2 lengths I needed a breather and only managed 12 lengths in all, and felt really quite tired after it.

Brian suggested that cold water is harder to swim in because the water is sort of thicker, more dense as it is colder. It seemed to make sense but has anyone any idea if there is any real reason why it seemed harder work swimming in the outdoor pool? It has been puzzling me.

Weathered stones and trees

This was on a river bed, where the water from the mountain comes down fiercely in the winter, so although when we were there - near Fort William - in the summer there was barely a trickle of water in the river bed, you can see from the stone that the water has worn a great dip in the stone over the years.
This tree is growing out of the rocks. It makes me think of Treebeard and the Ents pulling apart Isengard in Lord of the Rings, but in this case the tree and the rocks seem to have a very happy relationship.

We saw some wonderful eroded stone in Northumberland. The local building material is sandstone, and with the wind and the weather on the coast the sandstone has started looking like a sponge with huge holes in places. The above picture is part of the frontage of Lindisfarne Abbey and and the pillar has been worn down to a sliver.

These two stones are from Bamburgh Castle and are just full of holes. Quite extraordinary.