2012 Rainfall

In a year when much of the country has seen drought followed by floods, we have been blessed with a year of fairly consistent Cumbrian weather. With the exception of a dry spell in Feb and March - when we were still recovering from a horrendously wet December 2011 - it has been just a little bit wetter each month than average for around here. But when it's all added up at the end of the year, it doesn't seem so bad. 56.4 inches in an area that (according to the EA) averages 50, or to be precise, averages 55. Mind you by the water pillows in the field the other day and the state of our back lawn, which looks like a hen run; it isn't hard to see that the land has been at saturation levels for an awfully long time.

Christmas Day

A different bird to greet us this morning, not the usual festive turkey, but a Snipe who spent a good hour or so just outside the kitchen window. Aologies for the picture, it wasn't really light outside!

Our Kind of Christmas Present

Relatives here for a number of days over Christmas and a housefull on Boxing Day, meant the freezers were better stocked than ever. Then this arrived......

One that I nutured back in March! Luckily, friends in the village have an old freezer they keep 'in case of emergency', and it worked when needed. Yum, Yum.

Brrrrreeze

It's warming up outside, 2' and raining, but it is so miserable, there's nothing better than sitting by the fire on a day like this.

Foreign Travel

We're not known for our foreign trips, but as Trina has just had a new hip at the ripe old age of the same age as me, we thought that Sunday lunch in Scotland was in order. Anyway, it would be a good opportunity for Breeze to meet Tug and Tummel. So passports packed, off we went on Breeze's inaugural foreign trip.

First job when we arrived was a walk to introduce the dogs

She's not too sure about Tummel to start with

But once she finds some water, all her shyness is soon forgotten

Classic springer Ears as she gives her Dad (and Tummel) a fly past

Tug gets a bit close for comfort, so Breeze legs it out of his way!

60% Legs, 25% Ears and 15% tongue.

A Wild Time

On the spur of the moment, we decided to take Breeze for her first 'off lead' walk on the fells this morning. The trip started well, with two squirrel viewings before we left the village, followed very soon after by a Roe deer crossing the road and obligingly standing still long enough for me to get the camera out

Just for a change, we headed to Calebreck to walk on the slopes of High Pike. Once out of the car there was no stopping her, she ran, 



That's carrock she's heading for!



She jumped  

  and she ran

 but she did stop once, for a drink and a paddle

 After a hard hour on the fells, a quick nap is in order

Followed by a tasty snack - one of her favourite treats, a sheep's horn. This one was picked up on the walk today (by Husband, Breeze didn't stop long enough to pick anything up!)

 Meanwhile back in the garden, eight hens were enjoying a peaceful morning.





Great Dane or Greyhound?

It isn't just that we seem to be too busy for me to keep up to date with this blog, there is also the fact that Breeze - who obviously would be the main subject! - is virtually never still long enough to get the camera, and if I did go and get it, she'd follow me anyway, so the picture is lost before it began.

At nearly eight months old, she is turning out to be a bit of a Duracell bunny, but once in a while we do get a sleeping beauty to admire!




This was back in June, at 10 weeks old



At the end of September, and about 51/2 months old, she was showing signs of being bigger than expected





Then in November a visit back to her breeder proved that she has outgrown both her mother and her full sister (from the same litter) by about 50%



But as the saying goes, size really doesn't matter, and despite the fact that she is 50% bigger than her Mum, she is still a fairly small Springer. Just about right for 2 small children to play with.......

Emma (r) and Rosie (l) having a quick tickle before they put their halloween costumes on ready for a party

Although they have a reputation for being mad, Springers really can vary, from the 'doing everything at 5mph' sort, to the 'doing everything at 200mph sort'. Guess which category breeze fits into......

She loves to run

and run

and run



only stopping when physically restrained!

Unfortunately mad dogs and frozen ground are not the best combination as all that sharp turning and skid stopping means that she is tearing her stopper pads to pieces - apparently a common Greyhound injury. Thank God for vet wrap!!

Elegant isn't she!!



Catching up again

The weeks are flying by and it seems as though the one thing that has slipped by the wayside since Breeze came along, is keeping up to date with anything to do with this computer. The only chance I get to use the Pc is when Breeze is in her box. This is also the only time I can do anything else that doesn't involve playing with her ladyship. You can imagine how often the dusting gets done! Anyhow, we have done plenty. Husband has been golfing at least once a week, I have been riding out at least a couple of times most weeks. The garden has been ticking over providing us with tates and veg all summer and we have been to numerous local Ag shows. In fact at one of the last of this seasons shows, we met a lady with a springer pup. To cut a long story short, they have become regular playmates, Jess is 6 weeks younger than Breeze, and they share 25% of their bloodlines, so it is really interesting watching as they both grow up. These pics were taken on 5th September. Jess is now much closer to breeze in size, but of course I haven't had the camera handy for the last couple of play sessions!

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And when the games are over, a rare moment of peace and quiet



Just for the record, here she is on 24th Sept, sitting on her favourite perch



and with her Dad a week earlier

A Few Rare Pictures

You might have noticed, I rarely put pictures of any of the horses on here. There is a very good reason for that. You try dealing with half a tonne of highly tuned Thoroughbred and a camera at the same time. I met James at the local horse pool this afternoon where we have been swimming the two current mounts a couple of times a week. Emma the girl who runs it had friend staying (another pair of hands!) AND, I had my camera in the car. So with no encouragement, I chucked the line at Emma's friend and relinquished my role in the middle of the pool and went and fetched said camera.

'Mongoose' (Kealigolane)




and 'Kevin' (Cavite Eta)


Oh and by the way - never ask me to give your horse a stable name, you have just seen what damage I can do.

Changing Right Before Our Eyes

When you see her every day, it is inevitably hard to see just how much Breeze is growing until you think back to how big everything else was in comparison. At 8 weeks, Olly The Octopus was bigger than her head
And her kong was nearly half as big


Here she is now at 18 and a half weeks



Three times as big and a hundred times more trouble! But she's still gorgeous.

Aiming for Australia

We've cleared one of the potato beds, so it doesn't matter so much if Twinkle Toes messes about in it now, and she's making the most of it.
"I wonder how far it is?" "What you looking at?"





Those feet were made for digging

Puppy Playground

There are lots of nice places to grow up but I think Breeze is a very lucky girl to have a playground like this on her doorstep (Rospow Hills)

not many of us learnt to swim in surrounding like this either (Carrock Beck)
Ullswater - Yes, she really is swimming!
and she gets a chauffer driven car thrown in too!