Fox hunting fantasies

So yesterday while I was left at home, frustrated that the few remaining highlighter pens had been locked away safe from WFT jaws, Gail was out on her bicycle enjoying some (relatively) warm Spring weather. 

Really I wasn't that interested in the photo she showed me of her cycling friends posing outside Castle Fraser. 

Left to right: Anne, Muriel, Sonia, Linda, Imogen and Lindsey

I was, however, rather intrigued by the second photo, taken by fellow cyclist Muriel as the group were approaching a favourite coffee and scone stop in the village of Monymusk. 

Now, as you might already know, the traditional role of the fox terrier (not to be confused with the fox hounds pictured above) was to flush out any foxes that had gone to earth in the course of a hunt. Hunting for foxes with dogs has been banned in Scotland for over twenty years, and the regulations were recently tightened to close loopholes in the legislation. 

And I had happily accepted the situation, despite a lingering urge to be allowed follow my natural instincts. Happy that is, until I saw this photo clearly showing pack of fox hounds (although not terriers), trotting alongside mounted humans, one of whom was wearing traditional fox hunting garb. Had I been lied to about the ban?

Gail tells me that neither she nor any of her friends had ever before seen this sight on the country roads of Aberdeenshire (and believe me, these ladies get out and about a lot). They are not sure exactly what was going on but, disappointingly, Gail still seems convinced that my desire to take active part in a proper fox hunt is likely to remain unfulfilled, except in my dreams...

Er, does this qualify as a Nature Friday post? 

Guilty? Moi?

Cruden Bay melee

Wire-haired Fox Terrier Roll Call, Cruden Bay, 26th March 2023:

Nobby - just wants to be your friend

Rupert - known trouble maker, big brother to Nobby

Merin - pretty bandana belies feisty nature

Stan - elder statesman, gentlemanly behaviour

Agatha -  petite, likes to mix it up with the boys

Jinx - a lively and fun wee lass

Edmund - relative newcomer, still finding his paws

A couple of days before the monthly Aberdeen'n'shire Foxie Walk, Gail and I met a couple on horseback, riding along the River Dee. They spotted me and stopped to ask if we were members of the local wire-haired fox terrier group. Gail said yes. It turned out they knew about it from a relative and loved looking at the FaceBook page, and said what a fun group to be part of. 

It is a fun group! Sometimes one takes these things for granted and it's good to be reminded how lucky we are. On Sunday the roll call at Cruden Bay beach numbered seven fox terriers and we all had a blast. (Literally, given the strong wind blowing straight from the Arctic.) Gail says you should be grateful she managed to take the pictures and video below, as she'd left her gloves at home and her not so tiny hands were frozen.

River path realignment

Back in Aberdeen this week, Gail and I took a gentle stroll along the river bank, from Duthie Park to Cults. 

The stroll might have been gentle, but the forces of nature were much in evidence. And not only in the wind that is blowing my ears aloft in the picture above.

Since last walking here, winter storms have flooded the path, toppled several trees and deposited new layers of sand where mud used to be.

Part of the path has now disappeared in the river, and when I started to show a bit too much interest in peering over the overhanging bank to the fast flowing water below, Gail decided it was time to clamp on my lead. 

But soon I was released again, and was scoping out a route through the trees while Gail photographed the debris swept up by the floodwater.

Before heading back I enjoyed one last session of grubbing around in newly exposed tree roots - always an excellent place for locating interesting smells and delaying the return home, I find.

Happy Nature Friday friends! I wonder if Nature has been remodelling your local landscape lately?

PS Yesterday I celebrated living with Gail for one whole year. She says it's been "quite the experience..."

Quite handsome enough?

I'm posting this profile portrait to prove a point.

I think you'll agree that I am quite handsome enough. 

And that Gail is wrong to think my looks could be enhanced were I to allow her to approach my face with clippers, scissors, stripping knife or any other evil instrument of torture. 

And that I am fully justified in attempting to bite her hand should she attempt any procedure other than a gentle brush of the beard, and then only if I am given a 'high value' treat to chew during the facial grooming process. 

Am I right or am I right? 

Mothering thoughts in Torridon

Greetings from Torridon, where we're spending a few days, just Gail and I, all by ourselves, 

Sometimes, it's the role of us pups to cuddle up to our humans and patiently listen when they want to talk. 

So here I am, comfy on Gail's lap, watching a superior Ireland rugby team winning against England in Dublin on Saturday evening, and Gail tells me she's thinking about her mother. 

It seemed odd to me that a rugby game prompted these thoughts, but then I learned how Gail's dad took her mother to see Ireland play England at Lansdowne Road when they were on honeymoon in Dublin in 1956, and her mother always said of the occasion "I thought I'd married a quiet man until that day". 

Yesterday, Sunday, was Mother's Day in the UK. Gail took me for for a long and wild walk to the magnificent Coire Mhic Fhearchair.  

Gail's mother once told her that she met Gail's dad at a 'do' at the Nottingham Squash club. He asked her if she would like to join him for a walk in countryside the next day and she thought "what a nice man". And the rest is history. 

Tomorrow it will be five years since Gail's mother died. She says they had an at times 'complicated' relationship. She also says that she treasures a copy of 'Winnie the Pooh' inherited from her mother and inside the book is a label saying it was a prize for 'good conduct' at school.

Apparently Gail herself never won any awards for 'good conduct' and she doesn't suppose I ever will either.

OK, so time to own up. Here's a picture of the remains of a packet of cup-a-soup which I stole from a couple of hikers on Sunday. They were the only other people we met on the whole 8.75 mile walk and they were enjoying a picnic beside the loch pictured above. Gail says the fact they weren't cross about my behaviour does not count as mitigation...

Not for the squeamish

Aberdeen City Beach, March 2023

Snow flurries and sun and a trip to the shore,

A perfect chance to exercise one’s Right to Roam,

The tail-wagging pup is now free to explore,

The vast stretch of beach is all his to comb. 

White caps on the waves are a-glint in the sun,

There’s pieces of driftwood to closely survey.

Then all of a sudden, and fast, the dog runs,

His nose is alerted, his lithe limbs obey.

The human’s distracted, too late she pays heed,

And cries “come Nobby, COME”, and more loudly again.

But he’s more than her match when he turns on the speed,

And he reaches his goal, all her shouting in vain.

What a glorious prize, what treasure lies here! 

What once was a seal is now part-decomposed.

Oh please give the dog a chance to roll and smear

His furs. This scent's much sweeter than a rose…

Happy Nature Friday friends, and once again thanks to our LLB Gang friends for hosting this our favourite blog hop. And readers please be assured that the Aberdeenshire coast is home to a sizeable population of live and healthy seals.

Dental hygiene - the wrong end of the stick

So I'm told I still have "work to do" on the dental hygiene front.

It started so promisingly. I grabbed this toothbrush off the kitchen counter and set to work, all on my own initiative.

 

I chewed long and hard. At one point I even ran out into the garden and would not let Gail take the toothbrush back.

Apparently I had "got hold of the wrong end of the stick". But even when I tried chewing the other end, Gail was not happy.

"NAUGHTY NOBBY! LEAVE IT ALONE FOR *****'S SAKE, THAT'S THE TOOTHBRUSH I USE FOR CLEANING MY BICYCLE CHAIN!"

When Gail approaches with what, according to her, is the proper tooth cleaning apparatus, I try to bite her fingers, and most of the toothpaste ends up in my beard.

PS from Gail: I've attempted to clean Nobby's teeth with a normal toothbrush too, but he's even more resistant to letting me near his mouth with that in my hand! He does get dental chews on a regular basis.

The cruise ship experience...

Gail and I went for a weekend walk around Aberdeen harbour. 

Did you that Aberdeen is soon to become a cruise ship destination? 

Who will want to visit Dubrovnik, Venice or Barcelona when you could disembark at the Granite City?

Unfortunately, the deep water harbour extension project is several years behind schedule and the reception facilities for cruise ships are not yet complete. 

Let's have a closer look at what's going on there just now.

So we have a huge jack-up drilling rig and a couple of diving support vessels enjoying the protection of the recently completed breakwater.

An 'interesting' aroma is wafting over from the landfill and waste treatment sites behind the harbour, and mingling with the sea air. Close by is one of Scotland's ugliest public housing schemes.

Hmm. I'm thinking the whole cruise ship experience hasn't quite been fully thought through.

Maybe would-be visitors to Aberdeen should check out other accommodation options...

Faces of Spring in Scotland...

In the Nobby household we believe in natural beauty treatments. 

After a week of snow-based facials I'm now back to to the usual mud pack...

Happy Nature Friday to all my friends! 

P.S. I think you should know that Gail and I had a bit of a falling out this week. It was her fault (of course). After the heavy snow on Monday night she abandoned me on both Tuesday and Wednesday morning and met up with friends to go cross country skiing on a local golf course. The weather was glorious - blue skies, sunshine, no wind - but she claimed the snow would be too deep for my little legs to manage. So on Thursday morning, when the snow had melted a bit, I was invited to join her cycling group for a nice walk (the roads being too icy for the usual bike ride) and I took my revenge by stealing both the homemade muffins she'd brought along as a snack. I am pleased to report that courgette, halloumi and olive muffins are totally delicious and sustaining fare for a 7-8 mile romp around Scolty Hill and the adjacent Blackhall Forest. But gosh, Gail does get a bit grumpy when she's hungry...