Glen Tanar and memories

Today's post is a double header, combining the LLB Gang's 'Nature Friday' bloghop with YAM-aunty's Final Friday Feature.  

Gail adds some context: A week ago Nobby and I enjoyed a long walk around Glen Tanar with the husband of a close friend who died over a decade ago, and this outing inspired Nobby's poem.

Glen Tanar 

I trot along beside these two old friends

As they share memories of one whom, differently,

They both adored. 

Ten years it’s been, for fractured hearts to mend,

But still there’s hurt, despite the time gone by,

Deep down, where love is stored.

The ancient pines spread out their branches wide,

Allowed to breathe, to flourish undisturbed,

And two old friends will also talk

Of hobbies, interests, topics of all kind,

And all the while, and mostly unperturbed

An undertow of sadness stalks.

She loved this place as we three also do.

As we tramp onwards through the tranquil glade,

Some thoughts are not expressed.

I’m ruminating on my favourite food,

My doggy brain is rather simply made,  

The humans’ more complex. 

It's not all romping on the beach....

Household admin morning at the Gail and Nobby residence. 

It's been ages

Can you believe four months have passed since I last met up with my fox terrier pals?

Gosh it was great to see the gang at Cruden Bay on Sunday morning.

How I'd been missing my girlfriend Agatha. Of course, as always with a favourite companion, it didn't take long for us to settle into a familiar - in our case boisterous - groove...

Dogs, left to right: Jinx, Agatha, Nobby, Rupert, Merin

This is the closest we came to a 'team photo'.

To be honest, team photos really aren't our style. 

This is more like it! 

There was one unnerving moment when we came came across a huge carcass beached near the high tide line. Myself, Merin and Agatha all approached it tentatively but then backed away. Gail later learned that this deceased Minke whale had first been spotted the previous day and its presence has been reported to the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme.

One rather gruesome sight aside, we had a simply splendid time.

By the way readers, the photo below is a good illustration what constitutes a crowded beach on an August Sunday afternoon in NE Scotland!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

No this isn't about the David Bowie song (although that's not stopping Gail humming it).

About once a week, when she has time, Gail takes me on an extended morning walk and instead of our usual circuit round Duthie Park we exit the park at the far end, cross the bridge over the Dee and walk along the south side of the river, opposite the park. We then cross another bridge back to the north side and home again through the park.

One of the things Gail and I love is observing how the river environment is always changing.

It's less than a mile from the harbour entrance and so the river at this point is tidal. On Tuesday this week we caught it at low tide. 

If we had been there six hours earlier or later, the scene would have looked quite different, with the banks of sand and gravel submerged and the water lapping all the way up to the vegetation.

The water was quite still, and as I waded in and took a sip I started thinking about other changes I've noticed.

At low tide, the water is quite fresh and palatable, the river being fed by inland mountain streams, but the tidal flow brings in sea water and so at high tide it is salty and not at all nice to drink.

Now in summer, the water is an agreeable temperature if one fancies a refreshing dip. I think it might be a wee bit cooler at high tide as the sea water is generally colder than the river at this time of year. (Gail's kayaking friends tell her the opposite is the case in the winter.)

We had calm conditions on Tuesday, but when the wind whips up the waves I am not so fond of entering the water. And as you know, it is really windy most of the time in Scotland...

Likewise in periods of heavy rainfall the river swells and becomes turbulent and might even even burst its banks, and it's best to steer well clear. 

Sometimes during a flood the current can be so strong that it scours deep holes in the sandy earth, and when the waters recede one's human has to take care not to stumble into these holes.

Oh gosh, there are so many more interesting things I could tell you about the river - the wildlife, the fishing, the heritage - but I guess you'll be wanting to go and read all the other lovely Nature Friday blog posts, so I'll leave it at that for today! 

Have you heard a good joke lately?

Oh and why is Gail saying I'm acting like a wannabe Kamala?

Is that a Good Thing?

Looking for excitement in Gourdon

On Saturday morning Gail and I met our friends M and J in the Aberdeenshire fishing village of Gourdon, and after a short walk along the coast I went exploring the harbour area, looking for excitement.

I wasn't expecting to see a train emerging from a tunnel in the wall, but after a short while I concluded he wasn't going anywhere - perhaps the driver was still on strike?

So I moved on to inspect a little display installed by the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). Gail said this was cute but frankly it didn't hold my interest.

Onwards to a pile of lobster creels stacked up by the harbour edge. More promising I thought, but it turned out the creels were all empty so I continued round the harbour.

Ah, this is more like it. A shark! 

I guess he thinks he's scary, but this fox terrier is not easily intimidated (and has never seen Jaws...)

Gail says "I hope you never meet a real shark Nobby."

Later at home we googled 'Gourdon' and learnt that there is a village with the same name in the south of France.

Gourdon (in the Alpes Maritime, Provence)

Would it be unpatriotic to say that French Gourdon looks even more exciting than the Aberdeenshire version? Perhaps Gail might take me there one day? 

Bracken everywhere

At this time of year here in Scotland, I am used to encountering bracken all over the place.

But I did not expect this week to find Bracken* located on my favourite Duthie Park perch.

After a moment's hesitation I decided it was OK to share.

*Gail explains: 'Bracken' is a four year old spaniel whom we often meet on our morning walks. She is friendly, but her owner has learned to keep Nobby well away from her prized bouncy orange ball...

Happy Nature Friday! Thanks once again to our ever wonderful blog hop hosts the LLB Gang.

Nobby presents his brilliant business plan

It seems to me rather unfair that one minute one's owner is complaining about the high cost of dog ownership, but then no soon as a particular dog comes up with a smart scheme for earning his keep, all he gets is ridicule... 

So the other day Gail took me for a walk around the harbour area and we noticed a fine cruise ship docked in the new(ish) deep water South Harbour. It gave me an idea.

Surely, among those hundreds (maybe thousands) of cruise ship passengers, a fair number of them will be desperately missing their canine companions? Many of these lost souls would, I suggest, pay good money to spend their shore time being shown the sights of Aberdeen by a knowledgable, friendly and handsome wire-haired fox terrier.

I would allow them to pet me and give me treats. Perhaps an extra charge for lap cuddle time would be justified?

And if any of the passengers should worry that their pet back home might be feeling jealous and resentful, I would be prepared to sign a confidentiality agreement to the effect that "what goes on tour, stays on tour".

I would, however, draw the line at being photographed wearing a kilt...

Friends, please tell Gail she is wrong in using words like "far-fetched", "preposterous" and "absurd" to describe my brilliant business plan.

Top tips on blaeberry picking

You could, I guess, be thinking that as a terrier and thus by nature more of a hunter than a gatherer, I might not be best qualified to offer my human friends advice on picking berries...

However, this is the time of year when the blaeberries* are ripe on Scottish hills and heathland, and for three years in a row now I have accompanied Gail on her annual blaeberry harvesting expedition, thus I feel I can lay claim to some expertise in this matter.

So here are my top three simple tips (and if you do not have the good fortune to live in a part of world where blaeberries thrive, then please note my tips may be broadly relevant to other forms of foraging for free food).

• When going berry picking, your best companion is a  patient dog (perhaps a wire-haired fox terrier?)

• It is advisable to avoid harvesting berries directly beside the path, as these are most likely to have been 'marked' by previous canine visitors

• Humans should either wear an old pair of trousers, or look carefully where they kneel...

Hmmm, not a bad haul. Blaeberry pancakes for breakfast anyone?

*In Scotland 'blaeberry', in England  'bilberry', also 'European blueberry', and to botanists 'Vaccinium myrtillis'

Nobby discovers Dess Waterfall

You think you've explored every inch of your territory, and then you go for a walk with an old friend and the path leads you to somewhere so tranquil, green and lovely and you wonder why on earth you'd never ventured this way before. 

Nature is full of wonderful surprises.

Where were the whippets?

On Saturday night Gail and I stayed in a small hotel located at the edge of Kirkcaldy, about a twenty minute drive from where the agility contest was taking place.

The town of Kirkcaldy is best known as the birthplace of Scottish Enlightenment philosopher/ economist Adam Smith (he of 'Wealth of Nations' fame) and it was also once a leading centre for the manufacture of linoleum.

I'm not boring you am I ??

The hotel staff were super-friendly, and happily served Gail with an early evening pie and chips and a half pint of Stella before the kitchen closed ahead of a 'function' later that evening.

If you think I am looking disapproving here, well yes I most certainly am! We don't want Gail to turn into a tub of lard do we, just when my agility career is taking off. I bet Keely Hodgkinson didn't wolf down a large plateful of Scottish 'health food' before her gold medal winning performance in the 800 meters in Paris on Monday night...

After dinner we went for a wander around a nearby park, and I was disappointed to learn that I had missed the weekly meeting of the Kirkcaldy Whippet Racing Club.

What a shame there were no whippets around. For sure they would have been impressed by my turn of speed.

(Gail says perhaps not).

Then, just before bed, I went to say hello to these colourful guys in the hotel courtyard. 

It turns out the the 'function' in the hotel was a karaoke night in the bar directly below our room. We could hear it all quite clearly. What fun! I decided to join in, my voice being at least as tuneful as most of the 'singers' performing downstairs.

In the morning, I'm sorry to report that Gail was not quite her usual sunny-tempered self...

Nobby comes over all modest

It's embarrassing, isn't it, when your parent/owner goes around boasting to all her friends about your performance, but you know in your heart it was only a modest achievement?

Gail is insisting that I post these photos of my first ever rosette won at a dog agility competition last weekend ...

... and she has instructed me to stay silent about all the runs when I got eliminated for a variety of creative "start-line misdemeanours"...

I think you might be more interested to see these cute wee future agility champions spotted in the car park at the Kingdom of Fife DAC show. 

And here's a line of my fellow competitors in the 'Medium' size category. 

Yes they are almost all working cocker spaniels and, it has to be admitted, most of them run faster than me.

It is quite entertaining to watch the humans 'walking the course' before us dogs get a chance to show them how to do it properly...

My new fox terrier friend Flora from Dalgety Bay was also competing at the weekend (at a much higher level than me). She's an old girl now - I hope she won't mind me saying that - but I think you'll agree she's pretty good, albeit a bit noisy at the start!

And finally, at the end of the show, you'll never guess what Gail did. She actually went and bought me a brand new tuggy toy! Maybe I'll forgive her for all that boasting after all.