The Un-Doggers.

The Un-Doggers and no I am not talking about the group of people that are known as 'Doggers' and frequent more or less the same places as the 'Un-Doggers' or even the 'Dog Walkers', I am talking about the 'Un-Doggers' the middle aged people often accompanied by small children that are extended family to whom they are treating to a nice walk in the country.

The weather hasn't warmed up, in fact today it is positively freezing, but the hedges are are trying to change colour from the grey bleak tones of mid winter to the fresh hues of green that signal the return of Spring.  Daffodils are opening their yellow heads and turning them towards the sun's weak rays on days when the sky is blue and cloudless, Snowdrops are nodding quietly under the hedgerows listening to the birds chattering over the price of bedding they are foraging for to build nests for their impending young, the tractors are ploughing the fields ready for the farmers to plant their crops.  Even the dog walkers are starting to remove some layers of winter walking clothing, heralding, indeed, the coming of warmer days.

The 'Un-Doggers' must not be confused with the fishermen, the hardened blokes that walk the banks of the river in waders, thick Aran jumpers and flat caps dragging behind them on trolleys enough equipment to catch a small fishing fleets quota of sea crab. Their rods over their shoulders as they work their way across the muddy fields in search of the break in the barbed wire fence that has been cut by someone before them making access to the river bank easier than negotiating the kissing gates in place.  It should be noted that whilst cutting the barbed wire fences, or any fences, is unethical and most likely unlawful it is handy for the fishermen and also for the odd dog walker that is trying to remain upright on the river path that has been flooded several times over winter and is now a bog of quick sand and therefore so much easier to walk along the fields edge.

Neither should the 'Un-Doggers' be likened to young lovers, those couples whose ages vary from the older teenager or twenty-somethings wanting some time alone together away from parents or siblings to the older couples, newly mated, that are trying to rekindle their youth and hopefully not jar a hip or pull a muscle whilst negotiating the well worn paths through the woods.

The last group to not be associated with 'Un-Doggers' is the joggers, those people who feel that dressing up in bright vivid colours and charging through the countryside not stopping to admire the catkins bursting open or the ducks washing in the river their heads dipping below the water line sending ripples out across the water, the sun catching the droplets and creating tiny rainbows that glitter like jewels, to be a good activity for a weekend.  No, joggers, runners and even the kayakers and rowers they too are not 'Un-Doggers'.

'Un-Doggers' are those people that dress in white jackets, light beige trousers, shoes rather than walking boots or wellies.   (I know joggers wear trainers but they are usually covered in mud so therefore they are not 'Un-Doggers').  They have camera's around their necks and their young are dressed in bright fabrics, all clean and iron pressed their fluffy hats new for the season, occasionally you get a child with bright clean, brand new wellingtons but as a rule they are few and far between.  They flap their arms in the air when they see a bee or wasp and pick the bluebells that cover the ancient woodland floor because they are pretty, only to dump them further up the path as they have tired of carrying them so far.    Their children scream and shout and point at the nice 'doggy' as if it is a foaming at the mouth wolf from the hidden depths of the woods.  The adults berate the local mud splattered, dressed for the time of year, dog walkers that their dogs should be on leads as their small people don't like dogs, all this whilst waving their cameras and handbags in the air.  They never move to one side to allow you to pass or even restrain their squawking  off spring from grabbing tails or ears.  They encourage said off spring to bark at the 'doggies' to make friends - honestly this really has happened to me! - and even throw a stick because 'all doggies like sticks'.  The 'Un-Doggers' have even been known to say that the country paths through the woods should be paved for easier access. 

I do appreciate that not everyone likes dogs or even animals as pets, cows give them nightmares and sheep stink, which does beg the question of why they walk in areas that are frequented by dog owners and farm animals?   If, I was to walk my dogs in town or through a children's play area of course I would have them on the lead, although why I would want to walk near a play area when I don't like other peoples kids (didn't like my own much when they were little!) but they are in the open fields, they are well behaved, friendly dogs that like to roll in the mud and have a good time.  They will walk behind you waiting for you to step to the side to allow them to pass.  There has been many an occasion when a group of us dog walkers meet up and we have as many as 8-10 happy dogs running around, chasing, barking, playing, rolling in mud...  they are having a good time, should we see a party of 'Un-Doggers' we call our dogs and move to the side, wishing them a pleasant walk.  So please, when you see a dog walker, restrain your off spring, don't let them bark in the faces of my dogs, don't throw sticks its dangerous and for goodness sake its a dog not a doggie!

Creative Sundays Blog Hop

There's a hole in my bucket....

 Winter has arrived here in my corner of the world, although I still think I am the only place in the western hemisphere that has yet to see even the smallest flake of snow but the long, unseasonably warm December has given way to a cold January.  This morning's walk was cold, misty, frosty and beautiful the field stretched out literally further than the eye could see and Defi and Iz both had grey whiskers on their chins as the frost in the air continued to chill everything it touched.  

Like true Golden Retrievers though they still managed to find a patch of mud so it wasn't the clean walk I had imagined first thing!

Down at the bank of the River Wye, Hereford.

My bamboo in the garden an impressive waving focal point is all still and frosty.

The buddleia is frozen in space and time...

I was walking around the garden picking up the dog poo as you do after a good walk and saw my bird feeder hidden amongst the bamboo to protect the birds from the weather and also to stop Defi from trying to get to any tasty treats left out for the birds and it reminded me of C S Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the scene in the book (and the film) when Lucy meets Mr Tumnus under the lamp.  My bird feeder isn't quite a lamp but it just reminded me of that part in the story.

With the cold snap we are now having I have been lighting the fire in the kitchen.  In the evening it throws out lots of lovely light with the smell of burning wood and hot coals that  just make me happy and feel warm.  I got given a truck load - I kid not I don't do anything by half! - of wood from our builder neighbour, back in October time, as he is renovating a large old pub and asked me if I wanted some logs for the fire, of course I said yes and so he got one of his chaps to drop off this load of wood, not so much logs as chunks that need to be chopped smaller and spit and hiss and fly out of the grate rather than the lovely old oak logs I was expecting.  We have an entire garage filled with this wood and so I have to burn it somehow, thank goodness for the cold snap because hubby and son were starting to moan about my filling up the garage!

At least Gordy appreciates my efforts and he is now camped out on the hearth from the moment he can get into the kitchen until I remove him for bed at the end of the day. If the fire isn't lit he sits there looking all morose and sad, when it is lit he lies there flaked out and hot needing to be removed periodically to cool down.  

With an open fire comes the job of cleaning it out, throwing ash and smoke into the air and covering every surface in the room.   Of course that job is mine, so on bended knees I shovel ash into the bucket, try not to breathe at the same time, take the ash outside to the compost heap at the bottom of the garden where the slightest breeze whips the pile in the bucket into a frenzy and covers me in grey matter.   This weekend gone I kept the fire in over night, the old trick of covering the coals with the ash from beneath the grate, I love coming down in the morning and having a warm kitchen in which to drink my first cup of tea.  I didn't think too much about the fire when I went out with the dogs that morning for our walk, it had stayed warm and I assumed had gone out as there was no activity, no spitting of wood, no sparks or light just lovely warmth that flooded the room.  When I got home I decided that before I got too warm and comfortable I would clean out the fire and get it ready for lighting later on in the afternoon.  Good plan, I thought.  Unfortunately I didn't think enough as I shovelled the ash into the plastic bucket that I use to bring the wood in from the garage.  Ash out to compost, quick stop at garage, fill up with wood, back in house.  Multi-tasking.  I am woman!  

So what does happen when you put hot ash into a plastic bucket?  why it melts of course, all over your carpet around the fire leaving little blobs of black sludge when you try and lift the bucket that 'did' contain the ash - did, because now its all streaming out the bottom of said bucket and creating a sandstorm effect before your very eyes, the same eyes that are smarting from the ash and watering causing your nose to twitch and you start sneezing violently making any undisturbed ash fly through the air....  Iz and Defi at this point are at the furthest point of the kitchen (which is a big room!) with Gordy behind them trying to get away from the cloud of dust, the looks on their faces possibly showing their true feelings for my genius-ness but not being able to see through the tears, sneezes and ash I can only guess at their expressions.

The next, immediate, problem is how to get the holey bucket with leaking ash out of the kitchen, through the utility room and out the back door, down the garden to the compost heap without creating more mess?  The answer is simple.  You don't, just you make the mess and trail ash through the house and up the garden path, sneezing as you go.  I did put a piece of newspaper under the bucket and try to keep it there whilst I moved but it was a fruitless fix to an absurdly stupid decision in the first place.

My son, as predicted, came in, rolled his eyes, left in the car and returned an hour later with a metal bucket.

Gordy has given up with fires and resorted to checking out if porridge is on the menu for breakfast....

That Friday feeling.

I woke up this morning, after a long wet and windy week to a beautiful sight, my little cat Gordy was curled up in the middle of the bed, between the husband and I, with Izabel, he had his head tucked under her fluffy tail and she was snoozing with her head over his back, they were as snug as a bug.  It was a lovely sight to see first thing.

The sun was out this morning, Autumn is keeping Winter at bay for a little longer, after the wet, cold and grey week its a welcome sight, which made this afternoon's funeral a bright affair.  The church is the beautiful one at Breinton where I live and dog walk past each and every day, a old Norman church that has been added too over the centuries, I believe the earliest date for there being a church on this site is around the 14th Century. 

 

 This is the side of the church and the entrance we used today, us dog walking friends, to the right of this picture is the site of the Motte and Bailey, a fantastic raised mound that towers above the orchard in which the church stands.

These photos are not from today, you could barely see the church today, the car park was full, the lanes around the church were full, it was standing room only and a beautiful service to celebrate the life of someone so young, I know on our row a few tears were shed, but it was lovely to come out into the sunshine and see late afternoon dog walkers go by and see life continuing on as it always has and always will.

Now, to cheer myself up and bring myself back to the world of 'me', I am off to photograph a few beads that I have made this week, and will be sharing photos tomorrow.
 

 

When the days start to shorten and the lights go on earlier and earlier,  the dew is on the hedges in the morning

 

 

and the bumble bees are not as active or busy; I captured this one on my phone just sitting in the morning mist on todays walk down at the river.

 

 

I start to get a bit down.  I am a SAD sufferer, Season Affected Disorder and when Autumn starts turning all the leaves golden and the hedges give up their sloes for gin making, berries for jams and pies and the tall whispering weeds become fluffy clouds of seeds waiting to be blown into their over winter resting places I start to get miserable.

 

Yesterday, I was walking with my lovely dog walking friends when we came across this little chap..

He gives this gorgeous grin on command, such a happy puppy and he is suffering with a skin condition at the moment which has made him itch and scratch until he is sore, his owner said that the vet has told them he is allergic to something so they are now undergoing various tests and fuss to find out what, but he can still give a grin.

 

My lovely dog walking friend said that she too is a sufferer of SAD and what she does is think lovely things that she can look forward to in the Winter.  Snuggling up with a warm drink and roasting toes near the fire after a long walk with the dogs, through the snow and late Winter sunshine, wrapped up in thick jumpers and socks with welly boots that mean you can crunch the ground whether it be snow or heavy frost.  Seeing the trees shed their leaves making huge piles on the ground that the dogs can charge through and play in.  Watching Defi roll in the muddy fields and knowing I have to go home and bath him seems to cheer her up too, although I am not sure its something I look forward too!

 

But I can look forward to toasty days with the kiln and create my beads, or sit with warm drinks and write my stories in the kitchen or even...

 



finish my crocheting with my favourite little friend, Gordy my little cat, he whose stories we write for Cat World Magazine each month.  He has taken to my unfinished poncho and sits with me whilst I try and finish it, I have plenty of yarn so will be busy this Winter in the evenings.

 

I have plenty to look forward too when the nights draw in and the wind calls at the windows.

 



A few beads from this week, just to remind myself that I have lots to keep busy with.

The fruits of my labour.

 

 

My internet is still playing up, our connection now being the talk of the house, nothing else is more important than who is going to tether me to their phone so I can get on line.  Its going to be at least another week and as its now a long and rather boring story so I have given up lamenting.... almost ... and decided to be positive with the time, oh so much time when I come away from the laptop, and have been busy finishing the decorating in the living room.

Its not quite magnolia but I like it.  Its more a shade of sand and once I sand down the window sills and the wood that surrounds the hearth and the mantelpiece and stain them to the same colour as the window sills, all that will be left is glossing the skirting boards.  I like wood and have always wanted a big chunky wooden cabinet for the TV, I would have liked one of those cabinets that the TV hides in, but the husband likes his big TV so we compromised, its taken several years to compromise but we have.  He found this one for me on eBay, it was from a charity shop up in Birmingham and ticked all my boxes.   

 



 I just love the hinges they are all handmade and aged with that lovely patina of something used and I really love the handle, its like a pair of old scissors and opens a lovely big cupboard that will hide lots of 'stuff'.

You can see from the next picture that our current table for the TV is a glass and chrome affair; I have always hated this thing it attracts dust and living in farm land and with dogs, cats, kids and husband it is always covered in a fine layer of dead skin cells and hair.  Unfortunately my daughter and I between us are too weak and feeble to lift the enormous TV on to my lovely new cupboard, so I have to wait until either my son or my husband returns.... so much for women's lib in this house!

Husband would like me to up cycle this and make it more modern but I just want to use beeswax to seal in its old-ness, so we had another compromise and I put my foot down, its staying as it is, he compromised by knowing when he was beaten!

 

There is something about the onset of Autumn when the sloe berries start to come out in the hedgerows around where I live that makes me want to play with wool in the evenings.  During the day I am in the studio melting glass and getting quietly addicted to listening to Women's Hour and the Archers on Radio 4 followed by the drama of the day, but when the evening starts to close in and end the day, I want to still create, my fingers never really being very good at staying still, my backside being excellent for sitting down for long periods of time so crochet is my Autumn/Winter go to project and this year I am determined to actually use up some of the yarn I have stashed in the wardrobe upstairs.

 

 

It matches the walls!!  This is a nice project a poncho style shawl that is made up of individual squares that are then joined to the main piece on the final row of the square, I am creating about 3 an evening, I am not the fastest hook on the planet, but at this rate with 96 squares to crochet and only 30 done so far this is going to take a while.

 

 

50 Shades of......

 

DULL!

 

What a miserable month January is, the grey is so depressing and endless. 

 

Down on our river walk this morning I tried to find some colour even the dogs took on a muddy grey tinge, thankfully they don't care what the weather is and will enjoy the walk and the day regardless...I wish I was a little more like that.

 

I only had my camera on my phone with me this morning but lets see if we can put a twist of a smile on an otherwise miserable day.

 

My wellies ....every girl needs a good photo of her wellies in a puddle....and a good splash too ;) 

 

The only colour is the dull wishy washy green of the rain soaked and sodden fields.

 

Good job nothing gets these two down, they are so happy wagging and splashing that the picture is all blurry, still some of the mud got washed off!

My Izabel just looking around for Defi who is in the woods behind following the pheasant, rabbit, squirrel, badger scent...there is never a shortage of wildlife scents around here.....

 



Ethereal trees just waiting for Spring.

 



 

Sludgy mud.  It might be grey and dull and miserable but you just can't beat the sound of walking through sludgy mud in wellie boots, that sucking and slopping sound followed by splashing in a puddle.......

Just to brighten up a dull and dreary day, have a look at these zingy beads, bold blues and lime greens.



Up for auction on eBay, just click the link below...

 



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291068364894?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

 

Blogger won't play fair this morning so the link is not pretty with a click 'here; thing, its the whole thing! 

 

 

Getting into the holiday spirit!

Its September, already and one of my teenagers has gone back to school today...hooray!  I have been very busy with fairs this summer and been loving each and every one of them.  I have met fabulous people, sold lots of beads and had lots of giggles.  Fairs are hard work, both before, during and even after, when you come home, tired and still have to unload the car, but they are worth it.  I still have plenty of fairs left to do in the run up to Christmas...I know, terrible word in September!...and I have been making lots of holiday beads, I just can't help it, I am feeling all Halloweeny and Christmassy already.  I have also been updating my Etsy shop and my new (improved) plan is to keep it updated and current, I am very bad at sitting down with a cup of tea and planning to do it in a minute..that minute never comes, but its no good prompting on line sales at fairs if you don't put anything in the shop!  So just to re-cap, I do do custom orders, please just ask.  I love making my fun beads and am always open to suggestions on what to do next, please remember though I don't copy designs, but I am willing to put your idea into glass.  I love experiments!  Just a few pics of what I have been putting into the Etsy shop click here 

Laney x