Clock change - schmock change...

What's with the daylight saving time? Who are we saving daylight from? Nightlight? Time thieves, who are just going to waste it? It's a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, to me. And I hate it when the clocks change. Already we were facing the usual weekend delay. I cannot get STAFF out of bed before 6:12am on a Sunday. I have talked to THEM about this laziness, but to no avail. So, in essence, my walk was already delayed by one (1!) hour. And then the clocks changed. So, now my walk was delayed by more than two (2!) hours. I was absolutely outraged at such a late start, which I knew, knew, would mean that I'd miss the fox, the woods would be full of over-excited "exercise on weekends only"-dogs, and, crucially, my breakfast would be delayed at least 2 hours. Not a good start!But when we got to the woods, I began to realize that I had perhaps , unusually so for such a optimistic and happy-go-lucky non-complaining chap like myself, been a touch pessimistic. Because the woods were full of Fun! (aka squirrels). And the fox's scent was still all over the place! And there were no other dogs. Wahey!
The only problem with all the excitement is that you don't know where to go first. Or whether to go there at all! I find myself making high-pressured adrenaline decisions all the time! If I go hither, will I miss something better tither? Oh, sweet torture of sensory overload!
I decided to get me a nice stick. I just absolutely ♥ chewing sticks. And as you can see I found a nice and big one. Of course the two-legged spoil sports tried to discourage me with patronising comments. Yes, I could see that it was technically a tree. And technically still in the ground. But I was working on those issues, dangit! A tree is really just a stick in the making, isn't it.

In any case, unrelated to STAFFs' negative comments, I got bored. THEY will say that I have a short attention span, but this is not true. I just have many interests! And I like to pursue them all at once.
I found a nice puddle to drink from. It had a really nice muddy flavour, with a hint of horse-apple. Delicious! I guess I have mud-lips. So? You should see STAFF when THEY've been on the hot cacao.
All in all, I cannot help but smile. I am having a fantastic morning outing. I am in such a good mood, that I was even cooperative with the picture taking. Normally I like to see how many shots of my bottom I can get STAFF to take by moving out of the frame at just the right time. But today I changed tack.
So, when STAFF said "let's try for a close-up" I spotted my opportunity! Down on THEIR knees THEY went, peered through the lens and then seemed to get a bit of a shock. Hahaha! THEY did say "close-up". Can't blame me for complying with THEIR wishes.
Teehee, I am still chuckling at that...And, of course, I had my Squirrel encounters. Little rascals! Sitting on the ground, eating nuts, but as soon as you move in to eat them, they go up a tree. How's that fair?

I made it very clear that I much desired them to come down again!
Very, very clear! And I called for several minutes. But nothing! Wildlife of today. No manners!

And now, after all the running and excitement and the late start, and the fox and the squirrels and the leafs and the trees, I am having a little rest.

Even a clock change cannot spoil my mood today. Life, right here and right now, is good!

Weimaranering on Stanton Moor

Well, what do you know. First you cannot drag the STAFF off the sofa for love nor money and then THEY make us go into complete overdrive.

So, I found myself on this beautiful Sunday morning in the middle of the Peak District on top of Stanton Moor with the world just full of beautiful opportunities for any Weimy out there willing to seize them.

And willing I was. It was just tricky to decide on where to go first. Left? Right? Straight on? Ah, sod it. Just go everywhere.

If only STAFF were faster walkers and there wouldn't always be these hours of downtime. I sooooo loathe waiting.

Apparently there was a nice view for STAFF. Not as nice as the smells were for this little Weimy. Very fragrant, full of notes of delicious wildlife. If only I could get some!

With such slow coaches on board there is always a lot of herding that needs doing. What do THEY take me for - a border collie? Honestly, a Weimy's work is just never done!

Good that I managed to hunt down and kill this stick. That made me feel a lot better and released quite a bit of tension.

And then when I saw this stone circle I got the idea for a very cunning plan. If I say so myself. I decided to sit down and blend in with the stones and then just remain still, completely still like a Ninja Weimy, until some unsuspecting wildlife would walk straight into my open chops and BAM! Dead. Dinner. But alas, after sitting still for days. Or perhaps hours. Well minutes. Ok, well, seconds. Anyway, I lost patience and wandered off. A good plan in principle, but you probably need the patience of anything a lot more patient than me to execute it.

All in all a very good trip out. I cannot help but smile. But now I must sleep. When STAFF are in this kinda mood, you just never know what adventure awaits you next. Good that I am a practised power napper. Night night.

deer stalking

I went about my business when we chanced on a herd of big SNACKS!

The only trouble is that STAFF saw them, too, and clicked me into my most hated harness.

Try as I might I could not think of a way to get there. Ah, sometimes you just have to face up to disappointment and hope that there'll be a day when you can be quicker than STAFF and get yourself a nice bit of venison.... Hope springs eternal!

Of course, had I been eating venison I would not have needed to argue with an aggressive pitbull. So, I'd say STAFF made the wrong call there on so many fronts.

walking through clouds

So, you look at the weather forecast, it says "rain", what do you do? Well, any sensible person might get a paper and some nice food (!) and plan for a nice relaxing day on the sofa. The STAFF, as you know, do not fall into this wonderful category and in THEIR wisdom planned a 6 mile hike through the Goyt Valley in the Peak District. And I had no choice but to tag along.
At first, I was having fun. The sun was sort of shining and I could scamp about to my heart's content. STAFF were looking at some ruins. How dull. I was looking for food - how exciting!
I am smiling away in the sunshine. At this point no one had taken the trouble to apprise me of the length of this jaunt. I am smiling the smile of all innocent dogs anywhere who can't read maps...
And you see so many great things out in the country. Like walking snacks! Yum! I was going for a sort of Wild West impression.... This path is too small for all of us. Leave now and I shall hunt you. Stay there and I shall hunt you! A clear win-win situation, apart from the fact that STAFF had clipped me into a harness which makes running at speed quite difficult. THEY always do that when there are nice big wooly snacks around. It is most frustrating!

Still, I enjoyed scampering through the long grass. Long grass has the advantage that it hides from view all exciting things, but not from the nostrils. In other words, I can find things that STAFF don't even dream about. And what THEY don't know about, THEY cannot stop you from snacking on.

As you can see, I am rather pleased with my efforts. I had me a good number of interesting things. Trouble with scampering through long grass is that you get grass seeds in your ears. Those are particularly tricky to remove when you lack a small finger and the kind of elbows that allow you to put the little finger in your ear and wiggle. That, and the ability to open cupboards and food containers, has to be the only advantage of bi-ped anatomy.Teehee! STAFF were trying to take a picture - pretty annoying. And there is always that point where THEY are not entirely sure where you are and the lens is going all over the place. So, I kept low, snuck up and at the right moment BOO! Haha. STAFF nearly dropped that camera. I was chuckling to myself for ages after that.

And I seized the opportunity to clamber up some hills to show STAFF who is King of these hills! It was also so windy. STAFF, who don't have 4PawDrive, nearly got blown off the path a couple of times. It was very funny. THEY looked like THEY walked when THEY have partaken in the imbibing of a whole half pint of weak ale.
With hindsight I should have been more worried about the pretty clouds building up in the background. And then with the wind and whatnot and all, suddenly the clouds were not above us, or behind us or anything but all around us and we were walking through the driving rain inside a cloud. I hate getting wet. Unless I am swimming. There's no pictures of the torrential downpour, because we don't have an underwater camera.But here you can see the path we've just come up and the white stuff lying on it, which is a rain cloud. Eeeugh!

I was trying to encourage STAFF to hurry. I could see the clouds were closing in on us again! Thankfully, I had packed my Kagool, otherwise I should have been drenched. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure when I was a puppy the summers were warmer and longer, well, you know, more than just one day.

Back in the car, I crashed down on my blanket immediately. As you can see my accommodation is very basic. The STAFF totally make me rough it. After 6 miles up and down hills and through torrential rain and all I slept quite nicely on the way back.

And you know, I actually enjoyed myself. I wonder where we are going next weekend? I'd say adventures are totally back on the menu!

warm weekend in wales (really!)

I was a little concerned when the STAFF put the bathtub on the car and got the camping gear together. The weather hadn't been great and I did not fancy spending a weekend sitting in the tent, with the STAFF all wet and miserable (and, frankly, smelly...) just because THEY never have the sense to bring enough towels and blankets to keep everyone dry and warm. Of course, there are ALWAYS enough blankets to keep me warm. First things first, eh!

So, I was a bit concerned when we set off.

But when we arrived I was well chuffed. A big field, with a nice view, and great smells (bacon, sausage, burger, sheep poo, fox poo, cow poo... etc, you get the picture)! I was surveying my new digs with much joy and anticipation for adventure!

But no adventure on an empty tummy, I always say. Well, nothing is much good when your tummy is empty. But anyway, there is something to be said for al fresco dining. Not least because I am  convinced the STAFF hand out bigger portions during these trips. Just as well, really! With all this fresh air, I found myself with a very healthy appetite

Here you see me enjoying a  nice relaxing spot of breakfast, in the great outdoors. I was taking my time and savouring the food. And yet I was done in 82 seconds flat (+ cleaning bowl and drinking time). 

I wish the STAFF would follow my example and speed up THEIR meal times, so that we could get going. I was power napping whilst THEY got ready. No point wasting time and energy!

A least I had a nice spot of sunshine to warm the belly and help the breakfast go down. Aaaah, outdoor living!

And then off to some adventures! Like here in the grounds of Chirk castle. 

And more lying in the sun. What's not to like?

Still, after a day of adventuring and all, I was quite tired and changed my Mount Batchelor pad day bed for my comfy bed. After all, it is important to get the idea across that not everyone wants to rough it. Sure, the STAFF like to think that they are getting back to nature (whatever that means... had they left nature at some point?), but I, I like to be comfortable.

And what is better than watching the sun set over the Welsh hills? And from the comfort of your own bed? It was splendid I tell you!

A magnificent sight, don't you think?

All that staring in the sun made my eyes a bit tender, so I thought I'd give the STAFF's shades a go. THEY can keep them, I tell you. I looked a fool! Not that THEY don't. Well, if someone has to look a fool, I'd rather it wasn't me!

Water - glorious water (and mud!)

I told you there'd be more excitement today! We went to one of my favouritest places (apart from the Best Wood). Clumber National Park, which has - wait for it - a Lake! Just for me. I can paddle in it. I can drink it. I can piddle it back out again. It's like a magic Circle of Wonderful. 

We got there early, of course, but the sun was nice and warm. Not too warm. There was noone aound - just the STAFF and I and a whole big lake to play in. Perfect!

I couldn't wait to get into the water. In fact, I didn't wait, and went right in. The STAFF, as always, were reluctant to get their feet wet. But I shared some of the water I accumulated in my coat with them by shaking vigorously. I think THEY really appreciated that.

And then we played Shticks in the water. My favourite!

There is nothing like the taste of slightly soggy wood straight from a lake. If you haven't tried it, well, frankly, you haven't lived!

Now, just look at these little cute feathery balls of fluff. 

Isn't it all a splendid sight?

It was such a great trip out! And even though I tried to run through a wire fence and got stopped very rudely and abruptly in my tracks, it was just perfect. In fact, the whole weekend was just great! I was in such a good mood that I gave the STAFF the evening off and sent them to the cinema. I can be generous to a fault when the mood takes me. 

But now, I must sleep. All this activity has really tired me out. And I am not used to being in such a good mood, so that takes a bit of getting used to. I wonder whether it will last...?

That's why I'm easy...

Weekend's been great! Two trips to Bestwood (the name says it all), lots of grub and plenty of time spent with the STAFF.

Life, I can tell you, is good!

Whistle while you (watch them) work

The STAFF, Oma and I went to see the Sheepdog Trials at Longshaw estate. I had never seen this before, and it all looked quite exciting. I thought the dogs were very naughty, because you are not allowed to chase sheep, don'tcherknow, and there was a guy with a big stick in the field who whistled the dog madly. I thought he was going to tell the dog off. But no. They seemed to be chasing sheep together.
The STAFF explained to me that it was all like an elaborate game and that the dog had to lift four sheep in a long outrun, drive them through a gate, go a lift some more sheep, and blablabla. I stopped listening. I was suddenly VERY worried that they had some crazy ideas of me doing something similar. Now. In front of all these people. I tried to hide under one of the STAFF, just in case.
One of the dogs ran out in the middle of working with a nice young girl with the big stick. It was embarrassing. I felt very sorry for her. She had stroked me earlier and called me handsome, so I had rather wanted her to win.

After that I rather lost interest. Plus, the STAFF still didn't get me the lamb I had asked for. And their explanation why it was ok for these dogs to chase sheep but not for me was rather unsatisfactory. Maybe if they got a whistle and a big stick we could chase sheep together, too. I'll put it to them next time the opportunity arises.Speaking of sticks. I don't mind saying that the highlight of the weekend was the enormous stick I dragged out of the river. I had quite an audience and the STAFF were basking in reflected glory. It was simply wonderful!