Tag: outdoors

Lustre

Oh my goodness, what a difference a bit of sunshine makes! It’s been a beautiful day. So I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could.

First I took Bert out for his Sunday long walk. He loves having a run around the fields. His recall is getting so good now. There were lots of runners around today. So perfect opportunity to work on keeping him focussed on me. And not jumping at them.

Then it was Buddy’s turn for his Sunday long walk. He loves having a run around the fields too. My Oversized Labrador and my Baby Sprocker are quite similar in that respect.

Buddy and I were out for nearly 1.5 hours. Bert can’t do that much yet, won’t be long before he can! I may need more hours in the day. Thank goodness the days are drawing out. And I love being outdoors.

Playpen

Bert has a new playpen in the garden. This is so he can be outside (supervised of course) while I puppy proof the garden. As adorable as he is, it’s hard getting stuff done. I have to wait for nap time. I have a new found appreciation for new Mums that’s for sure.

I have to admit, it looked bigger online and I’m sure I measured it out. I’m willing to admit that I’m not great when it comes to scale. It will do for now though.

He gets a gold star for photo posing! It seems I have yet another photogenic animal In my life.

He also gets a gold star for his trip to the vets today. He’s has his first jab, so he’s on the path to proper ‘meet & greets’. He weighs in at 4kg and is a good solid little chap according to the vet. Though he did say that he has rather large paws. Let’s see if he grows into them!!

He’s also enrolled in Pre-Puppy School. Exciting times in Bert’s World.

Wakehurst

I needed to get outdoors today, so I headed over to Wakehurst Place this afternoon. Being outdoors and in nature are good healers for me. With all the emotions and stress of the past few days, I’d usually go for a long ride on Buddy. That’s not an option at the moment. So this was the next best thing.

Wakehurst Place is part of Kew Gardens and the National Trust. My Mum was a lifetime National Trust member, so I borrowed her card. We used to go there together. But I haven’t been for many years.

I walked round the gardens. Then found a bench to sit and reflect. The bench was dedicated with a line from a Wordsworth poem ‘To stay the wanderer’s steps and soothe his thoughts.’ Seemed rather fitting.

I had a chat with a magpie as you do. Before walking up to the highest point. As I sat looking out across the treetops, I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. Luckily there was no-one around.

On my way out, I noticed a plant I recognised. It was a Veronica. My Mum’s favourite. Can’t imagine why?! Guess I’ll be getting one for the garden.

Bit of a state

Buddy makes me laugh so much. He got in a bit of a state with his recovery mash. Again. Clearly he’s bothered by it.

He doesn’t always get recovery mash. But it was a beautifully warm September day. The type of day where you don’t know whether to wear long or short sleeves. I went with long in case you’re interested.

It was also the type of day where I wanted to keep hacking. So we did. I felt the need to clear my head. It’s by far the best way I’ve found to do that. Just me, my boy and the great outdoors….

Spring cleaning

I decided to give Buddy’s stable a bit of a Spring clean today. I used a leaf blower to clear away the cobwebs and cleaned the walls. The leaf blower was a little bit too effective as I ended up covered in cobwebs! Good job I’m not afraid of spiders.

Very pleased with the result though. It looks so much better and brighter again.

After going out for a ride, I decided to give Buddy a Spring clean too. A bit of a bath, then tidied up his tail and mane. He looks very smart too.

It was one of those days where I wanted to spend as much time outdoors as possible. It was such a lovely day. A very happy Easter Saturday indeed.

Neighbourly love

My get up and go had gotten up and gone this morning. I really struggled to wake up and get going. It seemed my body is staging a rebellion and my personal ‘black dog’ made an appearance.

I know the drill now. Get outdoors, do physical activities and watch my thoughts. So that’s what I did. Took Buddy out for a hack. Then mowed both lawns.

It worked. What worked even more was receiving these flowers from my neighbours. They’re going away on holiday and she didn’t want them to go to waste. So she gifted them to me. How lovely is that?!

Made me smile on a weird day.

Horse girls

This might have made me laugh just a little bit too hard when I saw it.

There are lots of advantages to being a horse girl. We’re made of tough stuff. We rarely cry when a 600kg lump stands on our foot, bites us or barges us out the way. We’re stronger than we look as we manhandle straw, shavings and full wheelbarrows about. We also have the ability to switch from a whisper to a roar in a heart beat (usually when our dearly beloved horse is misbehaving).

We can spend hours outdoors at the yard. And literally pay people to judge us.

We seek each other out. We recognise each other (and not just by the smell or the random bits of hay in our hair).

I’m sure there are many more too. But one thing is for sure. We get shit done and don’t take any in return.

Stepping out

Impromptu road trip over to Brampton to meet up with Katie and Tash for an afternoon hack.

It was one of my favourite kind of afternoons – catching up with friends, being outdoors and time with Buddy. 3 things that always put a smile on my face.

Heavy machinery

I love seeing the combines in the fields. So does Buddy. He loves heavy machinery. He veers across the road to get closer to them. He stops to watch them. He’s such a funny boy.

After weeks of odd weather, today was just glorious. Wall to wall sunshine. Seemed only right to spend the day outdoors. Lawn mown, borders cleared and washing on the line. Topped off with a long hack.

I call that a pretty good day!