A lesson he didnt know he was having!

Today Rafi and I were invited to the Dog barn to walk in their large fenced in walks, by my friend Nic.
When we arrived Nic was already there and as we were slightly early we waited in our cars until the person before us had finished their time slot. We drove in and parked on the tarmac then just shut the gate and opened the crates, both dogs jumped out and began sniffing all the interesting smells that were in the pen.
Nic and I had some work to do so we sat on the bench and did ten minutes of catch up on TRiM cases we were covering. All the time Rafi and Corky were sniffing and playing with a tennis ball, when we were ready we walked round the pens letting  the dogs play or just sniff. Every now and then I called Rafi back to me for a treat making him sit. ( RECALL) the rest of the time he was playing with tennis balls and sniffing all the new smells in close proximity to Corky. (SOCIALISING) When our session had ended we put the dogs in the back of our cars and went our separate ways, Corky gave one little grumble to put Raffi in his place, and there was one lip lift which was acknowledged by Rafi and he stopped bouncing at Corky.
Really good play date for him and  great for me to be able to see just how good he is off lead and recall.
Good teacher good student.

Rafi on Tor 30th July to 1st August

30th July
Really this is three days worth of blogging in one post as the internet signal was way off, very intermittent.
We left early on Tuesday morning for Somerset and arrived just before lunch. Even though the journey its self is only about two and a half hours we had a long coffee stop to allow Rafi half an hour out of his crate, as he decided he didnt want to go to the loo before we left.
After setting up the caravan and having a cup of tea we went and got some shopping then andy went to Hamwall nature reserve while Rafi and I set off on a 'one and a half hour walk', we took a photo of the 'map' that was at the site suggesting walks in the area and left. Clearly some of the paths were extremely over grown and the map was definitely not to scale! It was very hot but looked as if it was going to rain again so I had my waterproof so added to the temperature I had the extra bonus of a jacket! I mentioned at the top of this post that internet was a tad sketchy well so was any signal. Periodically I would get a signal and be able to get a map up on my phone which allowed us to eventually get back to our campsite.
When we arrived back, three hours later, my husbad had just pulled in, in the car.
The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and reading ...and watching the sheep steal apples and leaves from the trees in the orchard.
31st July
Woke up early, due to me forgetting to turn off my alarm! Doh! I got dressed and took Rafi for a quick pee walk while my husband did tea and breakfast.
When we were ready we got in the car and went for a drive, amoungst other places we went were Cheddar Gorge and another nature reserve which I forget the name of, Rafi found a hollow tree to explore and was "buzzed" by several drone like Dragonflies of various colours and sizes.
Back a the campsite we had a cup of tea and gave Rafi his dinner before heading out to Glastonbury Tor, we parked in the town and walked up the Tor to the Oratory at the top, the views were incredible, probably made even better by the strange smells we kept getting whiffs of coming from small groups of people sat along the pathway!! Once we had walked back down again we got fish and chips and sat eating them with  the Tor as our view. Once we had eaten we wwnt back to the caravan and sat reading and drinking.....Somerset Cider of course.
Great way to spend a Birthday.
1st August
Lazy morning, I remembered to cancel the alarm, then when we were up and had breakfast I decided to go for another walk, this time taking a photo of a real map! Rafi and I set off while my husband went back to Hamwall again to see if he could see one particular bird.
Our walk was both more and less successful than the first days walk as in, I had a great map and knew where I was going but the footpaths on some were obviously rarely used and seriously overgrown with Stinging nettles and brambles meaning both Rafi and I struggled to get through. Once back we had a cup of tea and sat out reading in the sun. When my husband got back he had bought some scones and cream, we already had some jam, we had a cream tea for lunch then packed up the caravan and set off for home.

I'm forever blowing bubbles!

Its raining! Off and on throughout the day we have had liquid weather.
I am extremely pleased to find that Skye was not my only dog who enjoyed walking in the rain, Rafi loves it! As we were going to take Mia to the Aldingbourne country center and he would be on his own for a short while until my husband got back I gave Rafi a long walk, in the rain and he loved it! I am dying to let him off the lead but until his recall is spot on I am not taking and chances.
When we got back from the Aldingbourne center we put Mis's new bubble machine in the center of the garden and let him chase bubbles.

How to keep cool on the hottest day ever recorded in the UK

Rafi had another 1 to 1 training session today, he is doing so well I am really pleased with him. It was also lovely to be in the dog barn for the session as it was so lovely and cool. Before we left I got him a cool coat which you soak then put on the dog just like any other dog coat but its so cool its lovely!
Straight after training we went to Therapaws for a swim. His third swim session and he couldnt wait to  get in. The first few times he went down the slope then as he grew more confident he went in from the side. It looked as if he was waiting for  the judges to score his dive, Bless him. I would have given him a 9.9 as it was a little splashy!

Beach Baby.

This should have been posted yesterday but I was so exhausted I didn't get round to it. It was also called castles in the sand, but after a message from my Bestie I had a change of heart!

Monday is my husbands day off so from time to time we try and do something or go somewhere for the day, today we decided to take our youngest Granddaughter and Rafi to the beach, just for a walk, a paddle in the sea, collect some shells and to make a sand castle!
Its been a very lazy day today as I am feeling a bit under the weather, probably just over tired, all these late nights and early mornings!
Added to that my bike is only firing on one cylinder....I think its contagious!

Attempted Drowning.

This morning I took Rafi to the dog swimming pool again. We arrived just in time for our session, having been stuck behind a slow moving vehicle all the way there.
This is Rafi's second session and he remembered it very well hardly waiting for me to take his harness off and give him a shower. Once he was in he swam brilliantly. jumping from the side and walking down the steps, all to fetch his turtle toy.
Then in comes a golden retriever puppy with only one thought on its mind..... Dum Dum Duuummmm!! Murder!
Whilst Rafi was swimming the retriever lept off the side of the pool straight on to Rafi, it then twice tried to climb onto his back  pushing poor Rafi right under the water. It was decided to get the retriever out to let Rafi have one more swim before we got out for the end of our session.
Please note:
 1)Rafi was unharmed and unphased by the events.
2) The retriever was not being nasty it merely wanted to play, but was twice the size of Rafi.
3) I was very traumatised by the whole situation, my poor Rafi!!

Lazy Dayz

Today is a day off!
This morning I moved a few of the fences around at the stables so I can strip graze the grass in the winter paddock. Its so long its unmanageable so I am taking back some of the summer paddock and allowing her access to the rest slowly. Hopefully this will work, I don't want to have to pay to have it topped.
This afternoon I literally did nothing. Lounging about in the hammock (and falling asleep) until one of my friends came over for a coffee, I think she saved me from getting burned. Thank you for that Meisie vriend!
While I had been lazing in the hammock Rafi had been laying underneath, in the shade!

Borde Hill's Sculptures

Its been years since I went to Borde Hill, and as they are dog friendly I thought it might be nice to go today with Mia and take Rafi with us. Its about an hours drive away and I couldn't remember what catering facilities they had so we took a pack up for lunch.
We wandered round the gardens looking at the flowerbeds and sculptures some of which moved in the wind, one of them frightened Mia, although I don't know why as it was literally 5 feet long metal rods which swayed slightly when the wind caught it! She loved the water tipping one though, so did Rafi we stood and watched it for quite a while.
We found somewhere to sit for lunch then had a walk through the woods. Rookie mistake I thought how easy it was to push the pushchair through, not realising it was down hill slightly, that is until I had to push it back again! Doh! It was nice though.
Our return journey took an hour and a half thanks to massive traffic build up at Arundel. Mia slept for most of the drive though and I suspect Rafi did too.

Rare Breeds

Its been over 3 years since I was at the Weald and Downland Museum, except for one day when I went to say goodbye to the lovely Bayleaf Neville.
It felt quite strange walking in, it felt even stranger having to pay! I was a volunteer there for over 10 years, helping with the three shire horses and the other animals and being first aid cover for the many events they held.
This time I was a member of the public, taking my two granddaughters for a day our to their rare breeds show.
The first stop had to be the stables to say hello to Mac, the only remaining shire on the site, they now have two Percherons called Ollie and Kash to help Mac with the work load.
It was a lovely surprise to bump into another of the volunteers who I used to work with, she was also at the show socially and wandered with us for a while.
Rafi was very well behaved considering there were so many people, new animal smells and stalls selling food. He was interested in other dogs but didnt get over zealous with them and was quite steady with the livestock both the four and the two legged varieties.
Once back home however he just flopped into his bed and slept.

Just keep swimming

Today I took Rafi to the swimming pool, it was his first time in a pool. We were very early, due to my husband needing to borrow my car and having to drop me off. Whilst we waited for our time slot in the garden to the side of the pool area 5 large breed dogs came in, Rafi is very over zealous with other dogs as he hasn't really had a great deal of contact with  them, he began with the 3 second sniff rule and was fairly well behaved, infact it was only when a large golden retriever, who was only 3 years old himself, wanted to play bow and be a bit boisterous that things got a bit ott. We kept the 6 dogs in the same area but not able to actually touch.
They had the time slot before Rafi's  so we watched them playing for a short while then as it was hot we went and sat in the shade. The pool owner came out and chatted to me for a while, we have known each other for a good 13 years as Skye used to go swimming there too, she told me that the owners of the bigger dogs had invited Rafi to join their session for the last 10 minutes as they had been playing beforehand. We went in, Rafi had a quick shower then we put him in the pool. His first two laps were wide eyed and high paddling with his front legs until we found a squeeky toy frog for him to retrieve, at which point he put a huge smile on his face  curled his tail over hos back and swam beautifully  all round the pool all by himself! I kept the long line attached just for safety, if he got out of the pool and someone opened the door or something.
After the 5 had gone we continued swimming in our own slot and were joined by a pretty tri coloured border collie.
The slots are half an hour, but with the ten monutes in the slot before I decided to get him out early, its tiring swimming and a new experience for him meaning he had a lot to process too.
We ended on a great swim and booked up for next week.

Yin and Yan .....or little pink flowers!

Today didn't start well, I got up at the usual time let Rafi out, and went and did the horse everything was fine all were behaving themselves but everywhere I looked, little pink flowers seemed to have popped up overnight. This is nothing to get worked up about, but, in April I lost my beautiful Skye dog, shortly after this we went away for ten days, when we got home the place in the garden where the skye dog liked to be the most was marked by a clump of little pink flowers! Add to this the fact that while we were away my husband bought me a bracelet which had a charm on it depicting the very same little pink flower. For them to suddenly appear everywhere reminds me how much I miss her and what an incredible companion she was.
This afternoon I took Rafi out for a rather long walk, longer than he usually has, I lost track of the distance we had walked. He doesn't seem to be any worse for it and I almost let him off his lead he was so good. A sudden panic that he might choose that moment to run off made me change my mind. His excellent behaviour had brightened my mood a little too.

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Away from it all

This morning I called the vet as soon as they were open, Rafi had eaten and slept well, he had no symptoms and was trying to play with all the vet nurses. Music to my ears.
Before all this had started, Rafi and I were supposed to be going away for the weekend in the caravan, AnnieMay.
My husband said we should still go so we packed up our things and set off. We are not going too far as I am helping a friend with her animals and also now, if Rafi becomes ill I need to be able to get him back to the vets.
Once we had arrived at our 'undisclosed' destination, we set up the caravan and went for a walk.
Rafi loves Caravanning!

Horse Power

This morning I got up early and went to the stables but instead of feeding Mouse I decided to ride her first, it was another lovely day so after tacking up we went out, Mouse has decided that one of the houses in the village is scary, there is no dog or flashing lights or people behind hedges, but every time we get to this house she refuses to pass it without a song and dance, well, maybe just a lot of cajoling once past she is fine then on the way back we have the same rigmarole again!When I got home the husband took me out for lunch as its his day off, I had salmon and he had steak pie, once back home the dog decided she would help me dig over the veg plot then when the seedlings had been planted it was out for a blast on the bike. Totally filled day off. Perfic.

A shocking story part two

Alas, poor Mouse!
Well to bring you up to speed, its not only Mouses fur that is thick! Apparently its her hide too, even whilst wearing the rug she still managed to go through the electric so with this in mind and the fact that a whole yard belonging to some friends came available, We decided to move Mouse as well as another friend with her horses.
The fields have proper fences now and although I still have to put an electric strip round to stop her rubbing herself silly she can't escape every day.
My friends horses are in the adjoining paddocks so she has company all the time.
We also don't have a footpath right beside us which means we no longer get people telling us we are being cruel to her. Did I mention I had to get a new bigger girth for her as she is doing so badly (not) that she has put on weight this winter!

Tonsillitis and a chill

Today I have been sent home from work! Maybe shouldn't have even gone in to start with! It feels as if I have a throat full of razor blades, I can barely speak and I have all the symptoms of a chill, with I high temp, sneezes and all the other delights that accompany it. If I booked sick I would have got into trouble, for a job that deals with sick people all the time they are not very accommodating towards their own staff when we inadvertently catch something from our patients! Which is why I went in to start with, ahh well I wonder what punishment I will receive for being ill this time? 

Long may it continue

What a lovely four days off I had, and how lucky was I?

Four days off and I ate out every one of them. I am refusing to step on the scales for a while though, but it was so worth it.

The weather was lovely, I did a lot of walking be it in town with my friend before a lovely gastro pub lunch, off into the woods with another friend and three dogs before a cuppa and some yummy cheesy chips, around a National Trust property with my husband having had an amazing meal in yet another gastro pub, then there was the impromptu pub lunch followed by a walk along a very muddy foot path, before putting my horse to bed and settling down to watch a couple of good films. (Pride and The flight)

Still work beckons... there is the small ray of light which is the fact that after 5 shifts I get to have another 4 days off. Ahh roll on the next set.

Jammin'

We're Jammin, and I don't mean in the name of the Lord, like the Bob Marley song. I mean we made Jam, lovely apple and blackberry jam. (Well I hope its lovely, it looks it and smells it but I have to wait a couple of days before I try it!).
I was only able to do this with the help of my amazing cooking friend Rosie, she makes the most amazing cakes, breads, soups jams.... pretty much everything really, my favourite of all her amazing gastro treats are her cheese straws, I have never tasted anything like them!
Anyhow, I went round this morning with Blossom and she helped me make the jam. I will post a follow up on how it tastes but until then, here are some photos.

31 July

Today is my Birthday, Happy Birthday to me, and to everyone who shares this day as their Birthday too. Its a great day to have a Birthday, I never ever went to school on my Birthday because it was in the summer holidays, and to date, I have never been to work on my Birthday either. Today my husband took me out for the day... Hang on rewind. Today I was woken up with breakfast in bed! Lovely way to start the day, then my Husband and I went out for the day, we went to one of the many national trust properties and had a wander round and a cup of tea, then he took me out for lunch at one of my favourite pubs, where I had the most amazing fish and chips, with pea fritters, minted pea mash and home made tartar sauce the batter of the fish was an ale batter and so light! Delicious. My Husband had Roasted lamb rump, with dauphinoise potatoes  and roasted root vegetables. Once we had eaten we drove over to another National trust property, (Making the most of our membership!) and spent a lovely afternoon wandering.
This evening both my daughters are coming over, which will round off the day nicely!
What a lovely way to spend the thirty first of July!
Oh and here is a poem, it was on the Birthday card my Mum sent me!!!!!
YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T RESIST IT
WHEN THERE'S COCKTAILS TO BE TASTED-
SO PARTY ON AND HAVE SOME FUN
AND GET COMPLETELY WASTED!
(Purple Ronnie)

Scones.

When ever we go to National Trust properties they have scones for sale in their café's. They have plain ones with jam and cream, and cheese ones and sometimes watercress or caramelized onion in them. Both my husband and I love scones, he prefers the jam and cream ones but I prefer the savoury ones. Today I decided to try and make some, I know this is a simple thing to bake, but I'm not very good at cakes and things like that I prefer cooking meals.
Anyhow, I made two batches one for jam and the other with cheese in. And even though I do say so myself, they are really nice! All I have to do now is work out how to say it! Scon, or Scone??? Any ideas which is the correct way to say it?

A walk in the park.

Today was Blossoms last day with us this week, we took her to one of the many National Trust property's. We had a look round the house, and gardens, during the holidays they put on trails and events for kids. Today we had to follow animal foot prints to find the animal which made them. Blossom did very well.