Monday

The Dog Rambler E-diary

To 28
May 2012
Walk Dogs on walk Corridors of shade Cyrano, Dylan, Jolie, Otis, Tim Length 6 miles

The deliciously hot weather continues. Hotter today in the early morning than for most of yesterday. A day in the shade called for. With Jolie last to be collected a path from Boggs Holdings offered the ideal cover. Lines of trees and edges of woodland along most of the path. Some occasional breaks letting us bask in the sun. Zebra stripe sun and shade across the path as the trees blind like sliced the sun in segments. We set out along a small track beside some cottages off the road. Excited dogs finding it hard to keep off the small, open gardens of grass in front of the cottages. My efforts to exert control bearing little fruit. The dogs behaving like wasps drunk on the alcohol of over-ripe fruit. As we pressed on to the path and toward the line of trees they began to calm. The trees making a big horseshoe toward the village of Winton. The path running through them. Plenty of shade and plenty of water in many small ditches and little burns. Dirty and muddy as Otis soon proved. Knee deep in the thickest of mud. The others did not stay clean for much longer and I had to quickly call Tim to stop him lying down in yet another

muddy patch. There was quite a lot of clean water about which Cyrano was much better at finding. Doing his usual of running off to it and then sitting beside it until we all reached him. Dylan was not adverse to the water today feeling the need for a cooling off. Jolie was choosing much the same muddy spots as Otis. Both soon wearing dark legs. Shrill calls of unseen birds cut through the heaviness of the heat. Some cracking noises in the trees as cumbersome pigeons took to the wing. The dogs heads spinning at noises in the undergrowth. Birds pecking and scrabbling on the ground for little treats to feed their noisy young on the nests stuffed on tree branches and in hollows in the wood. Unseen now but the nests will be exposed in late autumn with the leaf fall leaving naked branches with the nodule like nests as if balls of wool had be wedged in the branches. As we followed anti-clockwise round the horseshoe, beginning to head against the way we had come we met our first person. A woman with three children, two girls and a boy. The boy being her child and the first one to cry as the dogs nosed around them trying to say hello. They all turned away and hid their faces in the skirt of the woman. As we reassured then and the dogs lost interest they slowly turned around and there was no more crying. Now Tim and Jolie came back over and made a better impact. On these better terms we decided to move on leaving a good impression on the children. The path now reached the road between Winton and Pencaitland. The dogs had to stay close until we had crossed it. Set loose and Jolie and Tim had a bit of a chase but it did not last long. The heat was having some effect even in this shade. There was not much panting but that was at walking pace. Running was a different matter. They all soon piled into some more water, this time more of a stream. Cool and refreshing and quite clean. We got by a young boxer on its lead with little trouble and continued our way to reach the railway walk from Ormiston to Pencaitland. This is where we turned and headed back. The sun rising higher in the sky, intensifying the heat. Jolie and Tim tried to chase over a stick but again it did not last too long. Cyrano having memorised all the watering holes kept running on ahead. Otis choosing the muddiest ones to enter. He was obviously going to defy the dry weather and prove you do not have to be clean in it.

We reversed our way around the horseshoe now going clockwise. The shadows shortening in the higher sun. Much calmer dogs going back by the cottages toward the glint of the car at the top of the track.

Nick

Photo slideshow from the walk

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