Pups go wild part 2

So what's it like to share a tent with two bears?  Well, cooking dinner went without a hitch while the sun set and a heavy dewfall misted across the field.
 

They were both so tired from the day's fun they really just wanted to crash. But of course, Mojo can't just settle down - she has to do a few loops of the tent between the inner and the outer, then escape under a flap and set off to check the food status of our tent neighbours. Digger was fabulous. Sleep here, mummy? OK. 
Granted, they both felt obliged to stand on Dad at 3am and polish his face a bit.

Morning was so chilly the poor bears were shivering. Mojo had her coat stripped the week before so was especially miserable. So what can you do? Make towel togas, of course. Or Dogas, as we now call them. They really didn't understand why their mummy was laughing so hard.

A nice early start for another walk. Not so sunny at first.

This photo makes the cliffs look small but they are huge - check the size of the waves.

We had elevenses on the beach  between two little waterfalls and the bears ran amok looking for things. I'm amazed how fast they move on these stones - it's really hard work for a human but they have four wheel drive and run full tilt over them. We did a lot of grimacing and telling Mojo to mind her arthritic hips.

 

Then we went back to another beach where a stream made a paddling pool on its way to the sea. While we waited for some small children to get out of our pool we played on the rocks. Mojo set off first:

The boys followed, but then Digger lost his nerve and stood there looking droopy and miserable as usual.

Mojo waited and mocked him gently.

Until he came and sat  in the same spot while managing to look droopy and miserable. He's a funny chap, so different to Mojo. She's so bold and full of ideas, and he's so unsure and full of worries. Then again, he's so good at cuddles and Mojo breaks your heart by saying eeewwww to public displays of affection.

Once the kids (and their icecream and toys) left the paddling pool we sent the bears in. No photos of swimmy action as we were too busy throwing sticks and trying unsuccessfully to get Digger to get more than his toes wet. But here's a view upstream to the most delightful old cottage.

Wish you could all come to Devon and play!

Pups go wild

In the years Before Airedales we used to love going camping, but since Mojo arrived we've only been twice. At first she was too young for the walking, then I had a broken ankle, then she had a crisis of hip dysplasia, then Digger arrived and was too young. Oh, and the weather. Did I mention the weather? This summer has been the wettest on record, and when the sun shines we seem to be nursing sick dogs. Bah. So this weekend was our last chance and we headed out to our favourite camping spot at Stoke Barton Farm on Hartland Point, north Devon.

While we set up the tent Digger sniffed the sea air and Mojo had her happy grin on.

It's a fabulous campsite, huge and uncrowded, high above the sea. See those spikes on the left in the next pic? That's the highest church tower in Devon but it's hiding behind the hill. Every trip back from the facilities meant a race down the hill.

Digger is fast. He gets down long and low, and thunders past Mojo.

The bottom of the camping field has a gate to this path:

And this is what is on the other side of the hill. Can you imagine a better place to camp?

We headed  to the beach that you can see just peeking out from behind St Catherines Mount. As with any walk along this coast there's a lot of steep up and down, and dogs have to be firmly on a lead because of the cliff edges. But we were in luck as the tide was out.

As usual, Mojo swam but Digger was a wimp and ran away from the tiny waves. Mojo didn't want to leave, but we had a thirst and the pub was a few hills along.

We had a well-earned pint at the Wreckers Retreat at Hartland Quay, beneath the spectacular cliffs. Sadly no dogs allowed on this beach, but plenty of people willing to feed their fish 'n chips to two Airedales who give such sad hungry eyes.

And afterwards a steep haul back up the cliff to get back to the tent.

So did the Dales behave in the tent? Was it an Apocalypse of Airedales? I'll let you know next installment. :)

Mum to Mojo - part 1

Mum here, sitting in an internet cafe in Alice Springs. How's my pup? Missing you like crazy, girl (and Dad too, but don't tell him).

I've been keeping my eyes out for other 'Dales, but so far have seen very few dogs. I think you would find it a bit too hot for your fuzzy coat here, and the sand would get a bit hot on your oh-so-sensitive paws. I did meet a proper crocodile up in Kakadu National Park - 7 metres long (21 foot) which made me realise that your crocoDale antics, whilst toothy and a bit wicked, are mild in comparison. Mind you, if I held your food on the end of a rope I reckon you would jump out of the river too.

Met a fantastic little 4 month old Jack Russell called Chilli who took a shine to me. Ignored the crowd of other people at lunch and followed me around. Even stuck his nose under the toilet door and barked at me until I came out again. I think he sensed a terrier-trained human.

Then one day we stopped to talk to a delightful young wallaby called Pixie and this chunky battle-scarred cattledog called Rusty barged in, threw down a stick and said "forget the wallaby, THROW THE STICK". Which I did. Repeatedly. I'll show you the photo when I get home. What a great dog.

So I can't wait to get back spend some time with you. Actually, I think I owe Dad about 3 months of dog duty. I hope you are ready to hang out with me and don't sulk.

By the way, you made me cry when I left on the train, and you pulled that face at me. I think I made it all the way to Taunton before I could safely put the tissues away.

big hugs girl. And be nice to the cats.

what? where?

I'd rather be telling you how pleased I am to be lounging on Mum & Dad's bed. And I'd rather you took a moment to admire my special bedhead moustache.

But instead you get my OH MY DOG face.


Mum just told me something she's known for ages. She's off to Australia for 5 weeks, and she's going on Friday. This is terrible!

Who's going to give me those shoulder massages that send me all droopy? Who's going to give me butt scritches that make me pull pointy grinning faces? Who's going to tell me I'm a beautiful girly a hundred times a day? *sob* I bet the cats won't even come out of the bedroom to stare at me through the puppy gate without Mum as a peacekeeping force. I hate her I hate her I hate her.

Now don't get me wrong; I love my Dad too. And as he works from home he gets to be my personal butler all day and night. But I have a horrible feeling he will want to go and have a life at some point - like play a game of tennis - and that means I'll be put in my crate. I'm 11 months old tomorrow and the longest they have ever left me is 2 hours.

Talking of my age, I'm going to have my 1st birthday and Mum WON'T EVEN BE THERE.

I hope you feel duly sorry for me.

Mum here:
Oh boy do I feel guilty. And I haven't even told the cats yet. I'm off on a marvellous trip and I feel really bad about leaving the furry monsters behind (that includes the man). Fingers crossed the man will be able to get some rest in between his heavy workload and his butler duties. Fingers crossed the cats don't need to be administered tablets for any reason. Fingers crossed they don't all vote to change the locks while I'm gone.

I'm going to be crossing the continent from Darwin down to Adelaide, right through the red heart of the country and right to the heart of a unfulfilled wish from when I was a 7-year-old. I'll be the palest, oldest, plumpest backpacker on the trip but that's just fine with me!

I'm bravely handing over the blog password to the man so he can carry on posting on Mojo's behalf - if he finds a moment's peace. I'll be able to get my pup fix on the move. All we have to do now is find a way to get Mojo to wear a headset without chewing it and we'll be able to Skype each other too!

I'll have a mountain of catching up to do when I get back, but I hope you all stay healthy, happy and wise.

season's greetings

Best wishes to you all, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. I hope you all have been well, happy and surrounded by warm hearts.

Here in Mojo Towers things were a bit quiet. Both sets of grandparents are visiting soon but not on Christmas Day, my Dad's brother lives in Canada and my Mum's brother lives in Australia. So we decided to have fun with just us.

Things started great - while Mum and Dad sat in bed drinking coffee, I was allowed into the bedroom and even allowed on the bed. To stop me bothering the cats I was fed morsels of dry cat food. Imagine, lying there like the Queen of Sheba, being handfed while the cats glare from a distance.

We decided to go for a walk up on the north coast at a place called Braunton Burrows. I think it should be renamed Dog Heaven actually. It's the largest sand dune ecosystem in England, and is renowned as a place of ecological interest and as a prime dog walking site.

As soon as I arrived I got to mug some Border Terriers.

Every dog I met was in a state of happiness, which got infectious. I started tuck-butt-running almost immediately. Then I spotted this sand dune...
... which got me charging around...

...and charging around some more.

Tomorrow I'll post some videos of this but I don't want you to get too bored in one day!

We were still a long way from the sea at this point and had a good walk through grassy hollows and grown-over dunes. Then we finally got to the sea.


I spotted some dogs in the distance...

Then went and joined their pack.


As you can see, the clouds were really odd. One half of the sky was blue and the other half dark grey. Gorgeous.

I never ran out of energy. Here I am racing up a dune just so I can race down again.
Incidentally, the Burrows are called Burrows because they are full of rabbits. So I got to stick my nose in hundreds of rabbit holes.

I've made the humans promise to take me there again soon. They readily agreed - apparently they have never seen me so happy.

Once back, they cracked open the bottle of champagne but didn't give me even a single drop. Humph!


Still, they did give me a great present, which I unwrapped by myself:


A Wubba! I was so tired I could barely keep my head up, but I still managed to break one of the squeaks in it fairly soon. Yep, Wubbas are the best!

I hope you all had a great day yesterday too. Hairy Christmas hugs to all of you!

o'er hill and dale

My parents keep saying that they wanted a dog to share their walks but so far, because I'm a young pup, they haven't really taken me on a big one. Last week, though, it was Dad's birthday and a glorious warm sunny day - quite exceptional for this time of year - so off we went.

We went to a village called Lustleigh Cleave on the edge of Dartmoor. It's a very chocolate-box village, and the walk is fantastic. It is five miles, just right for a pup like me, and goes through mossy woodland, over open moorland, and back through more forest. Most of the trip is ideal for me to be off lead.

Here's the start of the woods. It's like a fairy glade, all mossy boulders and dappled light. I went nuts and just ran up and down the hill. My mum was too puffed from going up hill to call me too much.


I was so thrilled to be there I ran ahead further than usual, but I kept coming back when called so that was ok. But when we got to the top, I disappeared for a while. And came back looking troubled. I even barked over my shoulder. So they put me on the lead and continued, and this is what we found:
a wild pony! I was a bit freaked out by this and kept muttering, but we got past ok. Only to meet this young one blocking the path:

How cute is that hairdo?
Dartmoor ponies are quite small and tubby, and by the time we got past a whole herd of them I accepted that they were pretty chilled out. Dad was fretting that they would mug him for the apples in his bag.

Anyway, once past the ponies I was off again leading the way. I match the bracken, don't you think? Hurry up, you two.

We spotted these, and think they are very poisonous. Mum was kneeling in pony poo while taking this shot. Silly mummy.
Back on the lead again. They just don't trust me with livestock. How cute are those calves? They are a breed called Belted Galloway.
Taking a breather. the high moorland of Dartmoor is just visible in the distance.
The return trip through a lovely forest. Mum wanted a photo of me enjoying myself but I just kept turning round and telling her to hurry up. I had no trouble following the path, even though at times it seemed very faint to the humans.
I've realised that I am beautifully camouflaged for autumn. Everywhere was strewn with birch leaves and they were almost as golden as me.
I have to admit I was tired after this walk. In fact, I was tired for a couple of days. Apparently if I had paced myself instead of running up and down the hill for the first mile I would have been much better. But I'm up for this walking malarky any time they offer it. yippeee!

Lydford Gorge

I've been meaning to post these for a while but keep getting sidetracked. This is a walk I went on a couple of weekends ago to a place on the edge of Dartmoor, called Lydford Gorge. It was just so beautiful I had to show you, even if the pics are more scenery than dog.

A lovely trail through the forest

Which winds down to a stream with old copper mines alongside. I could smell the bats in here.

And then I got to swim below a 90 foot waterfall called the White Lady.

The way back was along precarious paths on slippery stone. A lot of the time the humans had to hold on to the handrail and even my feet were unsteady. The river would suddenly gush down through cuts in the rock and over rapids and waterfalls. Dogs definitely not allowed off lead! The roaring noise of the water spooked me a bit.

At one point the river falls into a chamber it has cut which they call the Devils Cauldron. It's like a cave full of roaring water swirling boulders around making a huge noise. Dogs weren't allowed down there and you can see why - this is the way in and the steps are on the top left.

But I really impressed Mum and Dad when they took me on the metal walkway above the Cauldron. The noise is deafening, and I could see through the grille I stood on right down into the waterfall below. I only hesitated once, but then went straight on over. Cool me, huh?