This time Amy came too....

We're so lucky to live in the most beautiful countryside, with so many lovely walks to choose from. I'd been feeling a bit guilty about leaving Amy behind last week when Ben and I went to the bluebell woods above Mill Bay, so decided to take her on a more gentle walk closer to home. This is normally an ordinary, everyday walk talking in the woods behind the village, but now the buttercups are in bloom and instead of sheets of blue we walked through sheets of gold. Well, Ben and I walked and Amy ....

... sort of bumbled along for a bit (wandered lonely as a cloud among a field of golden .. BUTTERCUPS?!) ...

then was clearly overcome by the beauty of the flowers!

We couldn't go through the stile and across the fields as Amy's round body doesn't fit through the gap left for dogs. Ben with his slinky and lithe young frame can wriggle through but Amy ... well .. no!

So we cut across the fields above the new houses. The young cattle came out to look

That's Stokenham in the distance, where Elona lives. But Amy can't walk so far so we didn't go visiting today. Instead we turned back towards the buttercup field

Where Ben as always had the last word!

Tiptoe through the bluebells .....

Last week Ben and I walked through the woods above Mill Bay where there are masses of bluebells in the springtime. I'd been meaning to go there for a little while, but there was always something needed doing, and Amy cries most pitifully if we leave her behind although as an old lady she simply can't manage the more energetic walks these days. But ... the butchers found us a most beautiful bone to console her ladyship, and time was running short if I wanted to see the the woods carpeted in blue this year ... so I hardened my heart, loaded Ben into the newf-mobile (aka my car!) and set off on the short drive.

The narrow Devon lanes are at their most beautiful I think at this time of year - Ragged Robin, Cow Parsley, Lords and Ladies, Pennywort, Toadflax - and of course Bluebells - I love the old-fashioned names for our wild flowers.

Up the hill and into the bluebell woods ..... we were only just in time - although the bluebells were past their best, they were still very beautiful.

Hurry up Mum! Lots more to see!

Down towards the lower path. Last time I walked this way was in February. The slope was a sea of mud and I had to hold onto the fence posts to keep from falling. Now they are invisible behind the new young spring growth.

The views open out as we turn onto the lower path, heading back towards Mill Bay in a circle around the edge of the woods. Opposite is North Sands, South Sands and then Salcombe. Deserted now ... but once the school holidays are here it will be quite otherwise!

Ohhhh Mum, my paws are tired and I'm hot!

Now that's more like it!

Let's swim!

It was lovely to have the beach to ourselves - no young children to worry about. Although Ben adores children, those who aren't used to him can (understandably) find him rather alarming as -10 stone of floppily lolloping newf charges happily towards them.

Then home for a nice cup of tea - and for Ben to tell Amy his adventures of the afternoon!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben aged 10 weeks

Ben aged (not quite) two years

Today, as well as St George's Day, a certain young newfie has reached his second birthday! He has been advised that his puppyhood is now officially behind him and he must now behave like a mature and sensible dog. I realised he hadn't been listening when I found myself chasing my slipper (firmly grasped in his slobbery jaws) round and round the garden this morning.

The primrose is the county flower for Devon - there are loads this year!

Whilst running around the garden in pursuit of my slipper I noticed several things. Firstly, that my exposed right sock was becoming increasingly soggy. Secondly, how beautiful the garden is looking at present (weeds and all!) and thirdly, what a wonderful den Ben has made for himself next to the compost bins!

We chased past the old bird bath (three times!)

At the top of the garden by the overgrown fig tree where we sling the hammock in the summer, the hedges are very wide, probably approaching eight foot - and very dense. I noticed a tunnel had appeared at the base and peering inside realised that a beautiful snug hollow had been carefully created by the pressure of a newfie body pressing against the tangle of branches. I realised that it was the handiwork of one particular newfie as there were tufts of black fur on a couple of the twigs and a rather neglected looking stuffed bear with only one eye was lying on the floor. Also, Ben is rather inquisitive and so had carefully crafted a window in one side of the den to enable observation of Nick and Julie's activities in their vegetable garden next door!

Ben's Den

He is also very creative in teasing Amy - a favourite trick being to delay eating a treat until she's consumed her own, then chewing it very slowly in front of her. This is occasionally varied by leaving the delicious item just out of her reach, then pouncing and snatching it away when she makes a move towards it. But she loves him just the same!!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Spring has sprung!

Spring has sprung and the fishermen are on the beaches! Now I've nothing against fisherfolk as people, but they do have one or two very antisocial habits - the worst of which is leaving discarded hooks, bits of line and holey nets behind them when they go home. Not only is this bad for the wildlife, but it's horrible for dogs too - a friend's dog died when a discarded fish hook became lodged in her throat, and I always worry when we're on the Start Bay beaches as this is where the fishermen tend to congregate.

But .... Ben took revenge last week - he ambled up to one unlucky fisherman and casually cocked his leg - and a fishing rod on a tripod was liberally sprinkled! Well, how is an innocent young Newfie supposed to know the difference between tripod and rock/tree/other suitable area to cock his leg?

I've been working really hard on new designs for the summer season and the fish above are destined to appear on vintage linen/ticking totes - I think they'll look great. I'm booked to do craft shows at various locations through the summer months and so I need lots of stock. My shelves are always full at this time of year, but hopefully by the last show in October I'll be panicking because I've run out of stock!!

One swallow ....

Yesterday I saw the first swallow of spring on our telephone wire. One swallow might not a summer make, but surely now we can hope that summer isn't too far away. I love to watch their aerobatics over and around the house - and last summer in the house - one besotted pair swooped low through the back door then up to the top of the house where they left just as swiftly through an open bedroom window.

I'd rather have swallows indoors than our bats. I'm very pleased that they've decided to call our attic and cellar home, but don't like it when they come into the house proper, it's so difficult to send them outside again. I usually just open the window and close the door of the room they've invaded and hope they find their own way out by morning.

All this rain and then warm weather has brought the garden on - it's so rampantly fertile you can almost see and hear it growing. My runner beans are already 12" tall and the borders have recovered well from the puppy's excavations during the colder months. Trouble is, we now see the rise of the super-slug. Armed with bionic rasping jaws unless checked these creatures munch their way through my wisteria, hollyhocks, beans and anything else they choose to devour. I do try to garden organically, but must admit that I resort to slug pellets at this time of year, though choose the ones that are harmless to other wildlife.

Indoors is just as busy. As well as preparing for craft shows, I have realised that the stronger sunlight is revealing areas that, from the look of them, have not been properly cleaned since last summer! Sand and dog fur are the main problems, together with liberal sprinklings of mud where the dogs shake after coming in from outside. Alas, as fast as I clean, the problem recurs. I'm sure those pesky canines are deliberately trying to recreate some of their favourite outdoor places indoors. Certainly the floor resembled Lannacombe beach this morning. Clearly they enjoyed romping across the sand so much yesterday they decided to bring the beach home with them too. Batson Creek later today I think .... but back to the sewing for now.

Spring is here to stay!

Walking up to the woods yesterday I realised that spring has really arrived - no cold snap or arctic blast can put it back into its box now - it's well and truly here. Although there was a frost on Wednesday night, by 8.30 am it had disappeared from all but the deepest shade, and the sunshine was hot on my shoulders. Amy huffed and puffed along like a black furry steam train. She is not fond of the warmer months as a combination of thick black fur and a round body does not make for comfort when the days grow hotter. Her favourite place to snooze is in the old stone courtyard at the back of the house where the sun barely reaches even in the highest dog days of summer.

Today we walked down to Batson Creek. We haven't been this way for a while and I was struck by the sheets of acid yellow rape with its distinctive smell. I don't mind it, I think it looks like sunshine fallen to the ground on even the gloomiest days, though I know many people think it's too bright and alien in our mellow English landscape. Luckily the swans weren't around today and we spent a long time at the creek. I found some lovely broken pieces of old blue and white china half buried in the mud, while Ben and Amy found some less lovely smelly seaweed and unidentifiable slimy objects by rootling around where the trees overhang the water.

I shall try to paint the china pieces, I love the combination of blue and white, so classic and timeless. I've just finished painting two Bernese Mountain Dog puppies for friends in the village, so the china will be a different challenge, quite different to my usual subjects.

I've been re-reading Vita Sackville-West's epic poems, "The Land" and "The Garden". Although I find some parts very heavy, others really sing to me as she is so in tune with nature and the seasons. As our gardens and hedgerows burst into life, I particularly enjoy these few lines ....

" .... But for this summer's quick delight
Sow marigold, and sow the bright
Frail poppy that with noonday dies
But wakens to a fresh surprise;
Along the pathway stones be set
Sweet Alysson and mignonette,
That when the full midsummer's come
On scented clumps the bees may hum,
Golden Italians, and the wild
Black bumble-bee alike beguiled:
And lovers who have never kissed
May sow the cloudy Love-in-Mist."

Great planting plan, beautiful evocative words .... spring is really here now!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Oh, it's so cold outside. Brilliant sunshine, but the wind is so penetrating, even through the multiple layers of t shirt, jumper, fleece, scarf etc etc that I donned to take the dogs out this morning.

Have been re-reading my rather old and tatty copy of a"The Magic Apple Tree: A Country Year" by Susan Hill - one of my all time favourite books as it reminds me so much of my countryside childhood. Anyway, I found myself in complete agreement with one particular paragraph ...

"They said as I grew older .. I would begin to shift my affections towards spring, when all is looking forward, all is blossoming and greening and sprouting up. But I do not do so. Spring so often promises what in the end it never pays, spring can cheat and lie and disappoint. You can sit at the window and wait for spring many a weary day."

It is so much like that at the moment, last week it felt as though spring had really arrived, but now winter has us in its icy grip again. And to add insult to injury Rosie (gap-year in Australia daughter) emailed me to let me know it's 40 degrees in Melbourne, and far too hot to do anything. I don't want 40, but 14 degrees would be nice!

Happy Easter everyone!

Tomorrow Kelly is coming ...

Tomorrow Kelly is coming. Kelly is our dog groomer and her arrival is anticipated with some trepidation by my two dishevelled canines. We have been watching Crufts and although it is clear to Ben and Amy that to be sandy, muddy and generally unkempt is a much cooler look for newfies, than to be shiny and well-groomed, I regret to say that I disagree. So Kelly is coming to sort them out.

At this point I hasten to say that I do groom them both, but Amy in particular has an extremely thick and fuzzy coat and grooming her is like painting the Forth Bridge - we start at the nose on Monday and by Saturday, in 20 minute increments, have reached her rather substantial behind. Kelly visits every 3 months, and December was Ben's first session with her. As you will see from the photo, he was not entirely comfortable with the experience!!

We have had brilliant sunshine for most of the day here, with the odd heavy shower, and it's hard to believe that there is a dreadful storm on the way. I spent some time this afternoon dead-heading the hydrangeas. Last summer they were especially beautiful and I still have many dried flowerheads in bowls around the house. They even formed my Christmas wreath on the front door - with the addition of a little gold spray and a big red raffia bow. But the heads in the garden are dry and skeletonised now, and I love taking them off in the spring to reveal the bright fresh growth beneath. Hopefully the predicted gales won't cause too much damage and the sun will return soon to shine upon my beautifully groomed newfies!

Rhubarb and bones

What a busy week! It started quietly enough with the Sunday papers and a bacon butty, and yoga on Monday as usual. We're all becoming quite bendy and stretchy now, but none of us can match the suppleness and strength of our instructor who can stand on a hand with his legs twisted into a very strange knot. Just a show-off is what we say!

Later that day my next-door neighbour brought me some early rhubarb. What a wonderful colour, a sort of glowing strawberry pink, contrasting wonderfully with the deep green leaves. It was so kind of her, I am one of those unfortunates who cannot grow rhubarb. Yes, I know it's supposed to be easy. Just chuck it in and let it grow, they say, you'll have trouble keeping it in check. Yeah, right. A few weedy bendy twig-like stalks are all I get. And that's if it's managed to stay alive. So a lovely rhubarb crumble and custard at teatime courtesy of Julie. Yum!!

Meanwhile, sewing furiously and working on the picture above. This is my DevonBear, called Jack. I'm hoping to have a large version custom-made for my stand in the summer. Some friends have donated an old-fashioned life belt for him to sit in and so all I need now is the bear. Does anyone out there make bears?

The same friends who donated the lifebelt run the Canvas Factory in Dartmouth. Some time ago I commissioned some panniers for Ben from them and this week they rang to say they were finished. Wow! Is all I could say. They fit like a dream and he swaggers along in them, having taken to them instantly. Still, he's used to wearing a harness for his water work. He can't carry anything very much yet as he's still only 10 months old, but I'm getting him used to light weights.

We walked up to the village butcher's shop where they carefully placed a bone in each bag for him to take home. He graciously accepted tributes and praise from everyone we met on the way home and now believes he is a superstar. As Amy also believes she is a superstar, they are both becoming very hard to live with!! I'll try to take a photo of him in his panniers if anyone's interested. Apparently once newfies are fully grown at about 18 months - 2 years they can carry up to a stone in weight - could be useful for picnics and beer next summer!

Hare today ....

Up at Blackdown Rings today I was lucky enough to see a hare in the pasture beneath the fort. Although I remained still for a long time, I didn't see its mate, and eventually it lolloped away. I first saw a hare on a smokey autumn day in Warwickshire when I was probably about 12 or 13. The cornfields had been cut and the hare rose up from the stubble only a few yards in front of me. Until then I had believed that hares were simply rabbits with longer ears, but was instantly struck by how powerful and angular this creature was - not cuddly in the slightest, but all muscle and poised for action.

Walking around the Iron Age ditches I noticed the gorse is in full flower and the resident robin seemed almost to be bursting with song. I have hung my special "dog-fur station" in the garden now. It's simply a wire coil stuffed with the fluff I groom out of my two hairy hounds. The birds take it for their nests - I'm sure it will make a lovely soft bed for their newly hatched youngsters.

The garden is so colourful, it's hard to believe it's only February. There are small clumps of crocus, narcissi, hellebores of varied hue and bright pink camellias. The roses are showing new growth too, particularly the far too vigorous pink climber that rambles all over the log store roof and drops its petals on our heads all through June.

I think I must have the two naughtiest newfies in the whole of Devon. I am seriously considering tying their legs together so they cannot misbehave any more.

We've been having glorious spring weather here and today I decided to take the dogs down to Batson Creek as it's a great place to visit on a falling tide. Loads of shells to collect and mud to wallow in (dogs, not me!) We walked down the old green lane, and saw a Bulfinch there for the first time, high up in a hawthorn tree - my attention was caught by his distinctive song and it took me a while to spot him. Didn't see his mate, though there were a pair of robins busy along the hedge who scolded us vigorously as we passed by.

Down at the creek the tide was falling and there were three swans taking it easy at the water's edge. Then suddenly they spotted two huge bear-like creatures hurtling down the mud slope towards them closely followed by a madly gesticulating human. Luckily the tide was a fair way out and it was about 150 yards to the water's edge which gave the swans plenty of time to evacuate to the centre of the creek. There they sailed serenely considering themselves safely out of reach of the dogs. Ha! Amy and Ben had other ideas - they hurled themselves into the water and began to swim. Of course the swans simply moved out of the way - but the dogs kept going - nearly across the creek and into Salcombe, probably about 400 yds. You could sense the swans' puzzlement - otters? No, too big. Seals? No, too small and not likely in this creek. Bears? Surely there aren't any bears in Devon.

Eventually the dogs gave up and began the long swim back against the tide. I was rather worried as Amy is crippled (she seemed to have forgotten this) and Ben is still very young. Amusingly, the swans then followed them back to shore, seemingly intrigued by the whole affair and showing no signs of fear whatsoever. The dogs finally emerged very wet, smelly and pleased with themselves while the swans cruised away again. As I said at the beginning ... legs tied together should stop their nonsense. But at least they are sleeping now....