Wildlife walks

I know we live in the country and not in town, but goodness the amount of wildlife we have seen over the last couple of days has surprised me.
Last week when we were out for a walk with Dad after work, we had a great view of an owl sweeping over the field in front of us - Dad said he was looking for his dinner.  Then to top off the evening, we had another hedgehog in the garden.  This one was much smaller than the one we had a few weeks ago.  Dad managed to catch him and took him down to the field in the village to let him go.

Yesterday we all went out together for a big walk which took us along the road than runs behind our village for a bit and then across the fields to walk a big circle.  As we were walking along the road, what we think were two weasels (they moved so quickly it was hard to tell) appeared in front of us.  One ran right across our path to the other side of the road!  Both Murphy and I were very excited by all this and spent quite a while hunting for the second one which had ducked back into the hedge when it saw us.

Later when we were in the field Dad let me off my lead for a run around.

I found a hare which took off across the field with me in hot pursuit.  OK, so I know I was a bit naughty and didn't stop when I was called, but it was so exciting!

I followed him into a field of sweetcorn ...

 .. which as you can see was really dense.  Mum stood at the edge of the field calling and whistling me to come back.  And, after a few minutes, I did!

I think she must have thought she had lost me because she was really pleased to see me and gave me a big hug.  Actually, I was quite pleased she kept calling me because I couldn't see very much in there, so she helped me find my way out!

Mum's day out

Mum had a day out without us yesterday.  Dad said it was as a reward for having done all the washing from our holiday, but I think she had it planned for a while.

She went to London to visit the Parliamentary Archives which all live in Victoria Tower (I have a human cousin called Victoria, but I don't think this is anything to do with her!).  It all looks very impressive

and even more so from the inside

This is the view from an 8th floor window which is at the top of the second set of windows in the photo above.  Not sure how Mum managed to take this as she is a bit scared of heights, but I think she did quite well.

As well as the view, she saw lots of old documents and went into a big room with loads of rolls of paper called the Act Room - just think of the fun a puppy could have in here ... you could make quite a mess.

Of course, never one to miss a touristy opportunity, she managed to get this photo on her way back to the station

How boring must that job be .. just standing there looking smart all day!

I should also add that Murphy and I had a very nice 'boys day' at home with Dad.  We had a trip into town at lunch time and a nice walk across the fields when he finished work. 

New Trick

Am I a clever boy or am I a cheeky boy?  That's the dilemma Mum has and she can't make up her mind, but I think she'll decide that I'm a bit of both!

What have I done?  Well, I've taught myself how to lift the lid on the bin that holds our biscuit and when it's really full (like now) I can help myself!  How clever is that??

Thief!

One thing I'm not so sure about though. Mum said I stole so much biscuit today when she was busy drying Murphy after our very wet walk, that I won't be getting hardly any dinner tonight.  I'll have to be sneakier in the future and not let her catch me in the act!

Home

We had a lovely two weeks away on holiday, but yesterday we had to pack up the caravan and head home, but not before Murphy and I had made sure any remaining biscuits and treats were packed well before we left.

After we got home, I was kept very busy checking out the garden and the house to be sure everything was where I left it.  I had a great holiday, but I have to admit it is nice to have a house and garden to charge about in again, and Murphy certainly seemed to enjoy his big roll and whisker scratch in the hall after dinner!

The Cotswolds

So, we moved from Devon on Tuesday morning (Mum wasn't sad to see the back of the really narrow roads) and arrived at our new site near Burford later in the day.  We have been here before - we stayed here last year for a full week, but this time it was just for a few days.  I remember being here because the site is across the road from the Cotswold Wildlife Park and you can hear the lions and monkeys making loads of noise in a morning.

On Wednesday we went for a lovely walk on the Sherborne Estate which is just a few miles away from the site. 

Catching a quick rest mid walk

In the afternoon we went to Minster Lovell which is a ruin of a house built alongside the river Windrush.  It was all very pretty.

On Thursday morning Mum and Dad went to a falconry centre and watched some of the birds flying.

Thumper is an Eagle Owl - here he is sitting on the end of bench quite close to Mum.

Gina is a Tawny Eagle and still learning her flying routine

Scruffy is a Gyr Falcon

In the afternoon we went for a walk around the Batsford Arboretum which was next door to the falconry centre and a lovely peaceful place for a stroll.



Murphy enjoying himself at Batsford - what a big grin!

 

        My final pose of the holiday







And finally dear reader, this is what a very happy and tired Welshie looks like at the end of his holiday ...