A tranquil moment

As the year draws to a close and we look forward to good things in 2022, I want all my friends to pause for a few moments, and join me in the tranquil environment of the Caledonian pine forest of Glen Tanar. 

As you contemplate the scene below (clicking on the picture to enlarge it would be a good idea), imagine your feet crunching on the ice-crisp undergrowth, the faint rays of the winter sun kissing your cheeks, and the fresh, clean aroma of the Scots pines wafting into your nostrils as you listen to the burbling of the whisky-coloured river rushing down the glen.

Happy Nature Friday! 

My kind of a day

So our wee poodle guest Ella woke me up early on Christmas morning and wanted to know what we'd be doing that day. 

To be honest, I had no idea. But shortly after, when we were all up and about, I observed Gail filling the vacuum flask with coffee, tucking a few treats (dog and human) into her daypack along with her Bernie Sanders style mittens, and I whispered to Ella that I thought we might be going for a nice long walk and a picnic somewhere.

Soon we two dogs were bundled into the back of the car and were heading inland towards Aboyne. Ella, who has quite a good brain underneath all that adorable fluff, confided in me her worries that Gail had not packed enough food for the three of us, and this remained a concern until an hour later we arrived at the Glen Tanar car park.

There we found our friends M and J, and their friend K. To my great relief I saw that M had come equipped with all the makings of a feast, and these were being placed in the humans' various backpacks for, one presumed, later consumption. 

Suitably equipped, we set off up the glen, Ella a bit nervous at first but soon getting into the spirit of things. 

At -2ºC when we left the car park, it was slippery underfoot/paw, and chilly enough for me to be glad of my Nordic sweater. For brief moments the sun did peep over the sides of the valley. 

After a couple of miles we reached the picnic destination and the humans expressed relief that their favoured spot beneath the bridge had not already been taken. 

That this was a better class of picnic than the sort Gail usually puts together was evident from the moment M laid out a table cloth on the snow-covered stone bench.

I was tied to a nearby tree trunk and given a top quality chew while the humans consumed their turkey sandwiches, tasty nibbles, tiramisu and 1/4 can each of naturally chilled Prosecco. I thought it a bit unfair that Ella was allowed to roam free during the picnic, and wasn't too happy when Gail said "it's because she has better manners than you do Bertie". 

But then I remembered it is the season of goodwill. I decided to accept the situation and sat there quietly as the humans drank a toast to many more Merry Christmases (and I was given another treat...) 

All in all, it was my kind of a Christmas Day. And Gail's too, I believe.

Glen Tanar again at last

Gail finally ran out of excuses.

I'd been itching to return to Glen Tanar, one of my favourite places, for ages, but all summer my dear owner kept thinking up reasons not to go:

"It's a popular destination and will be too busy and the car park full."

"The weather's too hot/cold/windy/wet/foggy."

"My favourite path is closed off due to a male capercaillie 'displaying and holding his ground'"

"You're getting a bit old for such a long walk Bertie."

Well as you can imagine, it was the last statement that really got my goat!

I've been feeling exceptionally lively this week, and I'm pleased to say that Gail noticed (I think it was my bouncing out of bed before 6 a.m. three days in a row).

Come Sunday, the weather was pleasantly mild (around 15ºC) with a refreshing breeze and light cloud, but no rain was forecast. The Glen Tanar Estate website said the paths were all now open, and I reminded Gail that our favourite walk starts at the estate entrance and not the main car park, and this part of Glen Tanar is never busy. And of course I could still walk ten miles, if allowed plenty of time for my pee stops.

And I did. Walk ten miles that is. And we both had a splendid day out together. As you can see from the pictures below.

PS from Gail: Shortly after Bertie's TCC diagnosis last September, a kind friend consoled me by saying "what you have to remember Gail, is that Bertie doesn't know he's got cancer". Seeing him happily scampering around the beautiful Caledonian pine woods of Glen Tanar yesterday, I remembered her comment and felt thankful. 

Wagging and waiting

Every morning for the past couple of months, Gail has been giving me a new pre-walk treat, a little brown tablet wrapped in grated cheese. I wait patiently while she prepares the treat, tail wagging in anticipation.

It tastes delicious and, gosh, ever since I've been getting these special goodies, I've been feeling quite the frisky young pup again. And Gail seems happier too. She claims she treasures every hour she spends with me, and this might be true up to a point, although I would note it did not stop her going out for a long bike ride with her friends on Saturday and leaving me home alone, all forlorn, for several hours...

However I am pleased to report that, after what I imagine was a sleepless night wracked with guilt* Gail took me out on Sunday to join her friends M and J, and we all enjoyed some quality time together, rambling around the sheltered lower reaches of Glen Tanar.

*Gail says: I think Bertie is referring here to what I experienced as eight solid hours of untroubled slumber.

What they don't tell you about summer in Scotland....

On Wednesday morning, normally an office day for Gail, I was surprised to see her loading up her backpack with a picnic lunch, flask of coffee, waterproof clothes, insect repellent etc. and surmised that she had the day off and was going to take me for a nice walk.

So initially I was disappointed to learn she was meeting some other volunteers in Glen Tanar, and together they would be conducting something called a 'habitat survey' as part of a wildflower conservation project for Plantlife Scotland, and that "dogs are not invited".

Disappointment turned to relief when she later showed me the photos of the volunteers er, 'enjoying' their lunch break in the company of a few million members of Scotland's most prolific and notorious form of wildlife, Culicoides impunctatus, aka the Highland midge.

Apparently if you walk at more than 4 mph the Highland Midge cannot keep pace.

But for once, I was not unhappy to have been left at home.

Happy Nature Friday friends!

It wasn't our finest hour...

On Sunday after lunch, once the rain clouds finally cleared, Gail decided we'd go and explore new territory - footpaths across the farmland north of Glen Tanar.

I will say one thing for my owner. She has a pretty good sense of direction and excellent map reading skills. Possibly, she says, because when she was little, no-one ever suggested to her that these were things girls could not do well.

However, on occasion, the route finding can still go pear-shaped.

Sunday was just such an occasion.

We were not far into the walk when the intended track disappeared and I was being carried across a stone wall capped with a barbed wire fence and into a field of sheep.

We met a lady and an exuberant Labrador with a stick clamped between his jaws. The stick (actually half a small tree) became entangled in my lead while the Lab's owner was pointing across the field and telling Gail that the route over the hill to Glen Tanar was straightforward to find and the going was easy.

Neither of these statements proved true.

Confronted with a bog and then a slope covered in gorse (a coconut-scented but notoriously prickly shrub common in these parts) Gail decided to press on regardless.

If I am looking reproachful in the next photo it is because Gail has just forced her way through particularly dense thicket of gorse, carrying me under one arm (and dropping me more than once) while fending off the thorns with the free hand.

Eventually we made it to a proper track and from thereon in it was plain sailing. 

The sun came out and Gail switched the phone camera to video mode. Please be aware that the wee film below gives a wholly misleading impression of our afternoon's exertions. But why not come for a good brisk walk with me anyway?

And do try to keep up!

An excellent Brexit decision...

Does your human ever tease you in a manner that is SO TOTALLY NOT FUNNY?

Mine does.

For example, on Sunday morning after breakfast, Gail said this to me:

"You know what Bertie? There are some very important Brexit decisions being debated in Parliament this week. It is a matter of great national importance, so I suggest that, instead of our usual Sunday outing, it would be a good idea if we stayed indoors and spent all day reading all the papers and watching our 'commentariat' pontificating on TV about the likely outcomes of Tuesday's vote at Westminster. What do you think Bertie?"

Gail watched my fuzzy little face fall as fast as the pound sterling will in the event of "No Deal", then laughed and said:

"Only kidding Bertie. I think a brisk walk in Glen Tanar is just the pick-me-up we need at this time of political turmoil."

So we put aside the newspaper and headed to Glen Tanar, and this turned out to be an excellent decision.

Although I admit I was a tiny bit miffed to find out that some Capercaillie has apparently taken up residence in my favourite part of the forest and put up a 'do not enter' sign.

So anyway, we diverted to a path across farmland, where Gail insisted on stopping to admire four handsome horses and a procession of very orderly sheep.

All in all, so much better than thinking about Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg...

Birthday celebration, as it happened

Sunday, 25 November 2018.

So Gail, it has come to my attention that today is your 60th birthday. Happy Birthday Gail! That is really quite old in human years, isn't it? I guess we will be going shopping today for a Zimmer frame and some incontinence pads. Provided you can remember where you have put your car keys of course...

Gail that is not nice language at all!

Oh, so the birthday plan is in fact to go to Glen Tanar for a walk with your friends, followed by tea and cake at the 'Black Faced Sheep' cafe in Aboyne. Well that doesn't sound too bad. And for the first time this week it is not actually raining. OK, so let's get ready.

I'd better go and wake up our house guests, Mark and YAM-Aunty.

Well, we have quite a big group assembled here at the Braeloine car park. I am so glad that wee Rosie Westie is joining us. Doesn't she smell nice!  I had been worried I would be lacking canine company when you told me how Jasper's owner got his dates confused and turned up in Glen Tanar yesterday...

So come on, let's get going. Now Gail, you are sure you'll manage the five miles aren't you? You are not as young as you used to be you know. At least the route is fairly flat, and there will be opportunities for rest breaks. And Praise the Lord it is still not raining!

Gosh those date slices you baked for everyone do look yummy. Where's mine? Oh, they're NFD*. Well, the 'doggy mince pie' YAM-Aunty bought for me will do nicely then, thank you very much.

Come on guys, chop chop! That's enough admiring the view. We need to move on.

Mark is taking a lot of photos, despite the rather dull weather. And I must say the results are pretty good.

OK, now we're on the home straight. Hurry up everyone, it's time for tea!

So we all made it safely back to the car park on schedule. Well done team! You really were quite well behaved (for humans). Now onwards to the 'Black Faced Sheep'.

WHAT? Dogs are not allowed in the tea room!!  Gail that is Very Bad Planning. Although, to be honest, I am quite ready for a wee snooze in the back of the car. I can look at Mark's photos later I guess.

Gosh it does look like there were some intense conversations going on in there. Please please please tell me no-one was discussing Brexit...

So did you enjoy your 60th birthday Gail? You did? I'm glad. It was nice that so many of your friends were prepared to brave the elements. And I gather that several of them are even older than you are. Perhaps there's hope yet....

*NFD = Not For Dogs

A big thank you to Mark and Max for all their lovely photos.