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Flowers, updates and floating humans

With the dry weather continuing, we returned to Rickerby Park in Carlisle but this time headed back towards Eden Bridge.

It seemed that many dogs were taking their humans for a walk along the riverbank and we said hello to them in our customary way.

We came upon our first floating humans this morning, and I have to say they looked rather funny. 

They were in the river, in front of the Sands Centre, and they had a single brightly coloured leg which was stuck out in front of them.  

They bobbed around on the water using their arms to waggle a stick firstly to the left, then the right as they attempted to swim upstream.

Don’t they know that it is much easier to swim with the flow of water and that sticks are for fetching!

Our walk continued up to Eden Bridge where we turned right and climbed the small bank up to the ornate gardens.

Eden Bridge Gardens, or known locally as the Chinese Gardens, are actually Italian inspired and are undergoing a large amount of restoration work.

A scheme, funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund, started in October 2008 and will result in the gardens returning to their former glory.

Behind the formal garden, with the covered seating area, is a pond and embankment.

This area has all been cleared of dead shrubs and overgrowth and is allowing light back down to soil level with the result that long forgotten plants can now flourish.

Charlie inspected the crocus, daffodils and iris from his vantage point overlooking Scotland Road, whilst I took a bit of a rest on some bark chippings nearby.

You can read more about the gardens over at Heritage and History  where my mum writes regularly about the restoration work.

Leaving the park and traveling into town across then under Eden Bridge, we noticed the path, which had been previously closed for flood defence work, had reopened.

This path had been closed since August as work to create a flood barrier was carried out.  We have reported many times on this work and it was great to see all the metal grills have been removed and we can take a close inspection of the work.

Charlie, as always, was out in front and was impressed with the finished re-aligned  subway entrance.

White capped walls and soil embankments give the whole project a natural feeling and Buster and I agree that it is much improved from the old main road crossing point.  

Charlie inspected the new steps and the ramp and took a good look at the pristine white coping stones wondering how long it would be before some human came along with a marker pen or a spray can and made their mark.

Now we just wait for the underpass to be cleaned up and improved so it looks as professional as this new installation.

Work continues on the flood defences elsewhere in the city with the builders recently moving in to an area to the rear of the Sands Centre.

Our circular route took us next in to Victoria Park and we were greeted with a path lined with colour.

Thousands of crocus flowers had erupted since our last visit and now provided the park with a carpet of purple, white and yellow flowers.

Dad took the chance to take many photographs, as these little fragile signs of spring only last a few days.

Our walk was almost at an end as we returned back into Rickerby Park but not before we noticed a new gate had been installed.

We mentioned a few weeks ago that a new sculpture had appeared in the park, well these new gates are part of the same project.

Being a bit wider than the old gates allows for buggies to get through a little easier for athletic dogs like Charlie to get underneath.

 

That is all for now.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

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The water is so cold …

Yipee it has been fine and reasonably dry for the last few days and we have been to the park by the River Eden.

We had guests visiting the last few days so Charlie and I have been at home looking after things whilst they have been out and about with mum and dad.  So today was our turn to get some fresh air and some fun.

Rickerby Park runs along the side of the River Eden in Carlisle and is the site for the Cumberland Show during the summer.

A few proper paths cross the land but the main walks are on the grass. This means that it has to be reasonably dry to come here or we get covered in mud.

After parking the car we excitedly started to sniff around and get our bearings.  We have been here a number of times and every time it is good fun.

I take my time on walks these days, as my hip gives me a bit of a problem at times, so walking on the softer ground is ideal.  

Sniffs were a plenty today and Charlie has started to take notice of them after I showed him where to find them.  He is a mad hatter and often just goes off with his nose to the ground with a scent maybe of rabbits or the odd mouse.

We came upon a tree stump with an old wooden pallet propped up against it.  

It looked like it had been left here from when the river had overflowed.

Maybe the stump had travelled miles downstream on it’s journey to the sea.

Mum wondered about this for a while and the stories the stump maybe able to tell.  How old was the tree before it fell into the river and what things may it have seen?

River weeds were tangled in and around the slats of the pallet.  This gave it a ghostly feel like spiders webs around long forgotten and unused garden gate.

The hard frosts we had over winter seem to have caused an eruption in the number of snowdrops this year.

We came across this clump of them standing proud amongst others forming a carpet of white.

 

Key to our visit was the paddle  in the river.  

Charlie was ready for a good drink, so we headed for the water and straight in.  A quick woof  as the cold hit our tummies and then out with the licker and a water refill.

The water was so cold, but nice and fresh.

We didn’t stay long as our paws started to get cold and tingly.

Our walk continued around the park where we met a man who told mum that the trees in the park were arranged like famous battles.  Personally we couldn’t see it ,as they all looked like sniffing posts to us.  But if you know more, then let us know via the comments box below.

Until next time,

Buster and Charlie.

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Charlie gets a haircut …

Mum finally flipped today and after weeks of drying us,  she decided we needed a haircut.

Not just any trim around our feet but the full on No.2 followed by a bath.

Usually we get away with a short trim but mum had purchased a professional fluff trimmer with plastic attachments.

Once we had become used to the noise, it was like a loud bee from the garden, we settled down and started to get cold.

The thick coats we had taken all winter to grow started to be removed, a strip at a time.  Just like a farmer ploughing a field, mum worked the gadget up and down our coats.

Starting on our backs she worked her way down our sides then onto our tummies.

It was here that we got the giggles.  The shears tickled, this is what mum called it, and we started to lark about. 

Now tickling is something new and took a while to work out what the sensation was. Mum kept saying everything was alright but I saw what it was doing to my coat and I was a bit unsure.

After a break for a few minutes, to go to the garden and for mum to tidy up a little , she started on our legs.  We thought the giggles were bad on our tummies well, the buzzing on our legs just made us react like we were jumping on hot coals.

Every time mum put the trimmer near our paws we just had to lift our legs.  It was great fun.

Fluff went everywhere, and the hoover monster was brought out to help clean up.  

Mum had thin hairs all over her top and trousers.  We had our revenge as these itched, and itched, and itched until she eventually went for a shower and got tidied up.

A bath soon followed for us, along with a long lie down in front of the fire to dry off.

Mum says that she is going to use our fluff for the birds.  

We will let you know next time what she actually does with it.

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Thick snow up to our tummies…

Big excitement this morning as we ventured into the garden for our morning constitutional as all our sniffs had disappeared under a blanket of white stuff.

Charlie chased the floaty flakes trying to grab them on his tongue whilst I tried to talk to it with a few well directed woofs.

The flakes made no sound as they came to earth in the garden, unlike the yellow and black floaty things in the summer that buzz.

As the aliens invaded our garden, they seemed to gather together and form a cold wet barrier on the ground hiding all our sniffs.

The leaves on the trees got covered, the fence and even mums greenhouse, all white.  

Mum called the stuff snow and it was great fun to play in.

Our paws got cold and it stuck to our legs.

When we came inside we left soggy footprints and the snow vanished leaving something like we find in our water bowl.

The snow was so deep in places around the garden that it reached our tummies and it seemed like our legs just vanished.

As we moved around the garden we left paw prints in the snow. This was great fun as we could create paths and see where we had been. 

Charlie noticed that if he snuffled in the snow and had a good sniff , his nose reappeared all white with snow.

 He played a game trying to see how much he could balance on the end of his nose before it melted.

Here are a few other friends that have been out in the snow today.

Simba at PopDogBlog enjoying the snow recently
Snow Dogs in south-east England

and spare a thought for the rescue dogs who go out onto the fells in all weathers.

Thats all for now.  Here is a gallery of the day

Buster and Charlie