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Mucky paws in Bitts Park, Carlisle

How many times can we start a blog entry by saying it is raining again?  We make a quick dash today, between the showers,  to Bitts Park so that we can get out and stretch our paws.

Finding a car parking space was difficult for dad as something must be going on at the nearby Sheepmount sports complex. Interesting and just an aside, the Sheepmount description from the link above says that the site has two cricket pitches and a cycle track, where?

The number of times we have visited the area and we have never seen anyone playing cricket or getting on their bikes except on the public paths through the park.

Our walk

Back to our walk and after parking the car and avoiding slipping in the muddy grass we finally got onto long leads and a scamper about.

In a previous update we mentioned that areas of Carlisle had been flooded in the recent storms well it looks like the new moat by the side of Carlisle Castle has now vanished.

Silt and mucky puddles line the path and it wasn’t long before the tidemark around our legs became visible.

Mum suggested that we should get some wellington boots.

We meet biscuit

Victoria Park, next door and along the same path, had not dried out and the calm duckpond reflected the sky like a mirror.

Previous visits to this park had revealed a number of burrows in the plant borders possibly made by rabbits or maybe a badger or two.

Mum and dad wondered if they had found new homes or had possibly drowned as the waters rose.

Bounding along, stick in mouth, came biscuit. Straight past us and into the pond he ran loving every minute of his walk.

We have met biscuit a number of times on our walk around the park and her human. Charlie gets fussed over as a fellow nutter and did make a bit of a collection of paw prints on his trousers, for which he can only say sorry.

Blossom

Many of the plants in the park have now hunkered down for the winter after loosing leaves and shedding flowers. However, some love this time of year including a winter flowering cherry.

Bright white flowers with pinkish centres contrast brilliantly against the dark grey sky and brown tree trunks.

Nearby, spreading scent across a wide area is a viburnum. Small white flowers dispense a perfume in to the cool breeze similar to jasmine.

One of the casualties of the flooding is a very tall willow tree which now has its roots above ground.

Willlow usually enjoy their feet in damp soil but the soft ground has given way allowing this tree to fallover.

Maybe the grounds staff will be able to replant it once the waters go away but more than likely it will be turned into chippings.

Let’s hope a new tree is planted in it’s place.

We return home and entering the house it becomes apparent that we may have picked up quite a bit of mud and debris from our walk.

The entrance hall floor quickly becomes covered with small mucky paw prints and as is so much the procedure these days, we go straight to the bathroom.

Yipee not a full bath, but a washing of our legs and tummies to remove the grit and dirt.  I think a few hours infront of the warm fire is needed now to dry off and chill. It is a weekend after all!

Until next time

Buter and Charlie

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