With the ground frozen after cold overnight temperatures, it was decided that we could return to Rickerby Park in Carlisle and not get too muddy.  This was good news as we were keen to investigate the new stone circle.

The willow is growing up really tall on the riverbank

The park makes up part of the Carlisle flood plain and as such can be very soft under our paws.  For this reason we avoid the area during much of the winter.

It would appear that many other people thought just like us yesterday, as the park was very busy.

The late morning sunshine combined with the near cloudless sky, to produce some very long shadows. As we walked along we often saw our shadows creep out in front of us making us jump.

Just beyond the metal bridge to the golf club, the Willow trees planted into the crumbling River Eden riverbank are growing fast.  Some must stand 4m or so tall.

We saw these as little saplings back in June 2009 and reported on them in this post

The thin wooden wands spear into the sky, almost invisible against the glare from the bright sunshine.

Sand Martins

Concerns are being raised about the local sand martin colonies who reportedly nest within the riverbanks in this area.

The Friends of Rickerby Park, who oversee the park, are to see if the sand martins are being affected by the new trees and what can be done to limit the impact of the willow tree growth.

The new stone circle in Carlisle

According to the RSPB these small birds have Amber Status, indicating that their numbers are in decline or that the species is of concern to conservation organisations.

Eden river rock

With Charlie constantly pulling to our right, as he wanted a paddle in the River Eden, it was a relief when we finally we arrived at the Linstock end of the park and the new stone circle.

Set about 40m from the river bank and not far from the much improved car park at this end of the site the six upright stones make a bold, hard statement in contrast to the soft living trees nearby.

Looking at the muddy ring around the flattened stone at the centre of the circle, it would appear that the site is well visited.

Each rock can be found in the catchment area of the River Eden.

Kirkstone Slate, Penrith Red Sandstone, Millstone Grit, two different types of Shap Granite and two pieces of Shap Fell Limestone make up the artwork.

Each of the pieces of stone has a history of its geology engraved into it.

The diameter of the circle is about 7m.

The idea behind the stone information henge came from a study done in 2004 by the Eden Rivers Trust. They found that more needed to be done to explain the local heritage and environment.

Photographs taken and sniffs investigated we continued on our walk around the park and back towards the car.  You can see some of out images in the gallery below.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie.

Carlisle Stone circle Gallery – click a picture for a larger image

Let us first start with wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and hope they can get their lickers on some fantastic Christmas food.

Happy Christmas - now what should I write?

What a change in a year with the weather.  Last year you may remember we were in the grip of that nasty cold spell.  Today it is 10deg C outside, damp and windy.

I don’t think we will be going far for our walk today.

Christmas gifts

Our day started with a bit of a sleep in, all cozy and warm snuggled up in our beds.

Once the fire was lit in the lounge we moved from our pits and lay with heat on our backs until our prezzies arrived.

Chews, chews and a few more chews were unwrapped and our sniffers soon became tuned into the familiar sniffs.

Our favourite chew so far is a turkey flavoured one about 2cm wide.  They come in packs of two – so we can get one each.

National sprout day

Today is also national sprout day. The day when thousands of the little green vegetables come out from their hiding places in freezers, fridges and drawers to be celebrated on the dinner table.

With a bit of luck we should be able to help mark the day with a few, well chosen and properly peeled, sprouts in our bowls.

Just a quick update today as the big turkey bird has just appeared on the sniffy vision screen on channel 180. We take it in shifts to stand guard ensuring it does not move for about four hours or so.

Then we can have some of it with potato, carrots and all the trimmings including a bit of gravy.

Big licks, and Happy Christmas

Buster and Charlie

We have a new friend called Millie, she is an 11 week old English Cocker Spaniel and lives near our mum’s office in North Cumbria.

Millie has a little bit of white on her front, otherwise she is completely black and very beautiful.

Because she is so small we have not met her yet, but Charlie certainly checks out all the sniffs on mummy when she comes home from work.  It makes his tail wagg, so Millie must smell nice.

Apparently Millie has quite a thing about Weetabix at the moment and just like Charlie, likes sitting on her mum’s knee and having her chin tickled.

You can find more pictures of Millie on her owners Facebook page.

There are many dogs in active service around the world with our armed forces and Air Dog Buster has served his last tour of duty retiring to Lincolnshire with his handler RAF Police Sergeant Michael Barrow.

Buster with his handler RAFP Sergeant Michael Barrow

Buster, an English Springer Spaniel, joined the Military in September 2005. On completion of his training as an Armaments & Explosives Search (AES) Dog, he was posted with his handler to Rosythe in Scotland.

His duties here included high profile searches of venues, such as Edinburgh Castle in an Anti-terrorism search role.

Buster’s Campaigns

In September 2006, he deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in his first operational role.

His duties included searching for illegally held weapons and explosives within the local populous. He had a number of significant finds, thus helping to make this volatile country a safer place.

In September 2007, Buster and Sgt Barrow deployed to Afghanistan. After only a few days in theatre they were deployed into the Gereshk Valley.

During one foot patrol in which Buster was leading the search for Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), they came under attack.

Although the contact was short lived, it was extremely noisy and the smell of cordite was overwhelming. Buster remained calmly by Sgt Barrow’s side totally unfazed by the actions around him.

After the event, the patrol continued and Buster carried on his work wondering what the fuss was about.

This happened on several occasions and each time, Buster waited calmly for the action to cease and then carried on his work, leading from the front in his relentless search for IEDs, keeping the patrols safe.

Morale

During periods of inactivity, Buster would wander around the camp making as many friends as possible. Apart from doing a superb job, he was also a great source of morale for the many servicemen that had left pets behind.

On Leaving Gereshk, they teamed up with the Coldstream Guards. One of Buster’s tasks was to search the Jalalahbad road, where the threat of suicide

RAFP dog Buster wears his campaign medals with pride

bombs is very real. Although a very tense situation for soldiers, Buster once again carried out his tasks with great professionalism.

On completion of the tour Buster and Sgt Barrow sadly parted company as Buster had to remain in Cyprus for a 6 month period of quarantine. Once they were reunited they immediately began training to go out to Iraq.

They deployed in March 2009 and immediately Buster was needed to ensure that the convoys leaving Basrah for Kuwait had a safe passage. This he did until the withdrawal of British Troops in May 2009.

Camp Bastion

Once again, Buster faced 6 months in Cyprus which was interrupted when one of his K9 colleagues failed to make the grade in Afghanistan. He was flown out and teamed with another handler and carried out five months searching the thousands of vehicles entering Camp Bastion.

Buster once again returned to Cyprus and finally returned to home soil in June 2010.

Buster’s Medals

Buster's campaign medals

Buster proudly wears a row of military campaign medals;

The blue and yellow is for Op ALTHEA and is the EUPHOR Medal for Bosnia.

The middle one Is for Op TELIC for Iraq.

The third one is for Op HERRICK for Afghanistan.

These medals are to represent where Buster has been.

Animals are not awarded military medals, so special permission was granted from the medals office for him to wear them.

RAFP Mascot

Although nine year old Buster has now retired from active service he has recently been made the RAFP mascot.

Have a long and happy retirement Buster, we are proud of you.

Buster and Charlie

Pictures courtesy of RAF Waddington

Building work has started on the 2011 Bitts Park bonfire in Carlisle.

The annual event attracts thousands of spectators annually and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

The community event will be based on an ‘Olympics 2012’ theme.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service is giving their support for the 2011 City Council Fireshow which is to take place Saturday, 5 November.

A giant 40-foot bonfire will be centre stage  and more than 2,000 spectacular fireworks will also make sure the event goes with a ‘bang’.

The community event will be based on an ‘Olympics 2012’ theme, in celebration of Carlisle being chosen as one of the host cities for the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route next June.

At Bitts Park, pre-entertainment, provided by Carlisle Leisure Limited, will start at 6.30pm and the bonfire lit at 7pm.

The whole event is likely to last for around an hour.

Admission is free, although collections will be made for the Mayor’s Charity Fund and Rotary Club Carlisle (South).

No Sooner had the postman delivered our very tasty biscuits from the Beagle Bakery but a big truck turned up with a nice man carrying a bag of food from Lathams.

Buster put his head straight into the packet

We were approached a few days ago to see if we would try out the Lathams light dry food and, with Buster being quite fussy with his food due to his kidney problem, we thought we should give it a go.

Buster wasted little time in putting his head straight into the bag of food once mum had cut it open.

The nice lady at Lathams even included a printed cotton shopping bag along with the food parcel- so mum can easily bring us home more from the town when we need some.

Not too smelly

With the bag open we could get straight down to testing the new food.  The small, brown,  shaped food bites easily fitted into our mouths making them easy to get chewing on.

They were slightly firm but easily crumbled as we clenched down on them one at a time.

Very surprisingly, Buster seemed to love the new food even though he is very picky at the moment and on a special renal diet….Mum had to keep a very close eye on him.

It was not long before he had polished off quite a handful and mum had to close the packet so he didn’t keep going and make himself sick.

Unusually for a dried food it did not smell too strong. Quite meaty in scent but not overpowering when you have your nose so close to a bowl full.

Once Buster had had his fill I was allowed a few to try.  They seemed quite filling and as such not many were needed for me to feel quite contented.

The light food is ideally designed for me, as I am a little, shall we say, comfortable, according to mum.

Personally I put it down to having thick fluff and the remains of puppy fat.

Other bags of food in the range include Adult and Adult Large breed, Puppy, Mature and sensitive.

All of the Lathams food range is natural and hypoallergenic, rich in meat with none of those nasty artificial colours and preservatives which can make us sick.  These dog foods are also free from wheat, soy, and dairy.

The good ingredients include linseed oil, sugar beet, natural seaweed, alfalfa, chicory root, calcium and phophorus.

The Lathams range has been specially developed in conjunction with Veterinarian David Helliwell MSc BVM+S MRCVS to offer a a balanced diet with all the nutrition we need.

We are also pleased that Lathams is a British brand, being manufactured not far away from us in Yorkshire and you can now buy the range from selected Tesco stores.

Bigger bags please.

Mum thinks the price is good too, as a premium dog food range, a 10Kg bag of Adult Large Breed comes in at a reasonable £25.00.  For economy reasons, and to save her running to the shops all the time, she would like to see the larger 10Kg bags available in the adult, mature, sensitive and light, but we are sure this will happen in time.

To find out more about this yummy dog food, visit the Lathams website.

Until next time

Charlie and Buster

Thanks to the postman and the Beagle Bakery we had some handmade biscuits to enjoy as a special treat over the weekend.

A bag of treats arrive from the Beagle Bakery

You may remember that we featured an article last week  about Evie, the power behind the bakery, and their dog treats and snacks.

On Saturday the postman popped a small square letter through the letterbox and it sniffed really good.  Our mum soon opened it and inside was a clear plastic bag, tied with a ribbon, containing some dog treats just for us.

Stars and squares of crunchy lovelyness and a small card saying where they were from.

So a big thank you to Evie and the Beagle Bakery, for our unexpected gift.

Until next time

Charlie and Buster.

When it comes to food Charlie is a bit of an expert, so you can imagine his glee when he spotted a website selling food featuring a good looking beagle…

Evie from The Beagle Bakery

The Beagle Bakery has as it’s key taster and recipe guru, Evie, a very fussy and particular beagle it seems.

According to her website, her catering empire started after a chance Tweet to her American friend @busterthebeagle. Evie does not like normal doggy bones it seems, so Busterthebeagle suggested that she could possibly get her mum to make her own.

Evie could not believe it.  The first batch of milky bones were so yummy in her tummy.

They were like nothing she had tasted before.  She barked aroooooooooo!! for more and her love of home made biscuits began.

Being a kind Beagle, Evie shared her treats with her best friend Doodles the Beagle and Minnie the West Highland White Terrier.  The three of them have become the Beagle Bakeries chief tasters.

Evie asked her Mum to share her treats with as many doggie friends as possible and That is how The Beagle Bakery began it seems.

Tasty treats

Unlike many doggy treats the Beagle Bakery make some wild flavours, much better than the bland superstore varieties.

Tuna and Herb triangles, Cheesy flowers and even wheat free peanut and banana pup cakes all are listed to pawchase via the website.  Evie even has her own range of doggy birthday cards and painted jars to keep your  treats in.

Now all we need to do is ensure mum orders some goodies for Christmas.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

PS – Do you know of any other dogs with their own food creations?  Let us know via the comments area below or the contact us form.

With the schools reopening this week Buster and I had a simple wager, as to when the first christmas catalogue would come through the door.

Lakeland Christmas catalogue arrives

And the winner is…… Lakeland.  Formally Lakeland Plastics of Windermere.

The big A4 sized envelope dropped through the letterbox straight onto Buster as he slept beneath.  He was not happy.

Featuring over 80 pages of gadgets, nick-nacks and gift ideas the Lakeland catalogue is full of those things the humans think they really need.

Mum and dad had a laugh when they turned to the back page and spotted a box full of stuff to make a christmas cake.

Every item came in a pre-measured and numbered packet and was called ‘Baking by Numbers’.

Half the fun is making loads of gloup to fill the bowl and having a bit left over for the indigestion making licks.

The christmas catalogue contains quite a mix of stuff and is possibly not clear with what it needs to achieve.

Chocolates, bird feeders, christmas decorations, a shovel ( yes, really a shovel) jams and knives all feature in what appears to be a land grab for Christmas stocking fillers.

So who will be next?  Watch this space…

Until next time

Charlie and Buster

A bottle of bright orange gloop arrived in the bathroom this week. Written on the clear plastic bottle in big letters was the phrase ‘Dirty Beastie’.  This sort of hinted it maybe for us, or for dad.

Dirty Beastie by Wahl - great bubbles for mucky pups

Made by Wahl, the people that make the hair trimmers and shampoos for humans, the bottle of bubbles is highly concentrated and needs to be watered down 32:1 before use.

Our first use came earlier today after our walk in the park. The recent damp conditions had made the paths quite muddy. As we scurried this way and that, it did not take long for our legs and tummies to become quite dirty.

Concentrated bubbles

With the rain starting to pour down outside, our arrival home was a familiar event this summer, as we were whisked straight to the bathroom for a bath.

The summer this year has been not good for walks and for keeping us clean. Almost every walk has ended with a bath followed by many hours curled up as tight as possible, as we try and keep warm and dry off. Needless to say we are not very happy with this arrangement.

Dirty beastie bubbles are really thick

Bathtime

Downstairs, the hot water boiler kicks into action as mum starts to wash me down and try to remove the worst of the grime.  We quite enjoy the inside rain tube, as it sprinkles warm water over our backs and under our tummies.

As the steam builds in the bathroom I start to relax and warm through. For some reason I always seem to go first,  followed by Charlie.

With my coat soaked with warm water, mum prepares the bubbles. Mum drops a good sized dollop of ’Dirty Beastie’ shampoo into a bowl before mixing it with water.  This is then poured over me from my neck to my tail and lathered in.

As mum rubs and scrubs I can get chance to read the printing on the bottle which she has put on the edge of the bath:

Mix with water before applying

Wahl Dirty Beastie Shampoo is based on natural ingredients and contains no harmful detergents or cleansers -  so far this sounds good.

The perfectly balanced formula including extracts of Peach, Pear, Passion-Flower and Kiwi Fruit, will effectively cleanse dirty, thick or matted coats and deodorise even the smelliest creature - Smelliest creature must refer to Charlie

Designed to be powerful, yet gentle, Dirty Beastie will actively remove dirt, grease, stains and odours, rejuvenating the hair as it cleans - Maybe mum should try some as she could do with rejuvenating !

The shampoo contains beneficial natural ingredients that will promote healthy, glossy results every time - Glow in the dark maybe?
Formulated for all animal hair types including horses, dogs, cattle, goats, llama, alpaca, rabbits and ferrets, Dirty Beastie Shampoo rinses out easily, removing any ‘nasty niffs’ - Must be talking about Charlie again.

The coat will be clean, conditioned and manageable, with a fresh, lasting fragrance.

Nasty niffs, smelliest creature 

Given the writing, I can only think they refer to Charlie with their descriptions, however it is now time for a good rinse and the run around the house to get dry, whilst mum has the challenge of washing the floor mop that is Charlie.

He just seems to soak up water, so this shampoo is ideal because it rinses out really well. This avoids him getting doggy dandruff and sore bits, if the bubbles are not washed away completely.

If we were asked to review, Dirty Beastie by Wahl, this product it would get a very high rating and we certainly recommend it.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie