The cold weather continues in Cumbria

Week three or is it four weeks now that the temperatures have remained below zero in many parts of the county.

Our regular walk to the park to check on the unfreezing puddle indicated that in part the water has become solid with ice. However, it is very thin and mum stopped us walking on it in case we fell through.

Interestingly, as can be seen by the photograph, the overnight snow has not covered the puddle over, so maybe some heat is still left in our thermal spring.

Maybe dad could buy the land and build a spa complex on it just for pooches.

We do get sore muscles and bad skin like humans, so why shouldn’t we get a bit of pampering…

Snowballs

Today Charlie learnt all about snow balls and chasing them. Mum tried like mad to make them so he could have something to run after.

The latest fall of snow was very powdery, just like false snow you would find in a shop window at Christmas or the stuff straight out of an aerosol can.

Mum had to warm her hands before picking up the snow so a little of it would melt and form a sort of icy-snowball.

Twitter

You can follow updates and exclusive reports as to what we are getting up to via our Twitter feed as well as via this blog. Why not become our friend so we can become yours.

The link to Twitter can also be found to the right of this page (the big blue stripe that says Follow Us)

Video

Dad has been busy with the video and stills camera over the last few days snapping away taking pictures of snow.

He has put together a gallery of some of the stuff taken over the last few days below for your enjoyment.

Both mum and dad are now very busy writing up various articles for some of their websites and just letting us lay by the fire, toasting slowly.

We take it in turns hot-bunking on the rug whilst the other gets comfortable in a cooler part of the house. Mum thinks that maybe we were marshmallows or gods in a previous life.  I suppose that dog is merely god spelled backwards. So following that way of thinking we must also be a wollamhsram. Whatever one of those is?

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

Gallery

Some of dad’s pictures and a video he has put together for Naturearoundme.com

Frosty start in Carlisle, -5 deg C overnight

Bright sunshine and with mum and dad on holiday once more we escaped the confines of the house and out for a walk.

First thing on our list was to check to see if our puddle, the one we spotted the other day, had frozen.

Despite the temperatures overnight dropping to at at least -5deg centigrade the puddle still remained unfrozen.

Mum and dad now wondered what was keeping the water from freezing over.

Maybe it was being fed from an underground hot spring left undiscovered by the Romans when they left the area a few thousand years ago.

It is thought that the nearest bath house to us is to be found on the site currently occupied by the Market Hall in the centre of the City so quite a few miles away from our location.

Overhead

Today has been a busy day for the air ambulances in the area.

Whilst we were out on our walk a green and white helicopter flew over us quite low as he went in to land at the nearby hospital.

As we type this blog update we can hear again the sound of whirling rotor blades as for about the fourth time today a helicopter is on route to the helipad at the Cumberland Infirmary.

Really winter

Everything is looking very festive and somehow just right for the season after the weeks of cold temperatures.

For many years our winters seem to have been only wet, damp and miserable however the cold, crisp days with the bright sunshine just seem to have lifted spirits.

It has been very unusual to have a white Christmas all through the holiday period.

We have been out far more in the last few weeks than at times during the summer.  Yes we get cold paws and Charlie gets a soggy tummy but we stay clean.

Peaking through undergrowth

Another thing we have noticed is that when it is cold the sniffs really do smell a whole lot better.

With temperatures dropping outside mum brought some of her plants indoors to escape the frost. In normal times they would be ok in the greenhouse but it anything below -4 dec C she says will freeze their roots and stems.

Suddenly the bathroom and the kitchen look like jungle film sets and at anytime you expect a Bear Grhyls or some other explorer or naturalist peaking through the undergrowth.

Bright yellow flowers surrounded one side of the field we went for a walk in today.  Despite the icy conditions and the recent snow falls the gorse still seems to be flowering.

Mum says this is unusual in the north of England however many reports suggest that gorse is now flowering all year around.

Against the white ground and bare branches of nearby trees the many bushes about 2m high really stood out and provided a happy sunny hedge.

Buster once again wore his blue jacket with the reflective stripes to help keep his hip warm.  He is not really a fan of it as it is a little bit ridged on his back and makes him feel a little awkward. The benefit comes when he gets home and doesn’t feel too clunky and sore.

I love my walks and am always keen to get onto the scent of a new animal.  Today, left in the snow were sets of four paw prints mum thought had been left by bunnies.

Now I don’t know what one of these critters looks like but they seem to have rounded rectangular paws and smell slightly of damp earth. I think they must be fluffy like me.

Coloured snow

It is hard work being out in front on walks and looking after Buster. Sometimes I just take a break and sitting or lying on the snow just take a moment to look around.

Did you know you can eat snow? Mum picked some of the white stuff in her hand and like magic it turned to licky water,  what a great trick.

This got me wondering what would happen if I licked the snow up on my licker.

I have to say it was cold and it sort of crackled but it soon melted and I was sorted. Drinks whenever I needed,  for this walk anyway.

Just a note of caution at this point,  coloured snow is not good.  I need say no more. Yuck.

Husky

Towards the end of the big field we had to descend down quite a big hill. You can see a picture of it to the right of the page.  Next time it snows we know exactly where to come for some sledging. I can run in front with a harness on and pull Buster around just like a sled dog team.

On the subject of sled dogs the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain have been holding a rally this weekend near Penrith.

Usually in the UK the sleds are equipped with wheels and are pulled by a team of dogs over forest tracks. Maybe this year the full experience may have been possible with the sleds running on the snow, as they would do in the frozen wildernesses of Siberia.

Picture

One of the unseen problems with this website is the number of blurred photographs my dad takes of us. This is not, usually, because he can’t take a good picture but because we do not stand or sit still for very long.

Very often dad will load the pictures on to the computer and all you will see across the screen is a black and white blur  or a shaky tan coloured splodge, sorry Buster.

So you can imagine his relief when he downloaded the above photograph from the camera.

Have a safe and peaceful 2010

Until next time

Charlie and Buster

Hot weather and summer produce …

Gosh it has been hot for the last few days.  So hot we have been staying outside to try and keep cool as the house has been unbearable.  Even the tiled kitchen floor didn’t cool us down.

Mum purchased earlier this year an indoor –  outdoor room for the garden.  This has allowed us to keep cool in what breeze there has been away from the harsh sun outside.

It is a great gadget and with the lights dad put up a few days ago allows mum and dad also to enjoy the outdoors into the late evening.

Today the temperatures have dropped to be a manageable 23 degrees and to celebrate dad is playing music by Dire Straits and other tracks from iTunes.

We can see that his help is going to be limited as the occasional air guitar is played and the pencil drumsticks are used.  It is going to be a long afternoon…

Let us hope he doesn’t start mixing song titles into our blog or we will have to carry out a Private Investigation and remind him who are the Local Hero’s.

A cool river dip

Last night we travelled to Dalston.  We went the long way around as it gave us a chance to cool off in the air conditioning.

First stop was the river where we both got some welcome relief from the heat in the cool water.

Here we met up with another friend who had an interesting twist on the searching for stones game we often play.

She ran into the water and popped her head under the water gathering up a stone from the river bottom and bringing it to the waters edge.  She then ran back into the water and got another and another.

Summer fruits

Mum has started the annual harvest.  First crop has been some of the many gooseberries from the allotment.

The red and green fruits have been topped and tailed and put in bags for the freezer.

We are not allowed them as mum thought they would be bad for us but dad tells us they are great in a crumble during the winter.

Mum thought she was working an a Chain Gang as she worked her way through hundreds of berries.

The many hanging baskets full of strawberry plants are dripping with fruit it being Wimbledon Tennis Season.

The hot sunshine has really ripened the fruit and mum has started going to the garden on a morning, picking some of the fruit which she then slices for her breakfast on top of some yoghurt.

You can not get fruit fresher than that and with no transport costs.

One harvest we have been able to try has been the Sugar Snap Peas mum was processing this week.

Again from the allotment, they were very crunchy and fantastic to throw around before we eventually ate them.

Again another big bag full went into the freezer after a few were lightly steamed for an evening meal.

Finally we just had to share a photograph of the water lilly flower in our pond.  It was lapping up the hot conditions during the daytime only to close in the cooler evenings.  it is quite clever for a plant.

Thats all for now as it is now not Too Hot for Dancing in the Street as gardeners start Singing in The Rain as the heavens open with a welcome Downpour….

Until next time

Buster and Charlie