auntie Jess

three of the most important women in my life, my mum, amafrodolily and auntie Jess, who I must say shouts a lot less than the Boss, but sleeps a lot more.

Venterdon

my village, how sweetly it doth lie.

christmas morning

sun rising through the trees, waking the church spire with golden beams, rebirth, hope, beauty.

boxing day 2005

well, that was fun. I'm all done in, and looking forward to next Christmas tomorrow. All of us wish all of you peace and goodwill, friendship and love on this most beautiful and fertile of worlds.

sunset on the shortest day

the sun set on KitHill, and on Caradon and all the horses at the Minions. Maybe the nights will get shorter now, so let's celebrate, it's Christmas for Spot.

Happy Christmas everyone

green eyed goddess

harri insisted that another fetching picture of her was blogged before there were anymore of that rapscallion Mattie. Huh.

and finally

the girls cavorting

and where are all my fans, and requests for pawgraphs, and canine comments? Come on America, wake up!! And isn't that lovely David Cameron just snortin'! Bring back David Blunkett's dog. Lurchers unite! Cut the subsidies to French poodles.

Mattie eating

Mattie eating MY christmas tea; still it will be Christmas tomorrow. And I hear I'm getting lots of presents. Please note penguin mug is not mine. Blu tack is tasty but a bit chewy.

more Mattie

giving her hell

mattie comes for christmas

the beautiful Mattie came to visit today and had some of my Christmas cake. Here she is offering to kiss Harri while I look on with hope.
I am sorry I have been rather quiet recently but the weather has been very grey and the boss has been working far too hard so no photos.

getting the bird

more scenes from the valley. strange morning.

not going for a swim

mum loves swimming in the quarry, I'm not so sur and Harri won't even put her precious tootsies in. It is very cold water. But there are some interesting plants around.

Kit Hill early

lovely dawn today, we were up very early for our walk

Christmas

good? I'm close to perfection. Harri bit me on the foot yesterday so I'm resting today. It's raining. No presents again. I may have got this brithday thing wrong.

a few more wild flowers of Cornwall

this was taken on our very first walk in the paddock when all nine of us were around and life was fun.

like poppies

in the Auvergne; after the wild flowers of Cornwall maybe it will be wild flowers of France.

French friends

two French friends, maybe Alphonse will write to us?? N'est-ce pas? the boss says French meadows put our farming to shame, they are full of wild flowers

the pub

Horsebridge on a nice quiet summer's day, and the Royal in all its glory. Then sometimes as you can see we can't even cross the bridge. The water is right up to the top of the parapet. The Tamar is an incredible river. This is serious as there are no pubs in the whole parish of Stoke Climsland because a certain religious sect believe that alcohol is ruinous and evil.

So we all have to take serious risks to get a drink!

Help!

it's a cat's life

well, personally I think cats are best chased, in fact mum was banned from the Royal at Horsebridge (in Devon!!!) because she was a lurcher and the publican liked cats. Actually mum loves cats and often runs after them to tell them so. So it's all in the genes I think.

photo by her mum Olivia T-B

mattie

our beautiful sister. As you can see she is very like young Harri but gets on better with cats. Another pin up for Hendrix.

photo by her mum Olivia T-B

our long lost sister

the boss says he has heard from Mattie who is so beautiful that she has won loads of prizes and all sorts, and that she is very well behaved for a lurcher. Harriet was v jealous so I promised to show everyone how beautiful she is now even though to tell the truth she hasn't won any prizes yet. I enjoyed my birthday today. We were 6 months old yesterday, almost spotty teenagers now. I may be getting too old to have birthdays.

pie

getting the ingredients together

goodnight Hendrix
goodnight Harriet

hendrix

Hendrix, if Spot loses his bollogs you're mine. Picture of pie to follow.

OK you lurcher lot, come and get us.

Let me out, I'll have you. Not sure what the boss means by rabbit.

The boss came back with a hangover last night after a night on the tiles. He says he is in the doghouse but frankly there isn't much more room in here what with me and Harri, Cassie and Max. Anyway he isn't a lurcher except he did last night. What is going on?? He must think it's Christmas.

treasure number two

the boss says this is the real treasure around here but he's just a bag of old bones anyway. And who can eat campion?

Harriet says she heard the boss's boss say Spot will have to have them off. What does this mean? Should I have them off?? Is it still my birthday? What a ball we will have because tomorrow it's Christmas.

treasure diggers

Harriet says there are bones buried underneath the end of rainbows. So far we have not had much luck given that today is both my birthday and Christmas.

harriet outside the Kennel

apparently Christmas is like my birthday except that you get more presents. Tomorrow is Christmas, I'm expecting a few surprises. All the snow has gone now but it was very beautiful while it lasted. Maybe Christmas will be white.

sunrise over Stoke Climsland today

Spot has just heard about Christmas. He wants one.

bladderseed

mum sulking in the meadow full of cornish bladderseed. For those of you who are interested this is a real rarity, named for its seeds as below

the Boss

this is Kit Hill, the boss says that the Boss is talking to us

walks

A family group. Frodo and Lily couldn't come because Am B's mum had being seeing Phil in Plymouth and his harmonica playing Delilah and didn't get back until midnight and they were still in BED at ELEVEN am!! More walks for dogs or we strike.

summer orchids

for example this is mum and a butterfly orchid (the greater butterfly orchid for those like the boss who are interested in these things) both posing in the same meadow.

Sunday walk

Uncle Maxtaking his exercise. He is running away from Devon and the Tamar Valley. These meadows are protected and full of interesting flowers.

there's trouble on the moors

that's better. I think all those grumpy folk mocking the Bodmin Jam 1000 are being very unfair. The boss says the weatherman forecast snow showers turning to rain. Some shower and no rain! And he says that if you live in Cornwall you know it's going to rain. And how else can we get to Trago Mill. Did Trago shut? I feel that this photo shows me in my more raffish mode, keeping one ear back ay my age is difficult you know.

I think I'm getting a cold

Is this a Spot I see before my nose?

Cornish lanes

the boss insisted on just one more snowy lane picture, he thinks the sinuous curves rest easy on the eye. Cornish lanes seem very rounded when you stop and look, maybe it's the way the hedgerows are trimmed (like this earlier post http://tamar-valley-life.blogspot.com/2005/11/cornish-lanes-near-my-house.html ) and more to come.

Who would live anywhere else? It's not exactly a dog's life here.

and today

and today it looks like this, Stoke Climsland drowns in snow, England grinds to halt. Only yesterday it was thus http://tamar-valley-life.blogspot.com/2005/11/stoke-climsland.html

twigs

the boss says lurchers aren't bright enough to twig this, barking mad I say.











and the BBC showed this picture! the boss is v pleased, see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4472970.stm

chasing

and Harri got off her bottom for a bit of a run around, not that she can keep up with me, oh what a lovely birthday.

snow

well, it was worth waiting for, wasn't it. Even mum got frisky.

nightmares

talking of nightmares, here are two we met earlier this year, plus lesser spotted heath orchid, wild camera and book on flowers, all in a field of Cornish bladderseed (eaten in this case by the villains in the picture)

good night all

Stoke Climsland

This is the view from the bottom of my garden. Stoke Climsland Church looms over us all sending out ringing messages to the faithful. Lily and Frodo live on Kit Hill (just visible in the background like a great geological breast feeding Cornwall). And there is still no news of the missing ducks. Is there anything that young farmers won't eat? Am I safe?

orange trees

Autumn is late but now it is deep and colourful, tomorrow it will snow, and everything will stop.
I am looking out of the window, waiting for the snow. It never snows on my birthday.

The boss has fenced us in, who will come and let us out? Lurchers unite, down with 6 foot fences. This is my barkist manifesto. More biscuits, down with the walking classes .... must go, supper is calling

hanging out 2

Some feathered friends keeping an eye on the big boss down below. These are not the missing ducks. Where are those ducks and does no one care??


This mutilated tree is very photogenic and the boss likes snapping it. Why chop off its head, who is to blame? I want to know.

http://tamar-valley-life.blogspot.com/2005/11/cornwalls-ablaze-tonight.html

hanging out

the boss's boss doing her chores

good morning

I have my frosty look on this morning. Another great day for a birthday. Love to you all.