Hot in July again

Poor old Holly-dog has not been a happy camper for the past week or so. She is not liking the heat, it's too hot for her to go walkies and it's too hot and sticky for sleeping comfortably in, especially when you have no option but to wear a (self-grown) fur coat.

So we have been doing a lot of lounging around in the shade in the garden.

Last night Holly woke me up at 2am because she wanted to go out. When she had done what she needed to do she decided that the best thing to do was to roll around on the grass making happy "rrrrraaaarrrrr" noises, I have to admit it was lovely and cool out in the garden and it was very tempting to join her lying on the lawn.

Instead of lying flat out on the grass I took advantage of being awake and opened more windows and doors temporarily to let the cool breeze waft through the house. It must have brought the temperature down enough because when we went back to bed I fell straight asleep and for once I was woken by my alarm clock (I am usually awake before it goes off).

I am looking at campsites again, if it continues to be warm and humid I think it will be very pleasant to sleep out overnight. Ideally we want a small quiet site not too far from home that we can have a weekend away at, preferably one with a stream or river close by and some trees that we can spend the day lounging under reading books and watching the world go by.

Holly is a Happy Camper

Holly and I escaped to the coast for a couple of days, we found a superb little campsite set high on the hills overlooking Whitby.

The campsite is at about 500 feet above sea level so it gets all the weather, usually at high speed. When we arrived it was blowing a gale which made pitching the tent somewhat entertaining. The site is very basic, toilets and running cold water only. But it is wonderfully peacefull and the views are amazing. From the bottom end of the site you look down over Whitby and at night, if it is clear, you can easily make out the lights on the swing bridge, the lighthouses on the piers (all four) and the light on the marker buoy out at sea. You could see all the way down to Hawsker and up beyond Sandsend and onto the moors.

The second night was much calmer and we got to experience some of the local wildlife. In the dusk there were bats out hunting. Overnight we heard foxes and owls out and about and in the morning were treated to some impressive acrobatic displays from the swallows.

 Holly wanted Breakfast in bed!

The Views were stunning

One day at a time.

There have been a couple of occasions in the past week to 10 days when I have thought that Holly has looked very old and tired. There have been a couple of occasions when she has really struggled to walk, but I think these have been when I have been asking her to move quickly after just waking up. But the rest of the time she is her normal bright eyed demanding self.

I have all of next week off work, the forecast is OK so we may take the tent and vanish into the countryside or to the seaside for a few days. No definite plans it will all be fairly last minute and depend on someone being available to look after the cats, the weather and how both Holly and I feel.