Wagga Wagga

Our thoughts are with Dad's 2CV chum Andy and with his Mum, our good friend Mary, who always makes a fuss of we westies when we camp on her land with the Kentish Hoppers (2CV club), and whose Cavs Daisy and "Dinky" (He's a boy and is actually called "Fair Dinkum" as he was a gift from one of Mary's sons, who lives in Australia).

It is Australia that Mary was visiting last week when she has suffered a medical emergency which left her hospitalised in Wagga Wagga (I kid you not - it's in NSW), and is now to be flown home to the UK later this week. Despite all this Andy has managed to get the restoration project car "Mademoiselle" through her 2009 MOT, so she's back on the road and street legal. Dad has a week off work next week, trying to use up some holiday, so we may get to go out in her.

Andy was commenting that she was a bit lumpy and grumpy to start after the months of being cooped up in the lock-up, and could use some exercise and tender loving care. This is, after all, why the boys spent all that time in the freezing wet winter of 2007/8 doing the rebuild, to drive her around - not to sit her in a barn under a dust sheet.

Get well soon, Andy's Mum
Deefer

Birthday Diamonds

Happy Birthday Diamond - 21 (again) today. I know Mum and Dad are descending upon you in your hospital bed today with gifts and cards (as will lots of other people). Don't eat all the cake before we get there! This is a special day - it wasn't that long ago we were all worried you might not make it. We all hope you have many many more!

Mum also has another birthday to attend, that of ex boss. They're like buses - you don't see one for ages, then loads come along at once. Also in the queue is the 3rd "birthday" of this blog (and so my 3rd anniversary or arriving at this house).

And while we're on milestones, today we will pass the 7000 visits mark on the blog. Click on site meter at the top of this screen - we were on 6997 as I wrote this.

And now for a chilled out day. Dad's volunteering at the barge Cambria, and Mum's got all these birthdays to do, so we look like being "home alone" dogs. Hey ho. I expect we'll get a walk later.

Happy Birthday Diamond (and Ann P)
Deefer

Dog Bolter?

Every now and then we have to indulge Dad and his love of strange brews and real ales, so when Mum was out in Ramsgate (Ram's git as it get's called round 'ere) at a Waitrose, they came across this dark porter by Gadds of Ramsgate, brewery.

See www.ramsgatebrewery.co.uk for more details.

A lovely beer, says Dad, but we all have to ask... where did the name come from?

Deefski

Committee Special

As well as the proper guided walks Dad does for the public on behalf of the Friends of Kingswood (like last weekend's Deer Walk), Dad volunteered to take the Committee on an invitation-only special, starting into the forest at 06:30.

He came home positively bubbling over with excitement. Not only had the 9 of them heard and seen all sorts of normal deer stuff, but as they crept up towards the main rutting stand as a tightly packed group, Dad suddenly saw a movement and crouched. The rest of them saw this and froze, peering into the trees, thinking he'd seen something at a distance. Dad mimed "keep still, and very quiet", pointing to some bushes not 30 feet away.

Suddenly there was a "Crack" and thump and loud scrabbling noises - 2 bucks were fighting just behind the bushes, oblivious of the presence of 9 humans so close. As the photo shows, this was not a photo-opportunity, but nobody cared - they were all frozen with excitement to the spot, all the time thinking one or other of the combatants would look up and see them.

But no, these boys were too focussed, lifting their heads just to size up the opponent's next move before, crack!, their heads and antlers clashed again, thump as their forefeet hit the ground, and scrabbling as they pushed and shoved each other, battling to gain ground. Antlers rattled against each other as each deer wrestled his neck into more advantageous positions. This went on for what seemed like ages, but was probably only 5 minutes, before very suddenly, the buck on Dad's left turned and fled, hotly pursued by the other, crashing through the scrubby birch at full speed, missing the humans by only yards, still apparently unaware of the spectators.

It doesn't get much better than that, said Dad and suddenly everyone was chattering excitedly at once. Brilliant, they all agreed! After that they went back to normal stalking and creeping about but everyone knew they'd probably seen the best view of the day, and didn't really mind if they never saw another deer!

Deefski

He Knows You're There

No matter how distracted these Fallow bucks seem to be, or how carefully you sneak about, they're generally a few seconds ahead of you and as you zoom into focus on the long lens there they are, almost winking at you and saying "you'd need to be up a whole lot earlier than that to catch me out, son!"

Dad's second day off today, and although rain in the morning stops play on deer-photography, he is able to sneak out mid afternoon. Usually, by then there's been a million and one dog walkers through the forest, and the deer are all in deep cover, so he's not expecting much, but this old boy was still hanging in there, roaring away and paused photogenically for a few seconds.

Have a good weekend.

Deefer

White Phase

We already said, a few posts ago, that 99% of the fallow deer in Challock Forest are the very dark colouration known as "black phase", Well here is the other end of the spectrum, a "white phase" doe. Also, just emerging from the bushes behind Mum, a fawn nearly as pale. You can see that this doe is not albino - double click the image to make it expand to full screen, and you'll see she has dark eyes.

Oddly, the Challock population does not seem to have any of the in-between , normal text-book fallow deer, Bambi coloured pale brown with cute white spots. It's believed that the black phase ones are a Dutch population, imported when the Royal hunting forest was set up, and the white ones are from a few escaped white bucks which had been kept in the walled Eastwell Estate nearby.

My other pic today is (Thank You Scott-the-Bees) a jar of Kentish honey. Bit of a blend apparently, and not entirely 100% from Dad's allotments, but close enough, and gives Mum and Dad a real buzz, if you'll allow the bee-centric pun. We were up at the allotments today picking borlotti beans, and met up with Scott and our own bee-keeper-in-training, Pete. They are building the fencing that will go around the new bee-plot, and tell me that our colonies will be back "home" imminently, hopefully before the first frost.

Deefski

Immaculate

This blog comin' at you today from a new computer, running Vista, so I don't know if it looks any different to you from there.

Mum has the day off work, being a bit tail-end of cold ish, but by the evening she feels up to a visit to Diamond. She'd been wary of going in and sneezing all over the poor girl, just about enough to finish her off ! Also on the mend is Megan, who tonight manages a stroll to the Rec and a good old walk around (more of an amble really) while I chase the tennis ball. We meet and talk to Finzy (big black lurcher of the long wizened beard), and to old favourites Smudge and Barney.

We also meet the always-immaculate sister Ellie, just back from the groomers and looking gorgeous. Dad tries to swap me out, but Ellie's Mum is having nothing of it. She also tells us that Ellie is going through "one of her phases" of waking "us" up at 02:30 to be let out for a wee. "Phases?", says Dad. "Deefer's done that to me every night since she was born, practically!" But it turns out that Ellie, once out, snuffles and bimbles for 1-2 hours and they can't get her back in.

I can't see Dad putting up with that for too long - at least mine are a quick out, charge down the garden, have a pee and bribed back indoors with a treat. Dad says he barely wakes up, and certainly doesn't feel like he's lost any sleep over it. 2 hours? What does she do out there?

Deefer