Arthur attempts . . .

 

Arthur attempts . . .

 to do what he’s bred for!

Walking in Simons Wood, Arthur reached the lake.

 In the middle of the lake is a small island, on which birds rest and nest. Usually, it’s Canada geese that inhabit it, but this week it was a couple of herons.

Arthur spotted them.

Arthur jumped into the water.

Arthur started to swim towards them.

Barry called him out and Arthur obeyed.

A couple of minutes later, Arthur jumped into the water again, and again was called out. This continued until Barry and Arthur had walked on and the lake and the birds were no longer in sight.

Arthur was a happy, wet dog and slept well after his exercise.

 

SkyWatch Friday - Canada Geese in flight, Beaulieu River

The Beaulieu River in Hampshire, UK, is a wild fowl reserve.


On a grey August evening, skeins of Canada Geese passed overhead, honking their heart-stirring cries.

Click here to see more skies from across the world

Succinctly Yours Week 12

Grandma's Goulash at Succinctly Yours hosts this microfiction meme. Each week she posts a photographic prompt for inspiration and the challenge is to write a story using no more 

than 140 characters or words. Below is this week's photo followed by my offerings.

 

Image courtesy Grandma's Goulash

‘Come along, ducky*, time for a swim,’ he said.

‘I’m not a duck, I’m a goose, just like you,’ she hissed.

(103 characters)

(*’ducky’ is a term of endearment in UK)

Said the gander to his wife,

‘I will love you all my life.

We’ll build a nest together

And line it with soft feathers;

Sweet lavender I’ll bring you,

To soothe and comfort you who

With me will raise our goslings

And guard them against all things

Until they’re fully-fledged.’

Said the goose to the gander,

‘I love the way you pander

To my every wish and whim;

Our wedlock will never dim.

I, your faithful wife will be

And good mother, you will see;

We will keep the pike at bay

And tell our young to keep away

From the reeds and the sedge.'

(105 words) 

A walk in Simons Wood

It was very hot yesterday so we decided to take the dogs to Simons Wood where there's plenty of shade.

Decades of fallen leaves have bequeathed a soft, friable surface, soundless under foot and paw. There is an abundance of Scots pines in the wood and they were releasing clouds of pollen with their wonderful scent. The solemn mien of the pines is alleviated by the uncurling fronds of bracken, the grace and brightness of silver birch and the wild rhododendrons which are everywhere in abundance throughout this area.
Jenna is still not allowed free exercise. She recently finished her anti-inflammatory medication and after a few days she started a course of Cartrophen (Pentosan Polysulphate Sodium) injections to regenerate her damaged joints. She has had two at weekly intervals so far and will have another two in the next fortnight, then she will have monthly shots and finally, hopefully, annual boosters. This compound is not licensed for use in humans as it must not be used with steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin. Animals do not have free access to over-the-counter analgesics but humans do and a mixture of the two could be fatal! There is a large lake in Simons Wood with a small island in the middle where Canada geese nest each year.

Mallards and coots abound but this year all the ducklings and coot chicks and most of the goslings have disappeared. There are no pike in the lake but three large terrapins (turtles) have been spotted and they have come under suspicion for the demise of the baby water birds. I suspect that the terrapins once lived in someone's aquarium or garden pond and were rehoused in the local lake when they became too big or troublesome to look after. (I hope no-one is keeping baby crocodiles; they wouldn't survive the winter if similarly disposed of but could do a lot of damage before the cold weather arrived! I'm joking – I trust!)

As we approached the lake Frodo's stride lengthened and he plunged into the water to cool off, followed hotfoot (hotpaw?) by Jenna and Gus. Hydrotherapy is the only unrestricted exercise Jenna can undertake at present and she thoroughly enjoys her gambols in lakes and ponds. Buddy keeps well away from all water!

As Jenna and Gus tirelessly retrieved a large stick they were joined by a pretty Golden retriever who played with them for a while.

After she had gone home, a Jack Russell bustled up. He paddled rather than swam and was really more interested in playing chase on land with Gus. Much play-growling ensued, each in turn playing the part of catcher.

Eventually, he, too, went off with his master and we realised we had been out much longer than intended and returned home. The rest of the day was quiet, the peace being disturbed only occasionally by the snores of contented dogs.

Camera Critters #98 Feeding the birds

There is a small local nature reserve near us. It boasts a large lake and many trails. The birds are so accustomed to being fed by visitors that they swim or fly speedily across the water to anyone they see.

In this photo there are mallards, Canada geese, swans and a coot. Two young lads are attempting to hand-feed the swans. They're braver than I am - the swans hissed at me when I approached but then I didn't have any food for them!
I have only seen one pair of swans at this reserve but there are many mallards, a couple of pairs of Canada geese, a number of quarrelsome coots and I only saw one pair of moorhens. There is also a tree full of cormorants and herons which share their perching location with lots of gulls. Thank you to Misty Dawn for hosting this meme. To see more critters please click here.