Guddling

Woke up to a fantastic cold and frosty morning and to the knowledge that my blip for my 100th birthday yesterday had landed in the spotlight. Very many thanks to all those responsible who sent congratulations, stars and hearts. I now look forward to the next 100 blips and continuing the friendships started here.

This morning I set off on a slightly different walk which took me along a fairly well trodden path, through woods and down to the River Turret which burls along merrily past the Glenturret Distillery. Both Cara and Bruce were straight off to explore the new smells and I could here them charging about by the sound of the forest floor being disturbed with cracks and rustles and the occasional startled cry from a bird. The path was well signed and so there was no danger of getting lost though Bruce, in particular, has a penchant for going off piste in pursuit of enticing new rabbit holes and other interesting attractions. However he was very good and came bounding back to me on the call of the whistle or when Cara was sent to round him up.

When we finally found ourselves at the tumbling river there was one quiet and fairly deep pool which was effectively dammed by large boulders and was perfect for swimming. The winds of the past couple of months had provided an endless assortment of sticks and both Cara and Bruce were delighted with the excuse to jump into the freezing water to retrieve any thrown in, although they were perplexed when the occasional one sunk to the bottom of the pool. The light was coming in at a difficult angle for photography and when I got home I was disappointed with many of the shots. However I loved this one of Bruce, head completely immersed, guddling for stones - one of his favourite pastimes when beside a river. We continued on our way, passing the Distillery and by the time we reached home we had been out for a good two and a half hours. Both dogs are now comfortably fed and sound asleep at my feet.

Although the sky didn't turn into anything spectacular tonight, there was a definite pink glow to it as the sun set, which augurs well for tomorrow.