Wednesday

The Dog Rambler E-diary

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October 2011
Walk Dogs on walk

Back to Saltoun Forest

Length

6 miles

Brooklyn, Cyrano, Dylan, Jolie, Phoebe, Solo

It took us a while to collect everyone today so we abandoned plans to head into Gore Glen and took to Saltoun Forest instead. Given how muddy it was there, missing Gore Glen may not have been a bad choice. It is muddy at the best of times. There was little chance of clean dogs today and that was exacerbated by Adams dog, Meg. Adam, my nephew is still with us being The Dog Ramblers apprentice. Sorcery did not suit him. Having been a little circumspect in the last two days, Meg was given no option today. Jolie clearly believed Megs sole purpose was to be her plaything. Brooklyn kind of had that in mind too. But it was Phoebe who made the first move on Meg. So tall she had Meg throwing herself onto the muddy ground. This further raised Brooklyns and Jolies belief that much fun was ahead of them today. Soon Meg was surrounded. She squirmed away from them and ran on ahead. They pursued until she toppled onto her side again. Snaking over the ground until she was able to dash away once more. This continued in a regular pattern as we left the woods for a stroll on tracks around some patchwork fields. Despite another collie on the walk Cyrano was not too interested. Instead he pushed his way up ahead with Dylan. They were joined by Phoebe who had tired of the game. As we

headed back into the woods the three of them could scarcely be seen for long periods. Sadly the same could not be said for Brooklyn, Jolie and Meg who were thrashing through the puddles in the rutted track almost knocking me and Adam off our feet many times. Solo had to jink from side to side or stop in his tracks to avoid a head on collision with them. He did sometimes take this as a valid opportunity to slip into the muddy puddles for a bit of a wallow. An autumnal shawl of gold, orange and brown had settled across some of the trees. Like a network of Amazon style rivers full of silt flowing through the green of the pine trees. Reaching deep into the forest where our paths did not go. We found one small path pressing through the trees, finding small gaps to create a route. It was even muddier. As me and Adam slipped about Brooklyn, Jolie and Meg found it added even more to their scampering fun. As the path forced its way deeper into the trees we got glimpses of Dylan and Phoebe scouting back and forth ever deeper and further from the path. They were hunting. Every now and then breaking into a sprint. Each time fruitless. It did not put them off and soon they were off in another equally fruitless direction. Amongst it all Solo was the essence of calmness. The metronome marking the steady passage of the walk with his sound purposeful strides. A whirlwind of dogs around him but still he counted us along uninterrupted. Step, step, step. Dependable and composed. So unlike Brooklyn, Jolie and Meg who by now resembled drowned rats. Cyrano pristine white in comparison to Meg who was all black. Cyrano watched Dylan and Phoebes antics amused by their singular failure to catch anything. Perhaps the closest they came was Phoebe setting off at such a pace we had not seen. Something must have spurted out in front of her. Without some loud calling she may have been gone for a while. That would have been slightly annoying as we only had a few more bends in the haphazard pattern of paths to go before coming upon the car park from the opposite side to where we had started. Cyrano and Meg spotting the car and running to it whereas Dylan and Phoebe were set to head down the red gravel access road. All collected up, a grubby bunch slithered into the car.

Photo slideshow from the walk

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Nick Fletcher The Dog Rambler 9 Links Street Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6JL

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