Good morning, everyone!
I hope you are all well out there.
First things first; the puppies. We went, we saw, we chose...although it was incredibly difficult. In fact, we had to choose a No. 1 and a No. 2 choice. This is because the owner of the stud dog has first choice, and she hadn't visited yet. Although, apparently, she wants to take a bitch. We decided not to take the alpha male, even though he was great fun. You don't need a wilful dog that will stand 27" high at the shoulder, when you have children around.
So No.1 is the one who likes lots of affection.....
And No. 2 is the one who will probably grow up to the biggest and rangiest....
As for a name? Well, we're not there yet. But we do like Booser, which was the name of a nineteenth century otterhound. Three weeks on Sunday!!!!!
As for the holiday; we had a great time. We camped outside a little village in North Wales called Beddgelert (pron. beTHgelert), and the weather was mostly kind to us. There's a great little article on the legend of Llewellyn and Gelert, the brave Irish wolfhound, in the link above. It's a beautiful place, where two rivers meet between the lovely slate cottages, and wild goats roam the cliffs above.
On the Sunday, we had a wonderful walk onto the Glyder hills, and our little girls did very well, getting as high as they did. So did Luga, our friends' rottweiler, who gamely plodded up the hill, throwing himself in whatever stream he came across. My favourite moment was when a red kite hovered above us on the updraughts. These beautiful birds, with their scimitar wings and forked tails, were shot and poisoned to extinction by gamekeepers in many parts of Britain. Their reintroduction has been a real success story, and they are beautiful to watch.
Our view of the Snowdon Horseshoe....
The going was quite boggy in places and, combined with a cool breeze, we didn't notice how unseasonally strong the sun was, and all ended up rather red. But a beer in the garden of the famous Pen y Gwryd Hotel eased the stinging somewhat. The PyG was the base for the successful 1953 British Everest expedition, and is full of momentoes, such as oxygen cylinders, ice axes and the porters' pay record, full of red thumbprints. More beer and barbeques followed for the rest of the evening, but even so I think we were all in bed by ten!
On Monday, we visited Portmeirion , a strange but rather charming village on the Dwyryrd estuary. The link above gives you some of the history of the place, including its central role in the cult tv series, The Prisoner. While none of it is architecturally outstanding, it is still a lovely place on a sunny day. But it does feel a little Disneyesque, with its Mediterranean colours, lacking that organic functionality that a real coastal village has; where beauty comes from the dependent relationship the town and its inhabitants have with the sea. But it's a great place to unwind, sit in the sun, and read the paper with a coffee.
The clouds had come in when we reached the beach at Abersoch in the afternoon, and we froze for an hour or so; me standing in the shallows with Daughter, while she splashed about, and I worried whether I would ever feel my feet again!
The rain finally arrived that night, and a gusty wind shook the tents, but I quite like that anyway. It's lovely being inside a tent, while the elements do their worst outside. There was lots of unpacking and sorting, and washing and drying to do when we got home, and I still feel rather bleary eyed today. But we had a great time, and will be off again soon, I'm sure. Hopefully with a little otterhound in tow!
I hope you are all well out there.
First things first; the puppies. We went, we saw, we chose...although it was incredibly difficult. In fact, we had to choose a No. 1 and a No. 2 choice. This is because the owner of the stud dog has first choice, and she hadn't visited yet. Although, apparently, she wants to take a bitch. We decided not to take the alpha male, even though he was great fun. You don't need a wilful dog that will stand 27" high at the shoulder, when you have children around.
So No.1 is the one who likes lots of affection.....
And No. 2 is the one who will probably grow up to the biggest and rangiest....
As for a name? Well, we're not there yet. But we do like Booser, which was the name of a nineteenth century otterhound. Three weeks on Sunday!!!!!
As for the holiday; we had a great time. We camped outside a little village in North Wales called Beddgelert (pron. beTHgelert), and the weather was mostly kind to us. There's a great little article on the legend of Llewellyn and Gelert, the brave Irish wolfhound, in the link above. It's a beautiful place, where two rivers meet between the lovely slate cottages, and wild goats roam the cliffs above.
On the Sunday, we had a wonderful walk onto the Glyder hills, and our little girls did very well, getting as high as they did. So did Luga, our friends' rottweiler, who gamely plodded up the hill, throwing himself in whatever stream he came across. My favourite moment was when a red kite hovered above us on the updraughts. These beautiful birds, with their scimitar wings and forked tails, were shot and poisoned to extinction by gamekeepers in many parts of Britain. Their reintroduction has been a real success story, and they are beautiful to watch.
Our view of the Snowdon Horseshoe....
The going was quite boggy in places and, combined with a cool breeze, we didn't notice how unseasonally strong the sun was, and all ended up rather red. But a beer in the garden of the famous Pen y Gwryd Hotel eased the stinging somewhat. The PyG was the base for the successful 1953 British Everest expedition, and is full of momentoes, such as oxygen cylinders, ice axes and the porters' pay record, full of red thumbprints. More beer and barbeques followed for the rest of the evening, but even so I think we were all in bed by ten!
On Monday, we visited Portmeirion , a strange but rather charming village on the Dwyryrd estuary. The link above gives you some of the history of the place, including its central role in the cult tv series, The Prisoner. While none of it is architecturally outstanding, it is still a lovely place on a sunny day. But it does feel a little Disneyesque, with its Mediterranean colours, lacking that organic functionality that a real coastal village has; where beauty comes from the dependent relationship the town and its inhabitants have with the sea. But it's a great place to unwind, sit in the sun, and read the paper with a coffee.
The clouds had come in when we reached the beach at Abersoch in the afternoon, and we froze for an hour or so; me standing in the shallows with Daughter, while she splashed about, and I worried whether I would ever feel my feet again!
The rain finally arrived that night, and a gusty wind shook the tents, but I quite like that anyway. It's lovely being inside a tent, while the elements do their worst outside. There was lots of unpacking and sorting, and washing and drying to do when we got home, and I still feel rather bleary eyed today. But we had a great time, and will be off again soon, I'm sure. Hopefully with a little otterhound in tow!
I wanna propose two names for the puppies:
1- JonSnow: my favourite character of my favourite book (Song of Ice and Fire)
2- Steve McQueen: because he never runs aways from danger
I love the pic with the mountains!!! I repeat: you're really luck.
Never go ways again....
Cuuuuuuteeee puppies! I agree. Get one that will tolerate children pulling on tails and such. lol.
OMG. That is such a beautiful picture!!