Dumbell Copse
28 June, 2009
It was a very hot and humid walk for all the 16 dogs and 22 people that attended - but great fun with a fantastic cook-up at the end.
Dumbell Copse walk.
We were cool at start and end under the shade of Dumbell Copse. In-between, we braved the heat, humidity and insects – nah, it wasn’t really that bad. We took it slowly and the dogs amused us with their usual antics, especially in the mud puddles.
Left to right - Dita, Kea, Brandon.
We had Salisbury Plain to ourselves, only seeing a couple of farm tractors and bikes. This is the best time of year to walk on the Plain as the wild flowers are at their peak.
Kea and Molly
...the best time of year to walk on the Plain.
A gathering of minds.
Tyrone and Alfie
There was a red STOP sign conveniently placed at the first big mud puddle! It was at a cross-road of farm/tank tracks and seemed unnecessary for the absent traffic. However, the dogs duly noted the sign...and stopped in the puddle!
STOP for puddle!
Alfie
The last puddle of the day was a monster puddle where the dogs spent a lot of time either splashing or wallowing. Amber caught imaginary fish, Tyrone took a cooling mud bath and Dita and Molly both applied heavy mud packs to their face.
Fun!
This is Dita!!!
Dita, is that you?
...and Molly.
Amber catching fish...
Amber
Rose stayed in camp to get the cooking started – eggs, bacon, sausage, beans and baked potatoes – which was eagerly enjoyed by everyone.
At one point we felt a few drops of rain, but we were under a double canopy as we’d erected a gazebo under the copse of trees to cover the kitchen.
Camp
Rose did a fantastic job with the cooking (with Tracy's help) and, after everyone had eaten all they could, Tracy organised a quiz with a small prize for the winner.
Alfie gives Liz a kiss.
Thanks to Alfie, Tyrone, a second Alfie, Fly, Kea, Dita, Storm, Molly, Liska, Jae, Grace, Sabra, Brandon, JD, Amber and another Amber for a lovely walk. Oh, and thanks also to the people for joining in!
Thanks to Craig for shooting some video of the dogs, which is available for viewing at the bottom of the gallery.
