This morning saw me grumpy and inexplicably sad, feeling thoroughly disconnected not just from nature but from everyone and everything.
Blogging Doesn’t Help
The problem for me is that there is so much to do, so much to see and photograph, so much to experience outdoors, tonnes of research to do (and far too much IT and social media to plough through!) that there isn’t much time for the actual writing. In addition to the everyday stuff to write about there are 40-50 articles to produce to get Kids of the Wild properly up and running as a nature and wildlife resource.
Amongst all this, the actual time to be out there in nature is reduced and today I really needed to get outside and allow Mother Nature to work her magic.
Squirrel Saviours
It’s been a cool and windy autumn day and, inspired by Loretta’s blog last week, I decided that red squirrels might be the tonic, having only ever seen two of them in the wild; both of them dead on roads in Scotland.
I chose a site where red squirrels are ‘virtually guaranteed’ on feeders at the site of an old coal mine.
Very happily for me we did see red squirrels – look at that luxurious tail! – and they are totally, totally gorgeous, upliftingly cute, cheeky and charismatic – this is a sneak preview as the main pics are in my post Falling in Love with one of our Rarest Species.
Doggy Deliverance
But do you know who really got me out of my doldrums, as well as Wild Daddy and Caroline who dragged me outdoors? This little dude.
He’s spent 16 days in the collar of shame (read his story here Throwing for Dogs), unable to be off the lead even in the garden, so this week Fidgie has spent each day gently (gently? – he doesn’t know the meaning of the word!) regaining his fitness off the lead in the same field, of all places, where his injury occurred. When he first went ‘off-lead’ in the garden last Sunday he went completely berserk. It must have been like getting out of jail!
After today’s squirrel spotting we took him for his first beach run since the injury, still not allowed in the water but in perfect doggy heaven at the freedom, the space and the wind.
So here he is, my soul tonic for the day; happy paws on his beach.
My own happy paws are nearly back!
I feel very privileged because we have red squirrels living in our French garden. Every time I see them it makes me feel happy and lucky. The photo of your dog without his ‘lampshade’ (as our family call them!) is brilliant, he looks so happy!
Lucky you with the squirrels.I love the Fidgie photo too, he was over the moon to be free at last!
Aren’t dogs great for getting you out of the doldrums?! And I find seeing one of our local red squirrels can do the trick too! #AnimalTales
Absolutely! Can’t beat canine cuddles, or any other animal for that matter