Photo of the Month (Jan 2021)

 A snowfall here this weekend.

Not a lot
and by Monday it had virtually all melted.

Still enough to enjoy;

So here is a selection of snow photos.

A snowman and his snow dog taking a rest

Snow on a branch

Pearl on a snowy walk

My favourite photo

Ruby and Amber playfighting in the snow

Dogs and Lockdown

This has been a difficult year for everyone,
especially during the lockdowns.

Those of us with dogs have been fortunate.

Our pet dogs have been a comfort during this time.

We also realize our dogs are encountering problems.
They have picked up on our worries and anxieties.
How they show this varies.

Those who acquired puppies in the past year
have had problems socializing and training them. 

Classes have been forced to close.

Though my wonderful dog Pearl is a mature dog
having just turned 6 years
she too is not the same.

She has become reticent meeting other dogs.
If they don't have very good doggy manners
(rush up, uninvited)
she becomes snappy.
Sometimes for no apparent reason she barks. 

Pearl(behind) and Lucy

Unfortunately right now there is little I can do.
We continue to walk with "family";
Her aunt Lucy 
and her son Toby

(I collect them and walk 2 dogs sometimes 3)

When we can finally meet up with people
(even if we have still can't hug)
I intend to find dogs of all ages to walk with.

To that end I have joined

South Glos Dog Walks & Events FB group.

Hopefully the groups will be smaller than
the Labrador Group I met up with
a couple of years ago at Ashton Court.

Pearl sitting in the middle (quite happy)

It was great fun
but
there were too many.
Pearl was continually looking for me
instead of enjoying doggy company.

Read of the Month(Jan 2021)

 With all that is happening at the moment;-

• the pandemic (insufficient information)
• the riot in the States (conspiracy theories) 

knowing a source that collects information and data from a variety of sources and then analyses it carefully is an essential antidote.

As it says on the dust jacket 

"...carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts"

greatly reduces anxiety, worry and stress. 

The tag line of the book is hugely encouraging

"Ten reasons we're wrong about the world and why things are better than you think"

What is the book?

The title is simply

Factfulness 
by
Hans Rosling

This is a book can be read many times.

As the title suggests it gathers facts and then orders them logically and systematically to clarify thinking. 

In order to continue to examine facts and inform people, the author, 

who is Swedish, set up the organization "Gapfinder".

https://www.gapminder.org/

As they state this is 

"an independent Swedish foundation with no

• political
• religious
• economic

affiliations".

Its mission is

"to fight devastating ignorance with a fact-based world view".

The author is now dead but his son Ola Rosling and daughter-in-law Anna continue his work.

This is a book I would suggest everyone read. 

Wonderful.

 

Goodbye 2020

 Well 2020 has been a strange year for everyone. 

Me and my motorhome

I have been very fortunate.

I even managed to get away in my motorhome for a few trips.
I visited some campsites in the south and south west researching for my next walk book. 

I went to 

• Devon
• Dorset
• East Sussex
• revisited Hampshire (New Forest) to check up on some facts.

Here are some photographs I took.
I hope they brighten your day.

DEVON
Discovering Dartmoor

Mountain Rescue Team out training

Widgery Cross on Brat Tor

DORSET
Chesil Beach

Boats in the Fleet

View across Fleet to Chesil Beach

EAST SUSSEX

The Weald

A cycle path through the trees

I'm looking at you
(even the trees have eyes)

HAMPSHIRE

New Forest

Some trees of the forest

Dartmoor pony on the moor

Christmas Cards

I  have been seeing posts that people are not sending cards this year but giving a donation to charity instead.
Really?

This year of all years, the sending of traditional greetings cards to loved ones near and far will surely mean so much more to say I am thinking of you, and wishing you peace, love and good health for the year to come, than a Facebook post which may or may not be read?

This may be the only contact you have with this person this year, Surely this is the time to make it count?

What about producers and publishers of cards? They're not all big companies, but often small designers who need our support to keep going, too.

You can purchase cards, which make a donation to charity, quite cheaply. The fact that you

• buy cards,
• write personal messages,
• send them.

Is very little effort for the response it will get

Or maybe you could hand deliver some of them on your daily walking exercise obviously taking care to socially distance and sanitise where you should.

If I know your address, I will be sending you a card if I do not know your home address, I will try to send a personal message; my love and blessings are unconditional.

If I offend then I apologise - that is not my intention.

If I choose to make a donation to charity that is personal - However, if I do so it will be as well as cards and not instead.

Pearl and I hope with all my heart we all stay safe and well, and that the next year will be better for us all and we can enjoy each others company again.

 

The Best Day

For me the most important day of the year is 21st or 22nd December
The Winter Solstice
(The shortest day)

This is the best day.
From now the days will get a little long.

It is such a significant day for me that I write about it most years.

I find the winter months, November, December and January difficult.
It is not the cold or wet.
It is the grey skies 

and the long dark nights.

When taking Pearl out for her afternoon jaunt my choices are limited;

• Take her out in the light at 3.30pm at the latest
• Take her out in the dark but somewhere easy to navigate.
• 
  

I am looking forward to spring

when Pearl and I will be able to resume our research 
for our second walk book
(Hopefully)

Read of the Month (Dec 2020)

This month's #ReadoftheMonth is for me a difficult read.
Nevertheless I feel it is an important for me to finish.

It gives a well researched factual account of an event my father was personally involved in;

The 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

And so the book is simply 

Warsaw 1944
(Hitler, Himmler and the Warsaw Uprising)
by

Alexandra Richie

My father did not speak in any detail about this period of his life.
He did on occasion mention it.
This was to explain his appearance;
scared face and hands due to burns.

Unfortunately I was only aware of the most rudimentary facts;

• the population of the city collaborated to fight against the Germans
• it was brutally repressed by the Nazis
• the Russians then invaded the city and established a communist regime

It was not until I was older and after my father had died that I learnt more.

This was in part due to Rita Cosby.

Her father too was a participant in the Warsaw uprising.
This was when he and my father met and subsequently became good friends.

So when Rita wrote a book about her father large chunks of it were about my father.

It is a very different book from the #ReadoftheMonth.
It is a personal emotional account 
as opposed to being
a carefully researched factual account.

This war in Eastern Europe, especially involving the Russians,
is little known in the UK.
It is rarely mentioned; certainly not the details.
Maybe now is the time to put the record straight.

This book is a start.

For me it is informative but poignant.
But a must read 

 

A Disgusting Practice

Having a dog can be life enhancing.

It is for me. 

All of my dogs

Ruby

Amber and Pearl
cuddling up in the Motorhome

have added a new dimension
to my life in so many ways.

There is a downside.

If you have a dog you have to clear up after them (an euphemism)

Pick Up Their Poo

Not a pleasant job.

The usual practice is to pick it up in a special bag,
tie the top;
take it with you to put in a bin.

Unfortunately this does not always happen.

Sometimes it is just not picked up.

But worse is when a full "poo" bag is left lying about.

Even worse when it is hung from the branch of a tree

This is an action of environmental vandalism. 

Who is going to collect the bags
and dispose of them in the proper manner .

It takes many many years for the plastic to decompose.

The contents only take a few weeks.      

This has become quite a problem in some places.

It has required a re-think.

The National Trust now recommends 

"Stick and Flick"

Find a stick and flick the poo into the bottom of a hedge;

then throw the stick away.

In a short time the mess will rot away.

Take the bag with you

Happy Birthday to Pearl's Second Litter

  Pearl had her second litter in 2018 on 9th November

2 boys and 5 girls

So this year they were 2 years old.

I am thrilled to say 6 of her seven offspring sent birthday photos

This is Harry

This is Ivy

This is Ruby

This is Denzil

This is Holly

This is Polly

Super Thursday (Part 5)

No Read of the Month, instead another "Super Thursday".

Super Thursday is the day in October when
publishers showcase their Christmas range.

My Super Thursdays feature the 3 books special to me.
Details of these can be found in other blog posts.

This final Super Thursday is more like the industry type. 

I have collated all the #Read of the Months.

The list is eclectic; all non-fiction bar one
all genres; past and present texts.

Hopefully one book will pique interest
even be a different Christmas present for someone.

List of books and details at

https://annachelmicka.me/read-of-the-month/

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