Ice

A-Z Challenge – ‘I’

Last December was the coldest in the UK for a hundred years. Snow snarled up the airports and planes could not be de-iced. 

Locally we had the most snow that I can remember since we moved here at the beginning of the 1970s. The bungalow we live in has a drive that slopes up from the road to the garage. Keeping it clear of snow is a must if you want to go out in the car. Going out is not a problem; it’s getting back up that slope is a major obstacle as the compacted snow turns to ice.

The main road from the village to the local town snakes its way through a beech wood. The S-bends have been the scene of many an accident over the years, this one being no exception. In November the drain on one of the bends was blocked with fallen leaves and rain water spread across the road. Then it snowed forming a sheet of ice. Salt and grit on the road each night meant the road always had standing water on the surface. It was a no-go area for pedestrians as the pavements were hard-packed snow covered in ice; ice skates would not have helped on such an uneven surface. In addition as vehicles passes cold water was sprayed over everything nearby covering everything with ice. To be safe and avoid the ice walkers had to climb the fence and fight their way through the woods.

Why do I mention all this?

It gave me a photo opportunity that I did not expect:

To celebrate the pictures I could have had a forbidden whiskey on the rocks. However I’m told I shall have to wait until it’s warmer to toast myself - with ice tea.

North Yorkshire Village Dogs - Lily

A dog with an interesting name -

Elemark Waterlily is a great name for this pedigree Bearded Collie. A lively and intelligent dog as befits this breed of herding dog, she is known to everyone as Lily. She will be two early next year (2010) and already has acquired her slate grey colour – she was born black. Lily’s wiry coat does not moult but, as you can imagine, drying her off after a walk is a regular task even if it is only her feet that are wet.

Lily is an active and agile dog; who has taken to agility training as though she was born to it. Jumps, tunnels, elevated walks, A-frames, weaves are all fun for her. The paddock behind her home contains two jumps, for Lily, not for the horses and the pony that she respects and does not hassle at all. She lives quite amicable with a cat as well. However at night the door to the utility room is closed just in case she takes a liking to the ‘presents’ the cat brings home.

Bearded Collies are herding dogs, but Lily does not attend the local herding competitions as she has been desensitised to sheep. She has however a collection of cups and rosettes from shows and obedience contests. In addition to the jumps there is also a long corrugated plastic tunnel in the corner of her paddock. Say ‘tunnel’ to her and she’s off at full speed through it from one end to the other.

Lily has participated in obedience training, based on play and reward and holds the Kennel Club Good Citizen Gold Award (One of the six UK Bearded Collies this year). Her picture will soon appear on the roll of honour. She is responsive to commands; ‘Sit,’ ‘Down’ and ‘Stand.’ These are followed by ‘High Fives’ with her paw.

Her normal food is Arden Grange hypoallergenic lamb and rice; during training she is rewarded with little bits of chicken. She will take dog biscuit treats gently when offered – she gets nothing from the table.

All squeaks have had to be removed from her collection of soft toys. She also has a ring for retrieving; when she has raced to pick it up the ring often flips up to frame her face. No-one has succeeded in photographing her like this as you need to be very quick.

She gets two walks a day, with the longest in the morning. In the village Lily is on her lead, when loose in the fields the rabbits soon know she is about.

Lily has the run of the house, but is not allowed on any furniture. She rests and sleeps on a large cushion covered by a vet bed which draws any moisture from her feet. Naturally the bed is next to the radiator – after all she is a pet.

Lilly delights in getting wet and will run backwards and forwards through the deepest puddles making a noise that sounds for all the world like ‘Yeah! Yeah!’ Perhaps that’s why her name is Waterlily.