7 Sloan's Last Trip to Brimham: I'm Calling This One for the Dogs

 If you've got furry kids, or if you're someone with human kids who has friends with furry kids, I'm sure you've taken part in the debate.

Human Kids vs. Dogs/Cats: Which Are Easier/Better?

I've definitely had my turns in this never-ending competition, and, to be honest, I think it's a draw- sure, you can leave dogs at home without a sitter when you run errands, but human kids are also welcome more places (especially in America-land). Human kids grow up too fast? Sure, but knock on wood, you get them in your life a whole lot longer than (an optimistic) 15-18 years. So shut up.  Dogs lick their butts and scoot on the carpet? Human kids do drugs.  (No, not all do, but then, not all dogs scoot, either.)

Anyway, my point is that I think having to leave somewhere they obviously love is harder for pets (dogs specifically in this post) because they don't know it's their last time. 

Friday, September 28, we had our fast shipment packed up and moved out of our house for good.  Between that little pack-out and house-cleaning, we took a late-afternoon break to go to Brimham Rocks (lots of links in the first paragraph of this post) for the last time. Watson (my Element) was scheduled to be cleaned and wait to be shipped the next morning and our National Trust membership expired that Sunday, so it was clearly a "now or never" time. We popped both dogs in the car and, as usual, Sloan got wiggle-butt excited as soon as she recognized the route.  Brimham was fairly empty, which we appreciated.  Both dogs were able to run around, sniffing, chasing, and hurtling through the heather without a care. 

I wanted to get one last picture of the two of them with Nidderdale as their backdrop, but they weren't interested in cooperating!

We moseyed around, both Paul and I walking slower and slower as we took in the beauty of our surroundings as well as the complete joy on Sloan's face. The tears I was fighting began to win, and I told Paul "She doesn't even know. And we have no way to tell her." 

That's a happy tush.

The rain earlier in the day gave us a double rainbow (the second rainbow's barely visible here, but it's to the right of the brighter one). Rainbows and double rainbows aren't uncommon in Great Britain, but that one really hit my heart, and made me smile through my watery eyes. 

We stayed for a while, playing fetch and sitting on rocks as the dogs sniffed puddles and chased imaginary beasties. I wondered out loud if it wasn't better that Sloan didn't know, because then she might not have been so carefree; so every-day in her fun. She was spared the bittersweet that Paul and I were feeling.

I know that Paul and I will see North Yorkshire again, even if it's just for a visit here and there, but common sense tells me that's not likely for Sloan (or Max & Mia).  We're lucky enough to have pictures (hundreds of them, in fact) to help trigger our memories of her favorite place, but I hope that, when Sloan's running in her dreams and kicking me during the night, she's bounding through the thick heather and leaping off the tall rocks at the Brimham in her mind. 

4 We (ahem... SLOAN) Can't Get Enough of Brimham Rocks!

So many times.

here on a snowy Thanksgiving, here during a thunderstorm, here are some shots of individual rock formations on a bright, sunny January day, Max does some climbing here, here is Brimham Moor covered in blooming heather, halfway down the post here is a view of Nidderdale from the rocks during a rainstorm lull, and Sloan's little salute to Brimham.

I finally took some classic brochure-esque images of the rocks.  Those bins (trash cans)? They're full of Sloan's "donations". 

I couldn't decide which view I liked better!

He's so handsome!!

Oh, I meant he is... right. That's what I meant.

This shot will never cease to crack me up!

Oh, Nidderdale. I'm gonna miss you.

Yeah, you've seen this one before- but I just love it!! 

6 Sloan's Birthday and Blooming Heather at Brimham Rocks

 Saturday was Sloan's birthday, so we had to head to her Favorite Place on Earth,

Brimham Rocks.

(Which really needs its own label here, we go there so much!)

(I, II, III, IV, V, VI)

The heather recently started blooming, so I took the dogs straight over to Brimham Moor and we skipped the rocks.  The day had been pretty warm, so I'd waited until just before sunset to take them out so that Max wouldn't be too hot. As an added bonus, that sunset gave me some beautiful colors!

(Looking back over last year's posts around this time (III and IV above), I'd say that a rainy, chilly summer makes for much more vibrant heather!!)

So beautiful!

 One comment I get variations of when I post pictures of the dogs on FB or here is "How do you get them to pose so prettily?" or "I could never get my dogs to sit for a picture like that!"
Well, first of all, both dogs have been raised in front of my camera. I was in college during both their adoptions, so not only did I take pictures for fun but for assignments, too.  The camera also loves Sloan (and vice-versa)- she's quite photogenic, unlike Max (and me), so I often photograph her because it's just so satisfying.
That said... it's still not a simple matter to get a good shot.

First you have to get both of them sitting at the same time- and facing the same direction.

 Then there's a lot of goofy voices and excited tones to try and get both their attention at once- without being so excited that one or both of them get up to see what the fuss is about!

 Then there are the awkward faces. Usually this would be Max with his eyes closed- he's notorious for that!

Then I have to be sure they aren't conspiring shenanigans while I'm distracted!

 And finally, we've got a keeper!!

 After Max got tired of searching for trails in the thick overgrowth (he's an adamant trail-follower- don't even THINK about asking him to go "off-road"),

 and Sloan took a break from her never-ending fetch,

I was free to photograph for a bit!

So gorgeous! 

I think I'll wait until her Gotcha Day (Sept. 22) to do a proper retrospective of Sloan-

if you are dying to know what baby Sloan looked like, though, check out this post on her blog.

For those who might be curious, she's 7.2.

As in, she turned 6 in 2009, 7 in 2010, 7.1 in 2011, and 7.2 this year.

7: dogs :: 25: women.

At least that's what we're saying!

0 Inspiration Sunday

It's that moment when the world becomes still

and the most pressing thing you have to do is nothing.

(oddly enough) International Coffees ad in the late 90s

Summer at Bolton Abbey

2 Inspiration Sunday

What we think and feel is all we really have...

no limit that I ever knew really matters.

Billy Corgan

View over Nidderdale from Brimham Moor

3 Thunderstorm at Brimham Rocks

 To celebrate the 4th of July, or, to be honest, to celebrate the end of the April-June ground-birds nesting season that requires dogs to be kept on lead at Brimham Rocks, Sloan and I headed to her favorite place on earth.

Despite us not having gone there for three months- an eternity for a dog- she started wriggling and making happy faces before we even turned onto Brimham's lane.  

The girl knows what she loves!

The sky was a gorgeous, cartoonish blue with puffy white clouds when we set out, but about halfway through our adventure a heavy dark cloud rolled in, and I heard thunder.

I don't mind rain, as long as it's not freezing, and today was warm and muggy, as it has been lately.

(Yes, to my poor family and friends suffering in the 100ºF+ temperatures in Atlanta, 66ºF is HOT here!)

I baggied up my camera (having a roll of dog-poo bags comes in handy for more than just conscientious dog clean-up!) and we kept on playing fetch.

 When the rain began pelting down, Sloan and I hid under a big rock.  

 She dropped her ball into this deep gorge, but I managed to reach down all 2 feet of the depth and retrieve it.  Mommies are the best!

As we drove away, some of the locals came to see us off. These are actually calves- their mommas were less curious!

6 Farm Delivery Friday May 18 and Dinner at the Welly

Top row: 2L skimmed milk, 1L skimmed milk, carrots, calabrese broccoli
Middle row: lemons, Glastonbury smoked cheddar, celery, cucumbers, spring onions, wet garlic
Stuck in the middle: grapefruit, mixed peppers (bell peppers are just called peppers)
Front row: blueberries! shitake mushrooms, fresh parsley, fresh sage, courgettes, lettuce

 Farm delivery from Riverford. Yes, I was eating those blueberries as I set it up. 

Paul's been in the States all week, so tonight we decided to go out.  I realized we hadn't been to the Welly, our favorite pub, since February- practically sacrilege!  

Since it's staying light so late, I was able to photograph our meal for you.

For the record, I feel like a dweeb using a DSLR to take pictures of food... reason #64 we need a little point-and-shoot.  Or a 21st century cell phone.

 We sat in the conservatory to enjoy the view, and even got to watch some lamb-frolicking!

 The cheesy garlic bread.  We both eat a lot of cheese, and the Welly's menu has several options for us- this is a favorite!

Paul's drinking a Copper Dragon, a local ale.  I had my usual Kopparberg Cider- the mixed fruit flavor.

 Potato and Leek soup.  I couldn't decide between my trusty fish pie or a variety of starters as a meal- after we decided to come back within the week, I opted for the starters.

The Welly's soups are delicious, and the bread that is served with them is INCREDIBLE!  

 Grilled chicken, goat cheese, and pear salad with balsamic dressing.

I could have eaten an entire bowl of this salad!

 Breadcrumb fried brie with cranberry chutney.  Our favorite waitress, Helen, recommended this to me once, and it's been on my "regulars" rotation ever since.  I'm not a fan of brie normally, but gooey warm bites of this dipped in the cranberry chutney is amazing!

 We always get cheesy chips, too! I've found that some pub's chips seem to be glorified frozen french-fry consistency- not the Welly!  They're potatoey and delicious. 

The steamed seasonal veg is served alongside the pies. 

Paul got his favorite, the steak and ale pie.  He couldn't even wait to start while I took the pictures- clearly we shouldn't wait 3 months between coming here!

Have a great weekend!  We've got a busy one planned- and you know you'll hear all about it!!

5 Spring Photo Shoot at Valley Gardens

 Today we had our first blue-sky, spring-like day in weeks. This week is going to be very busy for us, since Paul's final graduate school paper is due next weekend and I'm working four days this week (whose bright idea was that?!?), plus the weather is supposed to go from grey to worse, so we knew we had to take advantage of this gorgeous day and get the dogs out.  

We couldn't go far, since Paul's practically chained to his computer right now, so we went to Valley Gardens.  (also here)

 The cherry trees are finally blooming!  

 Of course, I tried for a photo session. All I want is a spring version of this adorableness, but getting these two to both look decent in a picture is nearly impossible.  Sloan's also starting to look like a ghost next to Max, with her mask turning so white these days!  (the sounds you hear are Paul's and my hearts breaking)

 This might be my favorite- she's such a goober!

 Maxwell Baxter-pants was actually in a good mood for pictures.  He was his usually temperamental self at first, ducking his head and continually walking towards me when I asked him to wait, but then he got with the program I found the treats in my pocket.

 Sloan knocked this blossom off the tree, so I turned it into a boutonniere!

 Yes, Max, you're a goober, too! 

"Caboose" was his first nickname for a reason!

This is in the Pinewoods, under one of the giant azalea bushes.  I tried to get each dog to pose, but each time Paul had the other dog on a further path- and I just love how they were searching for each other the whole time.  These two really are the best brother and sister!

 Her expression here reminds me of when she was young.

4 Farm Delivery Friday April 27 and Lambs in the Drive

back row: skimmed milk, potatoes, carrots
middle: celery, lemons, calabrese broccoli, lettuce
front: rhubarb, sage, apples

 I skipped posting a couple of weeks of Farm Delivery Friday, since it felt redundant and boring.  But now it's back, since we're gradually getting late spring/early summer items, like rhubarb!  

I'd never had rhubarb before living here, despite it being around the South.

Turns out?  Good.

I like sweet, I like tart, I like fruit/veg (depending on who you ask...) that can be made into pies and tarts.

I also got some fresh sage.  We go through a lot of herbs in our house, specifically the "Scarborough Fair" ones- parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  

I eat A TON of rosemary, since rosemary and garlic is my favorite savoury flavor combination.

Anyway, since we can get fresh herbs with the farm delivery, we've both really gone away from the bottled dried ones from the supermarket.  Instead, I get fresh ones and dry them in the Aga- 

they dry quickly, within 1/2 a day, stay green, and maintain AMAZING amounts of flavor. 

This sage is already mostly dry.

It's the first of the big four herbs to appear on the website, but as the others become available you know I'll order them, too- several batches of rosemary, I'm sure!

 I took the dogs out to Bolton Abbey today, since we haven't been in a while due to the Easter break (we avoid popular places when school's out...) and then we were out of town for a week.  They love it, I love it, it all works out.  

As we headed down to the car park, there were lambs in the drive.

 These guys are big already!

Big, and adventurous... in the road.  Luckily, these are safe in the road, since the speed limit is 10 or something, and they're on a private estate.  I didn't have to chase any of these guys!

He's so handsome!

 There's a giant field in the middle of a bend in the river, across from the abbey ruins. It's basically the unofficial dog park, unless the estate's cows are there.  We always head over, and Max plays in the water while Sloan plays fetch.

 I was trying to take a picture of her jumping after her ball, but that's not easy when I'm both the ball-holder and the picture-taker... 

If you're coming over from Megan at Across the Pond, welcome!  This post is pretty much what you get here- a mix of English countryside (lately, lots of lambs), good food (local and fresh is easy here in England!), and my pooches.  I've got posts from our recent trip to Amsterdam, Keukenhof, The Hague, and Brussels coming up- so stay tuned!!