... the husband won by default as the hound died.

Such a cute Indy!

Another glorious morning .... a nip in the air as I exit the house ... hound eagerly pulling at the leash as we head down the road.  She knows just where we’re going ... she knows exactly who we’re going to meet .... and exactly how to get there.  No hesitation as we hit the corner .... she knows that when we walk this early we 

turn right, along Carol’s road,  towards Ladies Bay and not down to the village.  She is just so smart .... she knows we’re on our way to meet Julia and Indy!


Depending on Sebastian’s alarm clock, we sometimes meet him heading out for his morning ablutions as we pass his abode.

I just love these sun rises ... it's like the sky's on fire!

Wouldn't be complete without a picture of my tree!

We say a friendly hello to the lady with the push-chair who’s taking her elderly hound for his morning stroll ... there’s no child in the push-chair ... it’s for the hound when they come back up the hill.  It tugs at my heart-strings whenever I see her ... her dedication and love for her hound is as intense and special as Carol’s 

love for Sebastian. They are people after my own heart ... they love their hounds and, just because they’re old - the hounds that is, doesn’t mean their quality of life and enjoyment of it should be diminished in any way whatsoever. 


These are the kind of people that populate my world

... the people I’ve become friends with .... people with heart and compassion ... people who care.


It was the same on the beach ... I stopped to chat to a lady who was amused by the hound’s antics with her mini-ball.  She was a bit 

Indy's pinched her baby ball!

apprehensive though of Chocolat coming too close ... but only because she had two ... yes TWO .... artificial legs!  Her doctor had advocated walking on the sand to help with balance and strength ... so walk on the sand she does.  She used to have a chocolate hound and, tongue in cheek, said she’d had to choose between the hound and her husband ... the husband won by default as the hound died!  One wonders what would have happened had the hound not died ..... hmmmmm

I’m overwhelmed by the support I’ve had from my fellow humans with hounds, and some humans without hounds, with regard to my fine. They’re all as aggrieved as I am and eagerly await the outcome of my objection. Offers of character references have flooded in ... I knew the Dog By-Laws and enforcement of them were a sensitive issue, but hadn’t realised just HOW sensitive an issue it has become.

There have been suggestions of organising a protest on the beach .... a march to the Council Offices with Sebastian heading up the march - could be a slow march .... drawing up a petition to ban GOM’s and GOB’s from the 

boardwalk and beach ..... tying up the Dog Warden with our long ropes.  Whilst there’s a touch of humour in some of these suggestions ... and we do try and laugh about how small-minded and petty certain individuals are .... there’s an unpleasant side to it as well.  

We shouldn’t have to be considering taking action ... the Dog Wardens should have the discretion to enforce the law if it’s necessary but to take into account the circumstances surrounding the alleged breach of the law.  My hound, despite me not holding her leash, was under control, sitting quietly 

next to the bench when the Dog Warden decided I’d broken the law.  I’ve seen people struggling to hold, sometimes unsuccessfully, more aggressive hounds on the beach but, according to the law, the hound is deemed to be ‘under control’ because someone is holding the leash ... it’s absurd and makes a mockery of 

the very laws the Dog Wardens are trying to uphold.


To all the wonderful people out there who’ve sprung to my defense ... and who I know read my blog .... thank you so much for your friendship and your support .... my daily rambles wouldn’t be the same without you all in them!

We're becoming accustomed to seeing bare bums and balls ....

6.30 in the morning and there's a cruise ship going into the harbour
... the white blob on the horizon.

Mornings don’t come more beautiful than this one!  I was out of the house at 6.30 and on the beach at Ladies Bay before sunrise .... it’s an awesome feeling beating the sun out of bed!!


I was there before Julia this morning so I climbed on the rocks between Ladies Bay and the Bay of the Tree to

watch the sun rise over the horizon.  It peeked through the branches of my tree and cast this magical glow all over the world.  It's amazing how quickly my world lights up as the sun ascends into the sky.  Rangitoto a few minutes before had been dark and eerie but was now glistening and glowing with life.

The early morning sun isn’t hidden by a cliff  on the Bay of the Tree ... but our access to the Bay of the Tree is determined by the tide and the tide was high this morning and our bay inaccessible .... the hounds, not that they mind, had to make do with Ladies Bay.

The tide is so high it's almost covering the rocks between Ladies Bay and the Bay of the Tree

An elderly nudist joined us in the Bay and asked Julia if we minded if he swam ..... we were a bit non-plussed, we’re not used to nudists asking if we mind if they swim! He went to the far end of the Bay to undress and swim so we stayed where we were trying not to have to look in that direction.  Julia has more of a problem with that than I do

 ... my hound stays in the waves and plays with her ball - I don’t have to look anywhere but the waves .... Indy, as is his wont, explores his domain from cliff face to waves ... from rocks at one end to rocks at the other ... Julia can’t help but have to look in every direction.  


We’re becoming accustomed to seeing bare bums and balls ...... rugby balls of course.

I really love these early morning walks .... yes, it’s darker when I leave home and photo opportunities are more scarce ... particularly on Ladies Bay ... but I love watching the world wake up - it’s almost as if a big hand in the sky has switched the world on ..... well ..... my part of the world that is! 

The early morning sun and absence of clouds has bought humans and hounds ... and humans WITHOUT hounds .... out in droves.  There were people EVERYWHERE as we headed back down to the village.  It was so noisy ... and it was only 7.30!!  A bus had pulled into the bus-stop and a stream of people were boarding it ... obviously on their way to school or work in the city.  A glass recycling truck was making it’s way down the road picking up and emptying glass bins ... what a racket ... the sound of the glass breaking as the bin was tipped upside down.  

Even the zebra crossing was busy .... cars turning in all directions .... I even paused to ensure the cars were stopping before I stepped of the kerb ... not something I normally do! Pedestrian crossings are treated with respect here in NZ ... one becomes accustomed to assuming the cars will stop.

On reflection I don’t think it was just the glorious weather that bought more people out of the woodwork today, I think the village was busier as everyone heads back to work and to school.  Yesterday’s Public Holiday is the last one before Easter. Life returns to

The same view when I arrived back home at 10

some semblance of normality now and, with that normality, is the return of the traffic and early morning busy-ness.


Everyone’s getting back into routine ..... and that includes my humans with hounds .... I’m seeing the regulars more frequently now, despite walking earlier. I head back to the beach

after saying goodbye to Julia and Indy .... attach the hound to her long rope - just in case the Dog Warden decides to pay a call .... and throw ball after stick after ball after stick for the hound ... she’s never the one that tires of the game first ... I am. 

Carol and Sebastian joined us on the beach today AND I got to see Denise and Abi ... and get more of my petition forms signed. I find it odd when someone with a hound doesn’t want to sign a form .... and especially when they’re on the beach with their hound .... off-leash ... and it’s NOT swimming .... where is the Warden when I want him!! Despite explaining the reason for the petition to them, the woman still saw fit not to sign ... she was quite derogatory about it in fact .... her husband wanted to sign but felt obliged to follow her lead. 

Her lack of understanding of the Dog By-laws reinforced for me the need for clarity by the Council ... so many of the people I’ve approached about the petition are completely ignorant of the times they’re allowed on the beach ... and that during summer their

On Ladies Bay yesterday with Indy - Julia had been writing in the sand!

hounds have to be on lead, unless they're swimming. 


I value my right to walk my hound on the beach and for her to swim in the waves ... I want to do my utmost to ensure that right isn’t removed.  I guess I can’t convince everyone that standing up for our rights is necessary but I sure intend to try.

Nester

We had “Nester” repeating on us this morning .... a little hurricane of a dog that blew in from goodness-knows-where and nearly knocked Julia off her feet before racing in manic circles around all and sundry. Nester wanted Chocolat’s log and Chocolat doesn’t share logs ... not with anyone!  

Nester’s either deaf or extremely naughty ... 14 months old ... but totally oblivious to the sound of her human’s voice. He was an elderly man .... and very slow .... I even had to fill in his details for him on my petition as he said he writes very slowly ... that’s NOT ALL he does very slowly.  Nester is fast and furious and without Julia’s help, the elderly man would never have managed to put Nester on lead.  Nester got a good telling-off before the elderly man slowly shuffled off down the path ... one sheepish looking Nester in tow .... both Julia and I trying hard not to chuckle.

A demented Nester running in circles around Chocolat

We continued with our ramble ... we’d headed up to Dingle Dell from the beach this morning to try and get more signatures for our petition.  Dingle Dell is a native bush area with a lovely bush walk through it and the hounds can be off-leash.


We’d exited at the top of 

The Oyster Catchers take off before I can get too close ... timid little things.

Dingle Dell with the intention of heading for Madills Farm ..... another off-leash dog area.  As we walked along the road, without warning, a little hurricane raced past us and down into Dingle Dell!!  Yep, it was Nester .... sans human .... and happy as a piglet in doo-doo!


What to do!  According to the address on my petition the man lived in the St. John’s area which is a fair way from Dingle Dell.  We assumed he must have driven there and possibly Nester escaped as he removed the lead and put her in the car.  We were torn between trying to catch Nester and return her to her owner or continue with our ramble as we still had quite a way to go.  

Sanity prevailed ... Nester is fast .... it was difficult enough reining her in the first time .... she’d disappeared into Dingle Dell and we hadn’t a clue of which direction she’d gone in.  Dingle Dell covers an area of approximately 21 acres so the chance of us finding her quickly were fairly remote ... the chance of her responding to our calls even more remote.  

Hopefully someone, other than the dog warden, found Nester and returned her to the elderly man.  Nester was a prime example of what the general public complain about ... she was off leash and totally out of control .... the elderly gentleman puts ALL our rights as dog owners in

She ALWAYS finds the water!

jeopardy by not having her under control ... and especially in an off-leash area.  


Hmmm .... if he’d been younger I would have suggested investing in a pair of roller-blades to keep up with Nester but at his age its probably not a good idea. 

Despite the damp and drizzly weather we did have an awesome ramble.  The sun is conspicuous by its absence at the moment and for some reason, that deters a lot of people from rambling .... haven’t they heard of waterproof jackets? We sheltered from the rain on the steps of the new building to drink our daily fix and the hounds were given treats by another elderly man I’ve met on the beach before. 


Our petition is growing ... we have over 100 signatures now and gained another 4 this morning.  Who knows how many we might get before submissions close!

My wet and deserted bay as I head back towards St. Heliers.

I didn’t tell Julia about this this morning but her hound is SO funny I was a little late leaving for our ramble and Julia and Indy were out early so they arrived to fetch us.  Indy came into the house and, without hesitation, did a quick recce of the house from top to bottom .... even jumping on our bed to check it out .... he definitely lives up to his name!! You can’t help but love him ... he is just so larger than life!