Fathers' Day Tradition

Doing something once is a novelty; but, in our family, doing something twice definitely becomes a tradition.  So it was that Issy, Isla and I headed to Salhouse Broad in Norfolk for the second (annual) Fathers' Day swim.  Readers of this blog may remember that, a year ago, Isla wasn't exactly enthusiastic when it came to entering the water (see here).  What a difference a year makes.

What Isla may lack in style, she more than makes up for in enthusiasm.  She's a natural swimmer too, and now absolutely loves being in the water.

I thought it was about time that Isla met a frisbee for the first time.  She wasn't quite sure what to do initially, but she soon got the hang of it and was catching the frisbee like a pro.

After a couple of hours swimming, fetching and catching, Isla was cream-crackered and it was time to head for new (and excellent) snack hut at Salhouse Broad.  Thoroughly recommended, with free biscuits for dogs too.

Isla discovers water

It being Fathers' Day, we had a family outing to one of our favourite locations: Salhouse Broad, near Wroxham in Norfolk.  It's a place we took Amber a few times (see here), given its peaceful location and gently sloping sandy beach which is ideal for canine swimming.  Isla hadn't really met water before (other than a couple of futile attempts to give her a bath when she was tiny) but we had high hopes that she would enjoy her first swim.  As it is she needed a little gentle encouragement to enter the water in the shape of a tennis ball - and me paddling to retrieve it myself on occasion.

She soon got the hang of things, however, but never quite managed to swim.  Maybe next time?

What a pretty girl...

Retrieving might be in the genes, but handing the ball back occasionally needs a bit of gentle persuasion.

The final picture shows a classic "decisive moment", captured by accident as Harriet gave a strawberry to Isla.  If I'd tried to release the shutter when the fruit was exactly half way between the Harriet's hand and Isla's mouth, I wouldn't have stood a chance.  Good old serendipity.

Current weight:  15.9kg

Current state with the cats:  Amorous (unrequited) and energetic to the point where the increasing weight disparity requires the poor felines to be rescued from Isla's advances on occasion.  Sometimes I wonder if good old chasing would be easier to deal with!

Water Baby

Last week Izzi and I had a "Grand Day Out" in Norfolk, principally to do some shopping at the wonderful Roy's of Wroxham.  Apparently it was "essential" to buy lots of "stuff" before the new University term, although I'm sure it wasn't like this in my day.

Needless to say, The Dumb Blonde came along too; and, given that we had some time to kill before lunch (and serious shopping), we decided to head to Salhouse Broad: one of our favourite locations, and a great place for canine swimming.  It didn't take long before Amber went headlong into the water...

Sometimes, the similarity between Amber and Winston Churchill is uncanny.

Although Amber is a retriever through and through, she's never quite got the hang of handing back what she's just fetched.  I suppose blondes are allowed to play hard to get.

Gradually worsening arthritis means that Amber is now getting rather "limpy" on land, but this hasn't dampened her enthusiasm for diving into water (no pun untended).

I only wish Salhouse Broad were a bit closer to home, as it would do Amber a huge amount of good to swim on a regular basis.  I suppose we'll just have to visit Roy's again soon...