A Gondola, Rabbits & Jets - Oh My!

 SONG - Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree by the Andrew Sisters

Day 17 - Wed. May 16

Can you guess where I am today?

The photo above is of the roots of a 100 year old Bramley apple tree 

that was lovingly cared for by Beatrix Potter.

I am at Hill Top in Near Sawrey which was Beatrix Potter’s home for many years  

Of course I am here with my best bud, Mr. B but did you know that he has a special bond with this place?

Because he was Mr. McGregor in his kindergarten operetta!

Miss Potters bedroom 

A portrait of Beatrix done by a friend

I didn’t find any rabbits in her well cared for garden but I did find a very old one inside  

As well as some of her sketches for her books

Miss Potter’s Brambly apple tree that she planted

We left Hill Top with joyful hearts and headed over to Lake Coniston about 20 minutes away.  Once again hedgerows on small roads that Mr. B has mastered competently! We had a quick snack at The Bluebird Cafe at the launch before boarding our boat for a tour of the lake.

And here she comes now to pick us up.  Isn’t she, “Gondola”, a beauty?  

Sir James Ramsden, Director of the Furness Railway Company, had been to Venice in 1850 and recognized a way to link a pleasure cruise to his railway line in Coniston.  

She is pulled out of the water every winter so they can refurbish everything onboard including every piece of wood that gets varnished 3-4 times.  

Here is the man who keeps the hot fire burning so we can have a steam powered boat. 

And he ties us up when we pull up to a dock. 

Here is what she looked like in her early years and notice there wasn’t any wheel & crew housing up top originally 

And our Scottish Captain who kept us on a safe route and told us about the fascinating happenings around the lake over the years.

As we arrived back at our lodging, we sat in our rooms bay window and read.  Suddenly out of nowhere came two RAF fighter jets who flew close to the water and made a cracking loud noise.  

The above photo is not my picture (it’s from a British newspaper) as they move so fast you barely had time to look up and they were gone.  It was a stunning flyover just like at baseball games!

We had a decent steak dinner at our hotel’s bistro and there Mr. B spotted a sweet little Westie sitting near us.  After a good cry (because I missed our dear Westie, Maggie) I finally pulled myself together to go and meet her and her parents.  They were both from Glasgow but had been living in England for the last 40 years  His accent reminded me so much of my Grandad John.  

                                        Goodbye Poppy and I hope we meet again soon!

The English Countryside

 

The last few days we have been white knuckling through the beautiful English countryside....so green....dotted with sheep & cows...so serine but we are driving!!!  We have visited 8-10 family villages & churches, all on tiny one lane roads surrounded by hedgerows.  As on pub guy said "you can't be nosy in Somerset!"   

 

Mr. B has been amazing with his reading of many ancient headstones that might pertain to my dad's side of the family.  

 

And speaking of taking one for the team......He is even willing to order a dram so he can talk to he local barkeep to find out about any connections to my family in the village. So far it's been very colorful. 

 

Women were subservient in that generation....obviously...as she was only listed on his headstone by her first name and that she was his wife.  

Lots of 1200-1500 a.d. churches that we explored and met some amazingly nice people along the way.  

 

And even a very tired Westie named Gordon who had been walking all day was at out hotel bar.  

 

Finding my great-grandparents headstone was worth shedding a few tears.  They were very poor and somehow their daughter, Sarah Routley Tuckfield Gore managed to make it to Canada - single - with about 9 kids.  And somehow my grandmother, Violet Elizabeth Bacon Gore Crawford, moved from Montreal with my Granddad to Oakland, California to start their family. 

 

Here's to my family roots - Tea & scones at the railroad station where my great-grandfather was station master. 

Word of the Day - Brilliant = good choice in America (we hear this one a lot)!!

Mika Musings

 Video - Talking Animals

Mika is one of those wonderful spirits who is happy 99.9% of the time, is a total Tom-Boy, loves to eat, likes to chase squirrels and crows, adores Mr. B and will great anyone with a tail wag.


However if you are new to her, she will great you with a little secret present.  She will follow you around until you notice that she has something in her mouth that she wants to present to you.  Usually it's a leaf, or pebble, an acorn or a little piece of dog turd.  Yup, that's our Tom-Girl.  So beware if you come to visit. I just sayin'.....

Mika & Max watching mom water the front yard

I thought she would miss Max, her best bud for 13 years. But because she lives in the moment she is happy.  Now occasionally I have noticed her looking around the house like something is different and she just can't quite put her paw on it - maybe mom got a new haircut or they painted the living room a different color. As long as she has her food, can get a few hundred hugs per day and can sleep on the bed with Mr. B & me, she is content.

For the last year, I have been taking both Max and Mika to both a great Western Med Vet and to a wonderful Holistic Vet, Dr. Rettig at Alternatives for Animals in Lafayette.  Mika suffers from Westie Lung Disease (Pulmonary Fibrosis) so there have been days when she is struggling to breathe.  Since being on Western meds & Eastern supplements and getting acupuncture every 6 weeks, she is a new girl.

Mika kinda bored with the whole thing but willing to wait it out for a treat at the end

Are we almost done?

Ahhh, good ol' liver treats!

"The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too." - Samuel Butler

Max

Max finally succumbed to kidney failure on Tuesday.  He was a good and proud dog until the very end.  He loved his backyard which he watched over diligently for trespassing squirrels or geese landing in his pool.  Max loved his morning meal with his best friend, Mika.  So much so that he would chase her around the kitchen island and she would in turn chase him until all of the throw rugs were up against the cabinets and finally his food was placed before him.  He also loved his evening strolls around the yard, watching out for mom who was watering plants and standing beside his dad, looking out over the creek habitat.  Miss you bud.

Max

Sept. 7, 1999 - June 25, 2013

"Don't cry because it's over.  Smile because it happened."  -- Dr. Seuss