Thursday 19 June 2008

Star-Dog Log 080410 - Le Mont Dore

She's got two friends staying so we took them off down to the mountains with the trailer, the tent and the awning. She bought me a new squeaky toy - hooray! After they'd eaten, it started to rain, hail, sleet and snow, but we all sat in the awning. One of them had a guitar thingy and they all sang but they were hopeless at keeping time, so I had to play my squeaky toy all evening to stop them going too off key or getting too far behind the beat. It was really tiring. I got so very tired and so very cold. Must go to sleep now, so very tired.

Meic fell asleep shortly after a very enjoyable final evening. His spirit left him that night, there in the mountains he loved, although his body lived on, so we made a last, sad final journey together home via the vets, where he stayed behind for the last time.

Good night, my darling boy, sleep well.

Star-Dog Log 080303 - Gelles

Freezing? I'll say it was freezing! They were forecasting snow so she wouldn't take the trailer and we tented it. Woke up to 4" of snow - it was like sleeping in an igloo! Well cool. I love snow, especially eating it but guess wot, she never lets me. I like trying to catch each flake before it falls, too, but it gets pretty tiring when there's that much of it around.

Star-Dog Log 080225 - Ceyrat

Back to one we'd been to before but just the small tent this time cos I had to go to the vet again - more long faces from her, and they keep taking legs' full of my blood and so many X-rays I'll soon be glowing in the dark. Still, we enjoyed our little break, and found a quiet corner of the site with no caravans or anything about so I could make lots of lovely noise with one of my squeaky toys.

Star-Dog Log 080218 - Gelles

The French think she's crazy, and I'm starting to have my doubts. No-one but us goes camping at this time of year! We went to a place called Gelles. She said it means freezing, or something, and I'm not surprised, it was! But we had fun, there was room for me to run about with my toys and we did a little walk round and about. She got excited about some sort of rocking stone or something. How boring is that? A big rock that wobbles - wow!

Star-Dog Log 080211 - Le Mont Dore

Went quite a long way this time, well, for us, down to some mountains. She's got some friends coming soon and wanted to find somewhere to take them. The only site open wasn't nice at all, very crowded, nearly in the town, horrible volcanic clinker to walk on, not nice for my paws, and nothing to chase. But we had a nice picnic on the way back, sitting in the sun in a very quiet park place, sharing cups of tea.

Star-Dog Log 080128 - Les Martres des Veyre

Thought the idea was to get away for some peace and quiet? So why did she pick a site between a main road and a railway, underneath a flight path? But I had another really good laugh when she tried putting up the awning on the tent, ready to sit and watch the setting sun, but it took her so long it was nearly dark by the time it was finished!

Star-Dog Log 080121 - Teilhede

Another night in the van at the picnic site. People must think we're mad. It's great fun, though, we can snuggle up and keep warm, which we needed to. Even the wild boar wasn't about, it was so cold. But we had the place to ourselves - surprise, surprise - and I had fun playing with my toys.

Star-Dog Log 080114 - Ceyrat

We found a campsite that's open all year and it was ok. She took the trailer thingy and she's got a lot better at putting it up, so we didn't look too uncool. A dog has to think about his street cred, especially if there are Frog-dogs watching. It was a bit wild and windy and hailing in the night, and we were the only ones braves enough to be under canvas. All the other cissies were in caravans.We didn't walk very far, she keeps making out it's for my benefit but I know the truth.

Star-Dog Log 080107 - Teilhede

The French can't be as intrepid as us as it seems there aren't all that many camp sites open at this time of year. So we opted for the picnic site down the road and another night in the van. Looks like we weren't the only ones there as there was loads of wild boar pooh. It looked delicious, but she said I couldn't have any if I was sleeping in the back of the van with her.

Star-Dog Log 071119 - Teilhede

We didn't go away this time. She seems a bit down in the dumps. I had to go to the vet last week and have X-rays and stuff and it seemed not to be good news. I have to take a load more pills, but then I've never minded that much. Border collies eat anything, even tablets! And toilet paper - I love toilet paper. So we stayed in the motor home in the garden and went for some walks. They've got a bit shorter. She's pretending it's for me again, but I bet she's just getting old.

Star-Dog Log 071105 - Bromont Lamothe

She must have won the pools or something cos she's bought a well cool new tent thing in a trailer she tows behind the van. It's supposed to open out easily and there's a double bed, which of course I get to share - no sleeping on the floor for me! - and some proper seats and stuff. But as usual, she probably didn't read the instructions. I had great fun watching her try to put it up. It kept folding up and making her into a sandwich. Who said dogs don't laugh? I did!

Star-Dog Log 071008 - Servant

She wangled it again, another 2 days off. And the lucky socks worked a treat. We found a nice place, overlooking a lake and got ourselves settled. Two or three lots of people came and asked 'Er Indoors about camping there, cos there was no-one in the little hut where she pays the money, but they must have got wind of her socks because they all decided not to stay. So we had the whole place to ourselves, which was great. There was a sports ground right next door where I could run around and chase my toys, because, as usual, the meanie wouldn't let me chase the ducks off the lake.

Wednesday 30 January 2008

Star-Dog Log 070924 - St Hippolyte

I call it a diabolical liberty. We go off on what's supposed to be our time and she comes back with a cat! I ask you. We had a nice peaceful evening and night at a quiet site at St Hippolyte. Then on the way back, we stopped for a picnic at a viewpoint and as we were walking back to the van we both heard this funny noise. I knew what it was straight away - a flippin' cat. It was up a tree, miaowing at us, so she had this brilliant idea - not - to put it in my travel cage in the back of the van and bring it back home. Harumph! It was only a little squirt of a thing and seemed a bit lost so I said it was ok to borrow my cage. But it looks as if the little thing is staying. As long as it doesn't think it's coming on any of our camping trips with us.

Star-Dog Log 070903 - Loubeyrat

We've been to this site before but she seems to like it - probably because it's cheap. It was quiet again - her socks tend to do that. And it must be jinxed cos we had the same weather as last time, wet and windy in the night.

Star-Dog Log 070813 - Clermont Ferrand

We had my Auntie Meg staying this week so we took her to the nice hill with the butterflies. They wouldn't let me eat the big yellow ones - how am I supposed to know swallowtails are special, I'm a dog. No sheep and lambs this time but I was kept pretty busy keeping the wasps away from the two human beans as they were both being boring and reading books. But we got to stay in a hotel tonight - cool - as we were putting Auntie Meg on a plane so we stayed at the airport. That's another place these sensible French people let dogs go - I had great fun going round sniffing people's luggage to make sure there wasn't anything there that shouldn't be.

Star-Dog Log 070709 - Orcet

She had to go and pick someone up from somewhere this time so we stayed at a site that's not really us, bit too formal and full of Dutch people. But after she stuck the tent up, we drove off to find somewhere for a picnic and found a brilliant place up on top of a hill. Lots of funny looking sheep with lambs but as usual, I didn't get to have any fun with them, but there were lots of butterflies that needed seeing off so that gave me something to do while she sat in the sun and read a book - how boring is that??

Star-Dog Log 070618 - St Remy de Blot

Very hot this time when we went on our jaunt. I'm allowed to sit on the passenger seat in the front of the van when it's hot, with the window open, which is great. This time we found a site for bikers which was cool, but it meant we couldn't have the van on the site and she had to carry all the stuff up the hill from the car park. There was a dog there that came over and started talking to me in French but I just told it to get lost - haven't learned that much of the local lingo yet and wasn't sure if it was being friendly or not. Don't know who this French guy St Remy was but they seem to have a few of him about.

Star-Dog Log 070611 - St Remy sur Durolle

We haven't been away for a couple of weeks so this time she managed to wangle 2 days together. This means we got away a bit further and found a nice place near a big lake, with not many people about. It's called St Remy sur Durolle - I'm even learning to bark with a French accent. Plenty of places to go for walks and picnics, which is what I like best. Could have snacked on a couple of Yorkshire terriers but as usual, she wouldn't let me have any fun. I had to work pretty hard to keep our pitch safe from some jays who thought they could muscle in and pick up crumbs. As if! That's one of the perks of being a border collie.

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