Times gone by

Our two happy dancers of yesterday tried to kill each other today. I bathed and combed them both after our walk and Chacha probably thought Kayla was getting too much attention and danced round her. Kayla was irritated and growled, Chacha's terrier blood boiled and the two went at each other ferociously. Impossible to prise them apart so I had to leave them to it while I fetched the hose. Only squirting it straight into Chacha's mouth made her let go long enough for me to drag her away.  Amazingly, after such a vicious battle, the only visible injury was a bite mark in Kayla's ear. They were then tied up in disgrace till after I fetched HH from the club, after which I risked taking off in the car and letting them chase it, hoping they'd forget their differences. Thank goodness, they hurtled down the drive together like old friends and all is quiet - for now.

Earlier, we'd had a lovely morning exploring. We went up to the high point that I posted a while back (here) and then on down the steep cobbled road. I thought we'd have to climb back up, but it flattened out, curved around - and took us in a full circle back to the car.

On the way home, I was drawn to revisit a large abandoned property I'd wandered into with other dogs a few years ago. There was barbed wire across the entrance this time, so we were clearly trespassing, but the place is fascinating and we kept going. Years ago, before the days of air-conditioning and when foreign travel was only for the rich, far more people had and used country retreats and would spend the summer months in the hills. This property must have belonged to a large, well-to-do family, and I feel it was much loved. Maybe the parents died or left and the children lost interest or moved away and now it has stood empty for years. Someone obviously still keeps an eye on the place, though. The grass has been cut and the houses haven't been vandalised, as so many were after the floods, even the windows are still intact. Two Delft dolls stood on the mantelshelf of the main house on my last visit, as if waiting for the owners to walk in. No dolls this time, but the dining table and chairs still await the family's return. 

The house in the photo was probably a guest house. The extra photo is of the outhouse opposite it.