It seems to be ages since I had anything of interest to post here and a significant shortage of time due to a small building project at home has not helped. Anyway, I was firmly chastised for my absence yesterday (thanks, John) and then, today, had one of those odd ball mornings that ought to be shared.
As usual, I was up around five AM and, after a few domestic chores (done while appropriately dressed) I left home with the dogs around six. This was a few minutes later than usual but not far outside my normal schedule, maybe ten minutes or so. As usual, I drove to my preferred parking place wearing a t-shirt (to look fairly normal from outside the car). I got the dogs out of the car and headed up the footpath which leads between a couple of houses to a style that crosses into a field and eventually to the woods.
Usually the t-shirt is in my bag before I reach the style, but today I kept both dogs on leads as I knew that there are sheep in the field. Consequently, I was still half-dressed as I entered the woods. About ten yards inside the woods, I let Hazel (small dog) loose and was about to remove my shirt when I heard something. A second or so later, a chap walked down a side path and came into view. In about ten years walking here, three or four times a week, this is only the second time I have ever met anyone at the start of a walk. Hazel was pleased to make a new friend and he was so intent watching (and talking to) her that he did not seem to notice me at all. Beauty (big dog, about 42Kg / 93lbs / 7 stone and muscly with it) then decided to say “Hi” in her own imitable style; a huge bark and leap in front. That got his attention, but he was firmly focussed on her, not me. Beauty was still on a lead and could not get to him, but he did not take his eyes off her as he greeted me with a cheerful “Morning, glad you’ve got a firm grip on that one!” and then continued on his way without apparently seeing how was dressed.
Oh well, chalk that one up to experience. I put my shirt in my bag, with my wrap and continued. Given Beauty’s long memory and ability to jump fences, I decided to keep her on a lead today. She has an 8 meter wander lead, so it does not prevent her stopping for a sniff or trotting a bit ahead and she is quite happy like that. My route took me out of the woods again into a large arable field and along the outside of the woods on a permissive path (Careful John; I can already hear the wisecrack coming… ) As I walked along the top edge of the field I could see a walker right over in the far corner about half a mile away. Far too distant to see how (s)he was dressed, so I was not worried and continued my walk as usual.
All was well, the air was still and dry with a temperature of 14C (about 57F), the birds were having a singing competition and the world was a happy place. Then Hazel found a young pheasant and decided that it looked like breakfast. She’s quick, but not usually quick enough to grab a bird but either this one was injured or it was one of Charlie Darwin’s candidates for removal from the gene pool. Hazel got it, but, being at least half cat, she did not kill it, she played with it. I could not get it away from her nor get hold of her as she kept running away. Meanwhile, I had Beauty in the other hand, getting rather excited at the thought of fresh food. While I was trying to resolve this, the other walker came around the corner… I pulled my wrap from my bag and put it on before she got too close, then made a comment about dogs that don’t come when called and just how effective all that training is when they get an idea into their tiny minds. She laughed and walked past without any comment about my unusual attire. It was not someone I recall having met there before, but she seemed totally relaxed about walking past a mad man in a skirt holding onto a large, apparently hungry, dog.
Once she’d disappeared from view I put the wrap away again and went to try once more to relieve Hazel of her prey. Still no dice…
To add to the “fun”, this was the point that a small off road utility vehicle appeared over the brow of the hill, complete with fitted gamekeeper. Things just kept getting better and better…
Once again the wrap went on but he came to a stop by me and thanked me for keeping the dog on the lead. He made a point of asking me to keep her under control as I went past the pens where he is reading birds for the start of the shooting season in a few days time. At that point, I don’t think he had seen Hazel and her new friend a few yards away. I apologised and said that I thought she had caught an injured bird (a fit one would have flown before she could get to it). We then spent a few more minutes before we managed to get Hazel in a pincer movement and relieved her of the bird (still alive, for a minute or so but a quick check over soon showed that it would not survive and it was disposed of as humanely as possible).
We had a short chat, he advised that he had already chased one chap out of the woods earlier in the day. Apparently, poaching is an increasing problem at present. He also introduced himself as the new head game-keeper, recently moved from one of my old stomping grounds in the North East and we had a chat about some of the excellent walking I have done in that region. During that conversation, he remarked that he “had been warned about me; which was why he was not too perturbed when he first saw me”. That made me smile and demonstrated, once again, Bob’s view that familiarity is the best way to overcome any shock reactions to naked people. We all need to be seen more often
.
We went on our ways with Hazel firmly on a lead for the rest of the walk. A while later I passed him again, reloading one of the bird feeders. I did not bother to cover up this time, he had said he was not perturbed so it did not seem worthwhile. He greeted me cheerfully and pointed out the areas where the birds usually forage first thing so that I would know where to stop the dogs going on future walks. No problem.
The remainder of the walk was uneventful, even crossing the field of sheep the dogs behaved impeccably, not so much as looking at the sheep.
Thinking about it now, I still can’t believe how many people I met in a single walk. It is very rare to meet anyone on that route, even at later times of day in perfect weather. However, none of the three people I met reacted to my lack of clothing. It is entirely possible that I have met both the first chap and the female on previous walks. At a rough count, I have walked naked in that wood around 2000 times and I cannot claim to remember every encountered person with any certainty. Maybe today was proof that I have become sufficiently well known that I don’t need to be concerned anymore, at least on that particular part of my home range.
Have fun,
Ian.
