A wet and windy New Years day

Happy New Year for 2014! After a week of constant  rain and wind over Christmas, the first of  January dawned with bright sunshine streaming through the bedroom curtains................ Then I woke up! It was all just a pleasant dream, the rain is still bucketing it down outside from a leaden sky. However on the plus side the wind has died down, if only temporarily.

Little dog is suffering from cabin fever due to the lack of a decent walk. She is sulking, like a grumpy old bag lady and even looks a little bit moth eaten. We both need some fresh air but the seven day forecast shows more rain and wind for the following week without a break in sight. With no hope of a break in the weather we left Mrs C tucked up in bed with her Kindle and a cup of coffee while I put on full waterproofs and Little dog barked excitedly. Then out into the elements!

It was about 10:00 am when we set off and apart from another hardy dog walker we were the only ones daft enough to be out and about. Our route took us from our little house up to Ridgewood, along the Old Eastbourne road to the small hamlet of Palehouse Common. From there we walked along the little country lane to Framfield before cutting back across the fields to Ridgewood Village and home.

The rain poured down from the minute we left the house but this did not deter either of us. I find it quite exhilarating walking in this weather and Little dog is just happy to be out and about. I noticed that all the fields were sodden and the roads had small streams running along each verge. They ran down hill into low lying hollows that had turned into small lakes over the past few days. I've walked this route in sunny weather and these hollows are usually dry and filled with leaves but now they were in danger of overflowing and flooding the lanes.

We were out for about an hour and a half and Little dog was really enjoying her walk, she appeared to love all the water as she insisted in walking through all the little streams and puddles. On returning home her delight at the water diminished drastically when I carried her up stairs and put her in the bathtub. She loves the water but hates being bathed, still she is now lovely and clean and fit to be seen in polite company.

Mrs C and I have just enjoyed some home made curried Butternut squash soup with crusty bread for lunch and we are all settled in for the day. The wind is howling outside and the rain is lashing down against the windows but we are all cosy indoors with Little dog asleep on the sofa beside me while I write this blog entry. Hopefully Little dog will now cheer up and stop being such a grumpy old lady, but somehow I doubt it!