Monday 25 October 2021

The Sun

 Have you noticed how, this time of the year, as Autumn progresses, the Sun seems to take on a different kind of light - the kind of glowing light which is telling us 'make the most of me because I just might not be around quite so much for a while.'?

Today folks have been passing  with their dogs (at the same time as usual - I could set my clock by them all - and have been in their shirt sleeves or at the most a short jacket.   Me?   I did my usual walk round the estate in thermal vest, jumper, cardigan and winter anorak.   Yes - once I got going and while the sun was out - I was pleasantly warm.   But half way round large blobs of rain fell on my head and bounced off Priscilla's seat.   And for about five minutes it rained heavily and I was pleased for the comfort of my anorak.

Meeting all the dogs is as pleasant as meeting the people.   Almost all the dogs are pedigrees - probably half a dozen 'mutts' at the most.   When I was a child we rarely saw a pedigree in the village - maybe a few Border Collies on the farms and the odd Labrador or Spaniel shooting dog at the heel of one or other of the land owners but mostly 'accidents' I suspect when a dog got out somewhere when a local bitch was on heat.   I remember at the farm we lost Tip (our Border Collie) one day.   When the farmer shouted him to go and work the sheep (he was usually there like a shot) there was no sign of him.   Shortly afterwards friends with a Cocker Spaniel rang to say Tip was camped by their gate and Jill was desperate to get out for a meeting!

I remember when I was a child some people who we considered to be very 'posh' rented a cottage in the village for a Summer and they had two Borzois, I remember the whole village talking of these two exotic dogs.   Now so called exotic dogs are two a  penny and cost a lot more than a penny these days.  Labradoodles are a very popular breed up here and cost hundreds of pounds.

When I write this and then think of the item on the New at six about the hunger now present in Afghanistan and how families are having to sell their children, particularly daughters, because they are starving it does bring home the fact that there is something wrong with the world.   Wouldn't you agree?


20 comments:

Rachel Phillips said...

There is something wrong when the funds are not released and still have not been released to the Afghanistan government because they are the Taliban and it is being used as a tool against them. This policy is causing the suffering to the Afghan people and has been ever since the US withdrawal in August. I haven't noticed the sun as you describe but I am sure it is as you say but there has been plenty of sun in my eyes when I am driving.

CharlotteP said...

Labradoodles cost thousands, not hundreds; it is quite mad.

Heather said...

It is ridiculous to pay such sums for a cross breed of any sort - when I was growing up they were mongrels. I would never buy a dog but adopt one from a dogs home and give the home a good donation.
As for the state of the world - it defies belief at times. How can any government not look after it's own people? I am thinking of parts of Africa, Yemen, Afghanistan and other countries whose desperate people rely on charity to survive. So much wickedness.

Anonymous said...

I read this somewhere recently but I can't remember where but it has stayed with me - once we loved people and used things, now we love things and used people and I think this has some meaning. Not wishing to be political, but I think the millions transferred between by those in government to their cronies for projects that did not deliver expected outcomes with no redress is an example of this. There is no accountability. Now government are saying there is no money to support the most vulnerable in our community - I find this unfathomable, what is the worth of human life against the hoarding of money way more than any one person has need of?

The Weaver of Grass said...

Rachel - that is the one thing I don't miss now that I have sold my car - the sun in my eyes. I always think the colour of the Autumn sun is helped by the colour of the Autumn leaves - This year they are really hanging on to their leaves.

Susan said...

People are starving and others are buying designer dogs. I have no words. We have rain until Thursday when the sun is predicted. The leaves are falling rapidly. It is very raw and cool. I am looking forward to the sunshine and beautiful blue sky.

Joanne Noragon said...

When I was young, most dogs "ran" the neighborhood. Now I never see dogs, the stay behind doors and walls.

Cro Magnon said...

We have a large churchyard at the end of our road where we all take our dogs. Billy loves meeting them all, and they briefly run around together whilst we owners chat. It's a lovely atmosphere.

Iben said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Derek Faulkner said...

I live at the bottom of a hill and at this time of the year the rising sun literally sits on the road at the top of the hill as you drive up it. It's quite dangerous to drive up the hill because for a few moments you cannot see what is coming towards you due to the blinding effect of the sun.
As Charlotte said, the fashionable cross breeds such as Cockerpoos and Springerpoos cost around £3,000 per dogs. Pugs and French Bulldogs are the same.

thelma said...

The sun is very tardy here and only comes out around lunch time. As someone so rightly says designer dogs and starving people are just two symptoms of a terribly uneven world.

Librarian said...

Sunrise this morning was at 8:00, and sunset will be at 6:12 pm - that's just over 10 hours of daylight v. 14 hours of darkness, and it will get "worse" - but that's the natural thing to happen, and we would not have seasons if it weren't for the way our planet is placed and orbiting the sun.
The quality of light this time of year is truly special, and I can't get enough of it. I rather try and leave work for a walk early, and then return to my desk for another hour or two.

If I shall ever get myself a dog (and that has been my plan for my retirement for a long time), I will go to the shelter. It does not have to have a pedigree, just like I don't ask my friends to show me their ancestry.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Here in Edinburgh it was very cold yesterday but sunny and when I sat in the sunshine, I did feel quite warm!

I like meeting dogs too.

And yes there's definitely something wrong in the world....

Tom Stephenson said...

I really need to clean the inside of my windscreen. I thought I had done properly, then the sun proves me wrong. They should release the funds to Afghanistan and they should pay back the £400,000,000 to Iran which has been owned on an order for tanks which never materialised. Then maybe they will release Nazanine Zghari-Ratcliffe.

Anonymous said...

I was only thinking the other day how wrong it is to take away anyone's run of the mill happiness - and that goes for creatures that end up in pounds as well. When you extend this concept to causing or contributing to large scale despair where others suffer enormous losses on many fronts, it is criminal, particularly where the vulnerable are maimed. Happiness is something not to be searched for, but given. Pam.

Mary said...

We don't have dogs - some neighbors have one, two, even three! That's enough barking for us! Many things are definitely wrong with this world - caused by people more than animals that's for sure!
Take care Pat - be glad for sunny skies, and do just what you can to stay safe and
happy.
Hugs - Mary

The Weaver of Grass said...

Tom - how right you are.
Thank you everyone for your contribution.

Debby said...

I have never understood the designer dog thing. I find it sickening to watch dogs being treated as they are children. A recent post talked about how her dog's favorite movie is the Lion King...and she showed a picture of him dressed in a child's clothing sitting on a cushion...and meanwhile there are children who do not receive that level of cosseting

Melinda from Ontario said...

I love meeting dogs on my walks as well. Unfortunately, my dog doesn't feel the same. We hired a dog walker for 3 years, and within this pack, he behaved himself. It was walking through our suburban neighborhood, (with us), where the problems arose. If he saw a dog he perceived as a threat, he reacted with lunging and barking. It was unnerving and terribly embarrassing. We finally hired a dog behaviourist. Her advice was to stop the neighborhood walks. So now,(for exercise), we take him for a hike on a friend's vacant acreage a few times a week and we toss a ball for him in the backyard. It's not ideal but it has to be.

Jennifer said...

The angle of the sun this time of year (as well as the changing leaves) really gives the light a wonderful, mellow, golden quality.

Meeting dogs (and their people) is good for the soul!