Friday, March 19, 2010

Effluent and the dogs

Tess and Hardy have been unwell this week. Off their food. Suffering from upset stomachs. Earlier in the week, it was touch and go if I would take them to the vet's, but they seemed be bouncy enough. And Tess, well Tess is a picky eater. It was a case of watching and waiting to see what was going to happen. Thankfully they have perked up.
We took them for a walk yesterday, retracing the route that we had taken on Sunday, just before Tess threw up. Luckily we decided to keep both dogs on the leads as one of the ditches was full of oil and some brown gunk. It has not rained for weeks and I'd assume that this is run off from the fields rather than fly tipping of chemicals.
Anyway, it was right by a stream where the dogs normally drink.
Sigh. The dogs are recovering but...it will be a long time before I can allow off the lead there again.
And it seems like someone has fly tipped a bunch of builder's rumble, including twisted metal and an old fireplace in another field.
I do not understand why people feel they have the right to despoil the countryside in this way.

I should say that I did go to watch the lights being lit on Hadrian's Wall last Saturday night. (The week has been fraught) It was okayish. Lots of cars and people. We watched from the New Altson crossroads as it gives a panoramic view. I did not get the same sense of timelessness that I had gotten when the Warden Beacon was lit for the 50th anniversary of VE day. This was just there. An art installation rather than a connection with the past.
I much prefer the wall when people are not about. I used to the children up to play on the ruins when they were little. And a wild day is much the best.

1 comment:

Caroline said...

Hope the dogs get better. As an EHO fly tipping and all matters related to rubbish are always one of our offices busiest complaint generators - sigh. It does make my blood boil though. Caroline