Monday, July 6, 2020

The best and worst of the countryside


  
                           
 Having taken our ultra early run today on a sunny morning, instead of the gales that had been howling most of last week it was a double pleasure that the run went well and we were both quite comfortable even after the 5 x 55 minute turbo training set yesterday. That at least shows that we are both in good shape; there again is a double meaning since we have both lost a bit of weight during the Covid lockdown stretch. We were determined from the start not to eat our way through the house arrest. Neither of us has any clothes left in the closet that we can’t get into easily. Steve has lost more than I have but to show the effort we have made; in my case I had two summer maxi dresses made a few years ago to cover the blubber lumps. These are now being used to wear around the house because they are too loose as besties any more; I can put them on over my head and slip them easily down without undoing the zip fastener.

I have been meaning to mention something that has been irking me when we go out running in the most beautiful countryside that is a private estate but is open to walkers, mountain bike riders and the horsey crowd. When we have such a lovely area near to us it goes without saying that when you are taking advantage of a grand estate like this one that you should show a little respect in return for having access to it.

Simple things like closing gates, goes without saying. The thing that really gets my back up is the dog walkers who make a pretence at being responsible members of society when there is anybody else there, picking up their doggies doos into one of the little black bags carried for the purpose but then when the coast is clear leaving the offensive bag with is contents on the path. It would actually be better to leave the droppings rather than a bag full of stinky stuff. Dog poo is, if you think about I, mainly meat and would, in the countryside, end up feeding smaller country creatures, mice, voles and insects. The abandoned black bag full will still be there for ages. Take your dog poo home with you people; you don’t deserve a wonderful, faithful friend, if you do not tend to the back end of the job. It is not the dogs fault.


Horse droppings are another subject altogether and not in the least offensive in fact. After our run was finished this morning we went back to the car and I took two carrier bags out of the boot. We then retraced the last section of our route and I used one bag to pick up some convenient horse droppings and place them in the second bag to take home for my garden. Steve raised an eyebrow, but said not a word when on a previous run I mentioned my intention to do this for a while, to give the garden a bit of a tonic.
When we spot any nice fresh jobbies that were close to the parking area, that is also a start point for some riders there are free for the taking. This little extra task could not have been easier this morning because there were two riders approaching us as we got to our car after finishing running and taking a couple of photos. The gentleman rider called across to me to ask if I still did all that triathlon, and went on to ask what I had lined up in the future. We waited for them to pass and walked a little way behind them until one of the horses obliged. There is nothing nasty about picking up horse droppings after all. How fresh can you get? 

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