Tima's Happy Dogs!

They say that owners resemble their dogs, or is it dogs resemble their owners??? Either way, Tima Lund's dogs are, without doubt, four-legged furry versions of their owner! Happy, fun, full of life and energy and intelligent to boot.

I like Tima, I LOVE her dogs! A studio session with the Cocker Spaniels and the German Shepherds was always going to be fun. It was made easy by Tima's excellent handling, Helen's brilliant assistance with the tickle stick and the fantastically good-natured dogs!

First up was the Ace Man. He is still a wee man, not long out of puppy class, but he was exceptionally well behaved. Given a few minutes to bounce excitedly round the room and wag his entire body at absolutely everything, Ace settled and posed like a pro celeb!



Next up was the birthday girl, Doodle Bug. Celebrating her first birthday, she looked beautiful, behaved impeccably and is every inch a star!



Uncle Vinnie is an older paw at the whole posing mularkey, striding happily onto the set he was ever ready for his close-ups!



Pickle looked sleek, elegant and beautiful.



She's full of fun but is gentle-natured and highly intelligent. A gorgeous, gorgeous dog!



The pups couldn't be ignored... Cagney & Lacey were 5 weeks old and just had to get a look at everything and everyone. No corner was left unexplored!



Lacey already has a new home for when she's old enough to leave, Cagney will be sure to follow suit soon too. She's beautiful and intelligent, already responding to recall. Both dogs will, with the correct ongoing training and home life, make fantastic companions for the right family!



Tima won't let her pups go to just anyone, she needs to know that the dogs will be loved and looked after in the right way, so that they continue to be the happy healthy dogs that they start life as.

I know it's often said, but please, please don't get a pup just because they look cute!!! Dogs are a huge commitment for a long time. The rewards are amazing, but there needs to be more behind the reasoning to have a dog than just keeping your kiddies happy!

Finally, last but by no means least, ZeZe sat for her portraits.



A beautiful soul, ZeZe really is top! She's also meticulous about preparing for the camera!!!



Can't fault her!

Thanks to Tima and Helen for a great shoot. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Rebecca, X

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Road Trip

Last weekend was a very busy one, but a smashing one!



My mate Helen and I set off from Berkshire at 10.30am with flasks of coffee, sausage rolls and a whole lot of sweeties ready for the long haul up to Dundee.

Stopping for the obligatory wees and walkies along the way, we made good time and arrived at Discovery Quay just in time for tea! Except we couldn't be bothered going out so just spread out the provisions from the road trip and had a picnic on Helen's bed! Much better idea!!

Saturday was a bit mixed, as the morning was taken up by a return to my old house to collect the rest of my things. I'd brought all my clothes and camera gear down before, but now I had to find room in Helen's car for all my books, photo albums and a large globe... oh, and a rather statuesque santa with a bell on his hat!!!

We'd made the most of the Dundee stop though, making sure we dropped by Clark's for a black pudding & egg roll, mmmm, and an apple slice to be saved for later! Clark's apple slices are to die for!!! I've had nothing like it since moving back down south and I was dribbling all the way up the M6 in anticipation!!!

So, loaded up with both calories and books, we headed across to tour my old favourite haunts. First stop was Glenshee. The weather wasn't what you'd call perfect, but it was ok.



The rain stopped long enough to take a short walk along the Callater Burn where we found a lovely place for coffee and a peer through the bins for whatever birdies might be about. Helen's hubby, Mick, had made a couple of walking sticks for us and wow, what a great idea! I couldn't believe how much strain they take off the hips and the lumbar spine!! They are amazing... and beautifully crafted too, I am so very, very impressed!



Thanks Mick!

Next stop was in Killin, but we took a slightly scenic route to go and see the caravan I lived in for 4 years when I first moved into the area. Slightly disconcerting was the fact that even after 9 years, the lady in charge at the campsite knew who I was... and she didn't even live there at the time!!! Hmmm, I took it as a positive thing, let's hope it was!

We then drove across Moulin Moor and stopped at the layby opposite Auld Mr Soutar's Hoose for more coffee and the scrummy apple slices... more like apple thins now actually, as they were buried under a hundredweight of books!!! Still tasted scrummy though!

On to Killin and a reunion with Walter, Susan and Sid, my Intrepid friends who were up for the night as well. It was a fantastic night, good food, great company and such a good laugh, real jaw-aching, belly-aching laughs! Superb!!

A few real ales and some lemon vodkas later, (and some rum in Helen's case), we stumbled up to our twin room in the attic with vague notions of maybe getting up for sunrise if the clouds cleared overnight.

Thankfully the clocks changed that night, springing forward by an hour. Again, this was a positive thing... rather than losing an hour in bed, we gained an hour of our holiday and, thankfully, sunrise was now roughly 7-ish instead of 6-ish!!! Much more sociable!

Peeping beyond the curtain at a little before 7am, I saw the sky was already pretty light and that the clouds had lifted and it had the makings of a beautiful day!

But we were very, very close to sunrise and we had to run if we were going to make it. So we did. Straight into a bog and a bootful of peaty water!! Which was nice!

Undeterred, we circled round the bog and arrived at the shore of Loch Tay with moments to spare!



The initial rush and panic over, we had time to sit and drink in the beauty of the morning and the peace of the landscape...



but, I have to be honest, wishing we'd packed a flask of coffee and thinking really hard about whether to knock on the fishermen's tent to see if they'd share any breakfast with a couple of slightly hungover photographers!

Luckily Helen found a couple of hot cross buns left over from the day before at the bottom of the bag, so we ate those instead and the fishermen were left to sleep in ignorance of how close they'd come to losing half of their breakfast!!

We wandered back to the hotel in time for breakfast with Susan, Walter and Sid, and plans were hatched for a tour round the Ben Lawers range. The map showed a promising looking drive from Killin that cut round behind Ben Lawers and then popped out at Kenmore. Perfick! Except there was no mention on the map that the road was now shut halfway along it due to enormous potholes that developed after the hard winter they'd just experienced up there!

Back in Killin, we agreed to follow the sat nav to the tearooms at Bridge of Balgie. Susan was driving ahead of us to lead the way, but by some oversight we also left our road atlas with them... so they had the sat nav and the map!

That wouldn't have been a problem if the road hadn't suddenly turned into the M25 as soon as Susan pulled out onto it, meaning we were delayed in setting off. Susan saw a blue car behind, thought (not unreasonably) that it was us and carried on following Mr Tom's instructions. We were left to follow our noses. It didn't go well.

It was very scenic and we did spot a hen harrier while out on our diversion, but we were a LONG way from any tearooms, let alone the one at Bridge of Balgie!! Deciding that the best thing to do was turn around and go back along the main road, we eventually found the turning that we should have taken first time! Oops!!

We'd tried several times to ring Walter but no signal put the dampeners on that. We were a good 2 hours behind the others before we eventually caught up, but we were reunited and all was laughed away! Slightly hysterical laughter maybe, but we laughed it off anyway!

The poor Intrepids were stoked full of tea, so it seemed a plan to make the next stop at the toilets a mile down the road. We then carried on to Fortingall to see the 5000 year old yew tree at the church. It's astonishing to be in the presence of something that has seen the whole of history in that place... absolutely mind-blowingly astonishing! Yew trees are found in just about every church yard up and down the UK. Respected for their ability to rejuvenate and grow, prehistoric and medieval peoples believed the Yew to have magical properties. I'm rather inclined to think so too!

A bite to eat and another wee stop later found us at the Hermitage by Dunkeld. A favourite haunt of mine, I was desperate to get there before dark to have a good look round.



It's a fantastic place, I've written about it before, but you really do need to go and have a look if you ever pass through Perthshire on the A9. Trust me, it's well worth the stop!

A night in Perth and then it was back down the road to home and reality again.



My life in Scotland may be done, but I can be very, very sure that I'll be back!

Rebecca, X
http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Mother's Day

A couple of weekends ago saw me over in Reading taking family portraits for Louise and Graham. We had a real laugh and enjoyed it immensely, watching the kids express themselves and just be themselves in the mobile studio. We set no time limits, it takes as long as it takes, and we had no plans that couldn't change at the drop of a hat. We just let the shoot unfold according to the kids and how they got on together... which they did beautifully! There are plenty of colour shots and some fun ones amongst dad's legs and playing with a big fluffy dog, but these are the ones I like for their innocence and simplicity. I don't know what Louise is doing today, but as it's Mother's Day and she's got two fantastic children, I hope she's doing something fab!! A lovely family, great fun and a dream to photograph. Thanks Louise, I really enjoyed the shoot and hope you did too! Rebecca, X http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/ rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Barkham Mad!

Barkham Church nestles quietly in a little lane away from the hustle of the main village and is typical of the many flint faced buildings in this area. It's really quite beautiful at any time of day, but it is even more so at night I think. Lit from one side by the constantly busy village hall and on the other by the biggest full moon in 20 years (apparently... though obviously the moon itself is no bigger at all - it's just the same size as before but I guess we're a bit closer to it than we have been for 20 years!), anyway, I toddled down to the church that night (don't ask me which night 'cos it was ages ago now and I don't even remember what I did last night!!), a little uncertain as to how I'd get on. Last time I tried to take photos of a church after dark I nearly died of fright with all the strange noises and rustlings and things tugging at my jacket (turned out to be branches of a shrub but it felt very much like skeletal fingers to my heightened imagination!!). I also felt rather anxious at Auld Mr Soutar's Hoose up on Moulin Moor when I went there after dark, alone, stumbling about the boggy tussocks and trying to ignore the feelings that 'something' was at my back all the time! Barkham Church was a bit different though. This night, the strangest noise came from my keyring... I have a little pig with a blue light torch that shines from it's nostrils and oinks every time you switch it on! The torch was very useful so there was a fair amount of oinking going on, which would certainly put off anything that was lurking in the shadows with any mischevious intent!! There was also quite a noise coming from the party going on at the village hall. Not quite sure what the music was, but it certainly wasn't 'Village People' or any of the other cheesy party tunes we used to try and dance along to! Thankfully nobody came stumbling out of the party, because I'm not sure what they'd have made of a fleece-wearing anorak wielding a flashing oinking pig!! Barkham mad, probably! Rebecca, x http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/ rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Bourne Again!

Last week was such a tonic for me. I've already posted about my trip to Aberlady and success at Crufts, but before that I had a fantastic few days in Lincolnshire with my very great and very true friends Margaret and Paul.

A rowdy play with Roxy helped too! What a great dog she is, I love her so much!!



After a month of crying and illness and general downright miserableness, I'd arrived in Bourne a bit of a wreck. Five minutes later I was smiling, ten minutes later I was laughing, and after a couple of hours I felt so unbelievably refreshed and revived and perked up that I really did feel born again!

Honestly, I did. It all sounds a bit drama queen I know, but it's true!

Margaret had made plans though, and what a fab weekend it was! Having arrived on the Saturday, Sunday saw us up at Fineshade Woods in Rutland for a day out with a wildlife photographer and Margaret's great friend Kat.

Kat and Malc were instantly warm and welcoming and it felt like we'd all known each other for ages... it was gonna be a really good day!

It was!! The birds came out to play, the cameras came out to play, and so did we!



It was a brilliant day out and revived me in a way nothing much else could have done! Spot on Margaret, and a huge thanks to Kat and Malc too!!

We travelled back to Bourne pretty much carefree and full of anticipation at maybe seeing barn owls in the fields where Margaret and Kat walk their dogs.



We didn't really expect too much though, as they both said they'd not seen the owls at that time of day before, but wow, within only a couple of minutes of arriving there it was, swooping away from it's nesting box in the barn rafters and across the field. Only Margaret had the savvy to have her camera ready, so unfortunately I didn't get any shots, but what a privilege it is to see such a beautiful creature so close up!

Such a privilege in fact, that no sooner had that one disappeared than another one swooped out and across the fields too! Again, no photos, but again, how special just to be there! I'll hopefully be more prepared next time!!!

Monday was also a good day out. We went in to Peterborough and had not only the best muffins in the world ever, but also a lovely walk round Peterborough Cathedral. It really is beautiful inside and, again, next time I go I shall be armed with my camera! It's stunning!!

The burial place of Katherine of Aragon and first burial place of Mary Queen of Scots, the Cathedral has a long and fascinating history. It's architecture is quite unlike that of any other Cathedral I've visited and the ceilings are magnificent. Really magnificent.

We returned to Bourne that evening and waited for Margaret's son Paul, a primary school teacher with a bit of a problem. He's a superb teacher, having been commended in previous Ofsted visits, but Tuesday and Wednesday were going to see Ofsted back again. Andrew's teaching assistant had gone sick and Andrew had a dozen fishing rods and various other things to make and do. I like a challenge and thought "how hard can it be?" ...all that was needed was to stick a length of string to one end of a small piece of cane and stick a round magnet to the other end. Easy eh?

Er, no actually! My mum has always said I'm a bit cack-handed and it seems she's right!! There was sellotape on all surfaces, including my hair at one point, magnets were sticking fast to each other... and the radiator! The strings were getting knotted and I couldn't untie them because the magnets were stuck together again!!! Honestly, how hard could it be?!!!! Still, got there in the end and Andrew had 12 fishing rods and quite a few magnetic fishes to take to work the next day, so it all turned out ok, thank goodness!



A walk across the fields on Tuesday morning and then it was time to be off to catch the train to Edinburgh. It was such a good wee break and I can't say thank you enough to Margaret and Paul. I can't wait to come back, let's hope it's soon!!!

Rebecca XX still smiling now! :-D

To Aberlady and Beyond!

I first visited Aberlady Nature Reserve last year when I was feeling raw and emotional and hurt and grieving. A wee while there and I felt my spirits lift a bit and my strength to return a little bit.



So here I am again, a year on, raw and emotional and hurt and grieving. Seems I'm not quite as strong as I thought I was, but nor am I a victim. I will be back and, to that end, a trip to Aberlady was the perfect boost... as well as a trip back to Bourne to see my really fab friends Margaret & Paul, but more of that in another post!

I took the train up to Edinburgh last Tuesday to be met in the rain by my old pal John. A flatmate from our university days over 10 years ago, we've kept in touch on and off over the years and how glad am I of that? Very glad indeed. I don't know if he can be bottled, but he really is such a great tonic!!!

Having spent a few days away with Margaret and Paul, I was already feeling lifted and rested and on my way back to peace, but a couple more days with John put the cherry on the top. We laughed, I cried, we laughed again, we ate, drank & laughed a bit more and set the world to rights and talked & laughed some more. Perfick!

Arriving in the dark and in the rain, I could only get a rough idea of the view John has to look at every day. It looked good, even in the dismal light... but wow, what a view in the daylight!



John is warden at the Nature Reserve and is fortunate enough to have an apartment that looks out across the estuary, across the old shipwreck and across the salt marsh beyond, where North Berwick Law stands in majesty above this beautiful, ever-changing landscape.

The rain had stopped, the sun was out and it would have been extremely rude not to go out and embrace the wind as it whipped along the coast. We filled a flask with coffee and a box with rolls and John's home baking (Yum! He never did that when we shared a flat in Aberdeen!!), and weatherproofed & hunger-proofed, we set off for a walk round the reserve.

The salt marshes across the far side of the bay lead on to an extensive dune system, with back dunes and ponds and a fantastically shaped landscape that reminds me of a volcanic crater clothed in grass!



Home to reptiles, amphibians, mammals, invertebrates, insects and birds, this wonderful ecosystem is so incredibly beautiful but also incredibly fragile. John and his team are working tirelessly to control the dunes from the threat of invasion by non-native species... the attractive but rampant sea buckthorn to name but one!

Another threat of invasion was thwarted by these huge blocks that, although invaders themselves, are now so much a part of the landscape that they are also protectors and holders of their own small ecosystems, as lichens, mosses and small plants colonise the concrete!



Placed here in the war to protect the land from enemy tanks that could be landed from the shore, these blocks are so weathered and bedded in that they have completely embraced the natural world. Rejecting manmade ideas of war and destruction, these memorials of war now offer peace and new life. It's part of the magic of Aberlady Nature Rerserve. It really is!

Twice now I've visited the reserve when my world has crumpled, and twice now I've been restored and revived by the magic that's here. Peace and new life, here I come!!

Walking further along the coast, the landscape changes with every turn and, rather dramatically, with just about every high tide!



The rocks are astonishing, not just in beauty, but in their vast differences. All colours, shapes and sizes, the rocks represent so many different forms and types that a geologist would be in perpetual bliss! Carved by wind and rain, sea and sand, smoothed by years of exposure to all the elements, the rocks here take on really fantastic and surreal features. Is it any wonder myths and legends are born when you come across such grotesque and pained faces as these?



Blimey, my problems are nothing compared to theirs! See, I really do feel better already!!!

John pointed out this huge rock and said that until the winter it had been buried by sand dunes for who knows how many years! Winter storms swept a huge section off the end of a the dunes to reveal this and other rocks for the first time in centuries.



How exciting is that? I think it's great! Apparently this particular rock was a beautiful green colour when it was first exposed, but has now muted to a still very attractive silvery green. I wonder what it looked like before it was buried in the sand, and how many people have sat on it and looked out to sea?

As we walked, the landscape changed in every bay. Looking out to the island of Fidra, we sat and ate our lunch and just revelled in the rawness of the day.



The wind was biting, but it was perfect. Blowing a gale through our troubled thoughts and frazzled minds, all negative emotions dispersed on the wind as easily as dandelion seeds blow away from the clock. Time heals, it's true, but there's nothing quite like a good sea breeze to get the colour back in your cheeks and a hearty stride back in your step!



12 miles & 7 hours after setting off from John's front door, we arrived in North Berwick. A beautiful day, a stunning walk and great company. I could do with a LOT more of that!!!! Thanks John, it was ace and I am so grateful to you for helping me through and making me laugh and getting me back on to the road again. You should be available on the NHS!!!

Rebecca, X

Team Tima!

Well, Friday was a day of firsts all round... my first trip to Crufts, Tima's German Shepherd Dog Masai had his first win at his first ever time at Crufts, and he was also the first black GSD to win his class!



We also hoped that he would become a father for the first time on Friday, but nature knew better and he is, as yet, still pacing the hall waiting for his pups to arrive! It was a long day for us all, starting at 4.30 in the morning, but it was such a good day.

Crufts and the Kennel Club have come in for criticism over the years for allowing breeding to result in dogs that look a certain way but can suffer from skeletal problems or breathing difficulties or other severe health problems. I was, therefore, very happy to be going along to my first show with Tima Lund, who is loud and proud in her determination to show German Shepherd Dogs with strong, healthy skeletal systems rather than the extreme sloping backs that so often cause poor hips, plus shoulder, knee and elbow problems and spinal deformities.

The judge at Crufts this year, Gary Gray, is also a strong supporter of the straighter backed GSD's and the Kennel Club are certainly heading in the right direction to encourage breeding to produce healthy, happy dogs!



Let's hope it continues and the poor dogs who suffer so much for nothing more than a desired image will not suffer further and common sense will prevail. So, well done to Masai, and to Team Tima!



Tima breeds GSD's and Cocker Spaniels, trains agility and obedience and somehow also manages to find time to work as a Science & Animal Care teacher in a local school too! Find out more about Tima and her furry family here at http://www.folkvanggsd.webs.com/

We were also accompanied by Pickle, who unfortunately missed her class group due to a bit of a mix up. Still, she looked beautiful and she enjoyed our walks round the show and it was all still a bit of a day out for her.



Thanks to Tima for letting me come along to Crufts, and a huge big cuddle of love for Masai... he is just awesome!



I wish you could have met my Hogy Bear! He was no champion or show stopper, and he had the worst case of hip & elbow dysplasia the vet had seen, all caused by poor breeding and, because of his suffering, I will support anyone and everyone who can help bring attention to the problems and attention to the work that's going on to eradicate such needless suffering!!!

But I do wish you could have met Hogy. He was the most gentle, placid, beautiful natured dog that I have ever met and I still miss his nose poking round my bedroom door every single day, a whole year on! He wasn't healthy, but he was happy when he was strong and he was the most fun I've ever known! Bless you Tima for bringing some Shepherdy love back into my life! And well done again to Masai (aka Tracelyn Hobson at Folkvang).

Rebecca. X