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Bear Necessities of Life

Musings of Teddy Bear Necessity's Household
to Whom It May Concern
スポンサーサイト

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Posted by スポンサードリンク
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A Snapshot from the Past
The Kerries are beside themselves for being excluded from the fun with the big cat.  

"Tobey is just taking a little break from you. Calm down!"

The Kerries always always always want to be included in anything we do.
They are the neediest animals on this planet, LoL.

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 16:36 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Seven Sisters Country Park
This is a record of our day trip to the Seven Sisters Country Park in East Sussex, a 2-hour drive from London.  These cliffs are often used as a "stand-in" for the more famous White Cliffs of Dover in films and on TVs as they are kept more natural and undeveloped, and therefore more picturesque.  


Posing on top of the cliff

There are no fences along these cliffs, so the Kerries were kept on lead.

Many people commemorate their visit by leaving names and some other words with white chalk stones at the edge of the cliffs.  I suppose these can be called graffitis, but it is a much better and charming version than the marker pen or spray paint version.  
It's a hike to go up these hills, but it's all worth it.


What a view!


Along the way you can find many sheep happily grazing away.
Sakura is on lead here, but dogs can be off lead to their hearts content

given that they do not chase farm animals.  Some paths go right through sheep pastures, so you need to be careful.


Baaaaaaaaaaaaa


The Seven Sisters Country Park is a part of the immense South Downs National Park, which comprises of the entire green part in the map above ↑.


The South Downs consists of the dynamic coastlines, meandering river vallyes, rolling grassland and ancient woodlands.

There are also some historical curiosities, such as these "pill boxes" which are concrete dug-in guard posts built against the German invasion during the 1940s.  


The idea of a South Downs National Park dates back to the 1920s, and with much bumps and detours, it finally became in operation as a national park in 2011.  Nature loving British do their best to protect their environment.  The policy of Green Belt controls urbanization and protects the countryside from overdevelopment.  The organization such as the National Trust preserves the places of historic intest or natural beauty by owning 630,000 acres of mostly countryside properties.  This is a number equaling nearly 1.5% of the total land mass of England, Wales and Northern Ireland! 


Looking back, the fact that Louie was able to spend the last 5 years of his life in beautiful England where dogs can be dogs was a bless.

 
Posted by teddydale
Traveling / 18:20 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A Snapshot from the Past
Sakura (left), Louie (right) and Zoey (below)
taking a nap on one afternoon.


 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 10:28 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A Dog Friendly Afternoon Tea
A few months after we stayed in the dog-friendly Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel in London with our Kerry Blues, we went back to have afternoon tea in the hotel restaurant, of course with the Kerries again.  

Gorgeous Christmas tree in the lobby

It seems having 2 Kerries is quite memorable, so as soon as we walked in, a staff welcomed us with a friendly remark, "You were here before, weren't you? Welcome back." 


We had never taken the dogs to a restaurant in UK before, so we were a bit nervous as we walked into the restaurant, 


but it was a needless concern as a staff immediately brought us a dog bed and a water bowl and made us feel very welcome.

The bed was mostly occupied by Sakura


We've had afternoon tea in several hotels in London, and I'd say afternoon tea at the Chesterfield Mayfair is one of the best.  The scones and sandwiches were nice and moist and the sweets were just delicately sweet, not overly sweet.  On top of that, the staffs are friendly and attentive, which you'd think is standard but not so much in reality even in 4 or 5 star hotels.  


"Are we coming back here again?"
Oh yeah.


 
The Kerries are used to accompany us to pubs and cafes, so to them this experience was no different.  They were very well-behaved and sophisticated like the city dogs that they are. ;-)


 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 10:52 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A Dog Friendly London Hotel
Let me introduce a very special hotel in London.  It's called the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, and it is a super dog-friendly hotel. Dogs are allowed not only in rooms but also in the restaurant and bar. (Public area photos are from the internet.)


Why stay in a hotel in London while living in London?  That was because my loving hubby booked it for a wedding anniversary last year, and of course the Kerries had to be included in the celebration.



Our lovely room was equipped with a dog bed and bowl
although the Kerries do mostly human bed (so we cover the bed with a sheet from home).
 

We ate out for dinner but still had to try the hotel's famously dog-friendly facility, so we had a night cap in the bar.  
 


Louie asking to go to sleep.  He was not much of a night owl.

Although Louie may not have appreciated having to stay up late, it was still nice to be able to be with your dogs and not worry about how they were doing in the room.


 
In the morning, we walked in Green Park, which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel.  Green Park is the smallest of 8 Royal Parks in London, but it is still 40 acres big.  There are lots of squirrels so squirrel hunter Sakura had to be leashed here and there, but gentle boy Louie could romp to his heart's content.  He was such a good boy.

The Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel is located in the heart of Mayfair, near the Berkeley Square.  It is not a very small hotel, but its cozy atmosphere and super friendly staffs make it feel very homey and comfortable.  We left the hotel wanting more, and so we would absolutely go back, maybe to try the restaurant next time.  


 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 17:14 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Snapshots from the Past

Louie nuzzling up to daddy


Louie after his "work" looking a little tired, LOL

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 18:34 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
A snapshot from the past
"Pay attention to meeeeeeee!"
Louie trying to get Sakura's attention on the beach of Genêts, France.

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 04:03 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Honfleur trip
Going down the memory lane.
 
This is from our trips to Honfleur, France, in April and August of 2012.
 


Beautiful 17th century old harbor



In April, we stayed in this little cottage at La Fond de la Cour, a charming B&B runned by a very nice British couple. 
 


There even is a dog priprietor who was very taken by the Kerries.
 



Louie affirmed his love for livestocks.


In August, we stayed in the annex house, Petite Maison, of the hotel, Les Maisons de Léa. You can experience living in a 16th century half-timbered Normandie house this way.
 

We have to take along plenty of sheets and blankets to cover beds and sofas if we travel with the Kerries because they are such snugglers.  It is impossible to remove them from a sofa or a bed.


Louie approved the daily boulangerie routine.


Beautiful Honfleur.  It became a very special place for us with fond memories.


Posted by teddydale
Traveling / 15:26 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)
Nikki-Sakura
Sakura, aka Nikki, is doing fine although I'd say her power had gone down by 50% overnight.  

She used to lead our pack on walks but now walks slower by our side and often looks at us as if to check if she's going the right way.  
 
She doesn't take off to look for squirrels as much as she used to.  She hangs around us more, which was the role Louie had.  

Even her favorite game of fetch doesn't last very long because there's no Louie to chase after her.  

 
Sakura never acted that attached to Louie when he was alive, but it seems that Louie's dependable presence and attentiveness gave her a great sense of security.  Since she came to live with us, she's basically spent every second of her life with Louie, so losing him was of course just as traumatic to her as it was to us, if not more.


"Louie, where are you?"



Our big cat Tobey hangs around by the front door more lately.  Perhaps he is waiting for Louie to come home.  

 
Posted by teddydale
4-Legged Musings / 15:17 / comments(0) / trackbacks(0)