Goodness, this holiday business is tiring. It's been showery today (and is now pouring) but we managed to get a few more jobs done between the showers, and all the better for being unplanned. First, we finished rigging the A-frame over the back end, and cut a section of unused tippet to waterproof the top, through which quite a bit of last night's spectacular rain had found its way. It's being tested again as I write. Then we went to measure up in the fore end for a planned bed/platform. Aargh! I went, look up there (into dark corner above the deck board) What? says Jim. That, says I, shining torch at two inch diameter spherical object suspended from the string. What is it? says he. A wasps' nest, I shriek. Fortunately not currently occupied, tho Jim says now he thinks of it there were a lot of wasps hanging around last year. Anyway, that was swiftly disposed of, pausing only to marvel at the entomological skill that went into building it. Jim then fitted the new (old) headlight, bought at Braunston last year to replace one broken in an encounter with stoned hippies in a bridge hole on the Coventry last year. To his delight, it fitted the existing stalk so was one job that turned out to be easier than anticipated.
There's a nice stretch of straight towpath here, bounded by a hedge, where if I go on ahead to meet him, Rocky can have a good gallop. This morning I attached my GPS watch to his harness and Jim set it before releasing him. He ran 0.14 miles in 29 seconds which is equivalent to 3.07 minutes per mile or nearly 20 MPH - so his top speed would have been faster than that. I don't know how that compares to a racing dog but he certainly looks fast! It's a very impressive sight.
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