The last couple of evenings have been warm enough to take the dogs on a long walk. This is a feat in itself as the dogs get very excitable when they see their leads, so excited that if you were to see them you would think they had never been taken for a walk as they trample over each other to get to you to put their leads on.

It also takes two of us to walk them so either my hubby and I go or it is me and eldest child.

Anyway long walks are always welcome in nice weather, the smells of the park, the joy at seeing the cars on the road, the people who will come and chat to you just because you have a greyhound, the fact that the grey will show off to them, a sight to be seen as he stands there begging to be stroked and made a fuss of. Walktimes are always a joy.

Not so much for the owners though. I am afraid I am rather lazy if it is cold or raining, I leave the walktimes to the son and hubby. If it is nice though I will go out with the dogs with one of the other as I said earlier and the last couple of evenings have been bliss. The walk through the woods at 8.30 last night meant that we saw a lot of wildlife running around, getting ready to go to sleep. The birds singing and calling out to each other, in harmony, so much bird song with the odd wood pigeon and a dove. The squirrels running from tree to tree, the deer walking through the undergrowth, standing still and watching us as we passed by, almost holding their breaths.

A week ago there were bluebells in the wood a carpet of them guiding us to the meadow where the long grass almost covers the whippet x. Every so often he stands on his hind legs to see over it, check where he is before he scuttles on, crouching as though he is searching for some prey.

Of course you meet other dog walkers, some are nice and pass the day with you. They notice your dogs are on leads so put theirs on a lead as they pass by. Then there are the ones who have so much control of their own dogs that they don't need to be on a lead, a command is enough, or the ones that let their dogs walk miles ahead of them, have no control of them, the ones that keep sniffing your dog and making them angry and unsettled.

You see the good dog owners walking with their gear, the sainsbury bags full of the neccessities to clear up after their dog with, then there are the ones that don't clear up - they annoy me. Then again if you have a dog that insists that stinging nettles need to be fertilised or the bush that may need a bit of sustanance, almost as if he is taunting you - now get in there and clear that up ! Although we do clear up the majority our dogs do, like most responsible dog owners.

Coming home and the dogs flake out on the living room floor. You have to walk round them as though you are walking through an obstacle course, they will not move, they are tired, they now need their sleep, because lets face it, it has been at least an hour since they last slept of course they are going to be tired :))