Baxter's Birthday and a little tootle oot on the bike

My little lad is three today, needless to say he got spoilt.I picked up 2 toys for Baxter last week, man pet stuff is expensive.  A Kong jumbo bone and a Kong cone, both in large came to £30, never mind he is worth it. I gave Baxter the bone this morning and he went mental, he even pulled poor Ern all the way around his walk so he could get back home to his new toy. The Kong cone I filled with biscuits and some peanut butter then froze it. Just gave Baxter this about and hour or so ago and he has been quite happily lying in the sun licking his make shift lolly.

Birthday Boy

Mmmmm I love peanut butter

Yum Yum

My dad and I had Baxter to the vets last week as he has had a really sore and itchy tummy. The medications we received are costing a small fortune. It was £70 quid last week and after speaking to my dad after I got in from a short yet rather enjoyable bike ride I discovered it has cost another £30 odd quid this week. Still not really sure what has upset wor Baxter, but the tablets he has been taking seem to have taken away the soreness and he is not scratching as much. I am wondering whether it is an allergy of some kind. Speaking of allergies I am also wondering whether I have become susceptible to something as man I just cannot shake these cold like symptoms. I am still coughing , sniffing and generally feeling well under par. I am so fed up of feeling like this, it has been going on for well over a year. I have now come to the conclusion if this is how I am going to feel long term, then well so be it, no good whinging I will just do what I normally do and get on with it.

Over the last few months I have changed shape substantially in my residual limb, so today to go out for a ride it was a case of Ern and I cobbling something together so that I could head out. I am having to use an old BTK socket, which is quite a bit large. I am sinking in a lot and so the top edge is errr! a bit uncomfortable, right around my hip and gentleman's bits! I am hoping Ern can trim the top edge where my hip is rubbing on the soft inner of the socket. Main thing here is that at least I managed to get out on my bike with John. 

Coming onto Chapman's Wells

Cracking sunny day

Chapman's Well

It has been a glorious day. John and I rode over to Quakies via Wagtail lane, passing the big wind turbines. We went right up through Quaking Houses and on towards Chapmans Well, opposite Quakies Fell. The Exmoor Ponies were out on the fell, some basking in the sun.

Ponies out on the Fell

Just a short loop of Chapman's and as we went from the Nature reserve onto the road and then cut back onto the reserve we noticed that part of the off road section had been flattened by heavy tracked vehicles. That is when we saw the large pile of cut logs and as we went further along to an area that used to be wooded all the Forestry signs.

I have been getting myself a new phone a Samsung Galaxy S9. The camera appears to take some canny shots and it worked smoothly with my GoPro Hero 5

In  Spoeccy see what I am doing mode

In Aghhhhhh I am blind mode

John doesn't need glasses he is a pro

Lovely day to today

Speccy Chambers and his Littlewoods pose

Forestry signs

 Read the signs before entering in

WTF!

There used to be a beautiful trail here

Sure do hope they make it pretty again

 It's weird how a landscape you know quite well can be totally transformed by the removal of some trees. When I say some I pretty much mean a whole area of forest. Now I know more trees may get planted, at least I hope they do, as the area looks totally destroyed. John and I reminisced about how beautiful this particular area was when the trees where in place. There was a kind of avenue, formed with a canopy of trees. It always looked so pretty as the pine needles from the trees would create as sort blanket on the forest floor and when the sun shone through the branches it looked very pretty and serene. Now there is just an empty, flattish expanse of nothingness. Ideally from a mountain bike point of view it would be great if they popped more trees in and made the path winding with some good undulations, cannot see that happening LoL

Ok off in the shower to tend to my sore bits...