Box Hill

Took a little drive over to Box Hill in Surrey today. Planted one of the hedgehogs here as I had planned. Should be pretty close to the Hercules box, so make sure to get them both at the same time. Also, a lot of geocaches around this area. I only had time to do 3, but there are at least 10. You'll have a great time if you come on a nice warm day and do both boxing and caching!

Box Hill is a National Trust area between Dorking & Leatherhead in Surrey. Dorking is nearly the center of Surrey and lies directly south of London. Convenient to get to from London or nearby Gatwick Airport.

People have been coming here for hundreds of years (Daniel Defoe lived near here once and wrote about it back in the 1700s.) Box Hill is one of the best-known summits of the North Downs (the whole of south-east England was once covered by a huge dome of chalk which has eroded down to form two ridges: the North and South Downs), the chalk ridge which runs from the Hampshire border to the west, eastwards through Surrey and Kent to Dover. It is 634 ft tall and stands at the corner of one of the few big gaps in the otherwise unbroken line of the North Downs. The name Box Hill comes from the box trees that grow here.

Beautiful views, but unfortunately, a dreary December day isn't the best choice. Still, a good day out. Not too exciting in the winter - as far as seeing beautiful plants, orchids, and animals. I think a trip back in the spring will be necessary.

Photos:
Views of the countryside
Car Park trailhead - white paper on left comments on a recent dog attack on some sheep :(
Box Hill Fort - built in 1899 to protect London from southern invasions
Baa Baa Black Sheep - sheep are important here in encouraging flora & fauna diversity
An evil little nano geocache - it was so small I couldn't hardly get the minute log out

My Personal Logbook

Way back in time, I used to be in the printing industry. And even though I have bought logbooks - both for my early personal books and for planted boxes, having a custom made logbook is quite special.

My current book is large, but I love it. I designed the size, and selected the paper stock I wanted. Picked out my cover material. All the paper and cover material I was able to get from paper companies I worked with. I pulled in a favor to get it bound at a huge bookbindery in Tennessee where I sent all the material in with my specifications back in late 2004. I tried to keep it in good condition, but a long day out at Dartmoor in 2005 subjected it to constant rain. It survived, but it certainly wore it out a bit.

Having done postal letterboxing, I was at a crossroads for a while on whether I wanted to keep the stamps apart - one book for letterboxes in the wild, another one for plbs. In the end, I decided it was too much hassle to separate them. I keep everything in my one special logbook.

The organized side of me tried to maintain some sense of neatness and order to how I stamped into my logbook. Keeping certain stamps together and such. I still do try to keep multiple stamps from an event or a certain area or park together on a single page. But other than that, it's a hodge-podge of various stamps.

What to do with first finder certificates? I decided the best place was with the stamp. So they get glued in on the pages. This has turned my book into a touch of a scrapbook. But scanning through it and seeing colorful stamps, postal ring stamps all together, FF items glued in and even a few photos has really turned it into a memorable treasure.




At one point, I thought maybe I better not take it out in the wild with me anymore. Better to stamp on a piece of paper or card and glue it in and preserve my book. Plus, it's heavy (think carrying around a college textbook)! But, it just really loses something for me when I can't have the actual logbook in my hand. So I pack it around. It's been to at least 6 different states plus England and France.

The sad part is that my logbook is about 80% full. Filling each page (I think there are about 400 - 200 x 2 - if I recall what I spec'ed) both sides I thought would take it quite a few years. But here we are just going into it's 3rd birthday and the end is in sight. The good part is that since we moved to the UK and I'm not doing PLBs anymore, it should last a bit longer. But anytime you go to an event it seems like you can expect 50 new stamps in your logbooks - give or take. And that fills up pages quickly.

Regardless, I love my little book. No one else has one like it, and the treasure of stamps inside is wonderful. Including the day my kids found it and scribbled on a few of the pages.

I completely recommend you shop around for the ideal logbook for yourself. Maybe it's the reader and book lover in me, but finding a special one-of-kind book is the best.

A few options for you. . .

Fancy making a quality book yourself?
Try The Bookmaaker kits from Plickity Plunk Press (http://www.plickityplunk.com/bookmaaker.html)

Want a unique quality pre-made book?
Try Oberon (http://www.oberondesign.com/)

Yes, I know they are not exactly cheap. If you want cheap, then go down to the office supplies store and pick up a hardbound blank journal for 5 dollars/pounds. You can leave it as is, or change it up with some altered books ideas. My first 2 logbooks were this type.

So, if you're in the market for a new personal logbook, shop around and find the one that works for you!

The Future is Not Bright

This is really scary stuff. No kidding.

WASHINGTON - An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years.

"The Arctic is screaming," said Mark Serreze, senior scientist at the government's snow and ice data center in Boulder, Colo.

Just last year, two top scientists surprised their colleagues by projecting that the Arctic sea ice was melting so rapidly that it could disappear entirely by the summer of 2040.

This week, after reviewing his own new data, NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said: "At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions."

2007 shattered records for Arctic melt in the following ways:

• A record amount of surface ice was lost over Greenland this year, 12 percent more than the previous worst year, 2005, according to data the University of Colorado released Monday. That's nearly quadruple the amount that melted just 15 years ago. It's an amount of water that could cover Washington, D.C., a half-mile deep, researchers calculated.

• The surface area of summer sea ice floating in the Arctic Ocean this summer was nearly 23 percent below the previous record. The dwindling sea ice already has affected wildlife, with 6,000 walruses coming ashore in northwest Alaska in October for the first time in recorded history. Another first: the Northwest Passage was open to navigation.

Melting of sea ice and Greenland's ice sheets also alarms scientists because they become part of a troubling spiral.

White sea ice reflects about 80 percent of the sun's heat off Earth, NASA's Zwally said. When there is no sea ice, about 90 percent of the heat goes into the ocean which then warms everything else up. Warmer oceans then lead to more melting.

Two Camillas?

I thought this was funny when I read it. After listening to Rupert Everett about half a dozen times this month already in Shrek 3, I can just hear his voice. This is what he had to say about an upcoming part where he plays a woman. He based his character on Camilla (aka the Duchess of Cornwall).

The flamboyant actor, who dons a blonde wig and knee-length skirt for the part of "pantomime dame" headmistress Miss Camilla Fritton, proved to be a striking doppelganger for the royal.

Rupert recently said: "I thought Camilla, what a girl, she's fantastic. I love her.

"She's got a sense of humour, and she likes a drink and a cigarette - she's my kind of girl.

"She's a marvelous woman, she strides around, she works in the garden and she goes out to parties. She wears nice hats and dresses, she has wonky teeth."

LOL. She's a great girl that Camilla, wonky teeth and all.

Christmastime

It's that time of year again. . .Christmas! We've had quite a few changes since last year.

We got a real tree this year after having had an artificial one for the last 10 years. I thought it would be a really fun experience with getting one. But I'm not so sure now. Dragging it home, constant watering, needles everywhere, and taking it to the dump afterwards. Hmmm. I didn't bring the artificial one as I thought it took up too much room in the shipment container. Now I'm having second doubts. And frankly, I'm just not smelling the pine scent we were convinced we would have. . .what's the deal there?! But it looks nice and it was sort of fun going to get one.

All the US presents shipped? Check. All US Christmas Cards sent? Almost. All UK Christmas Cards sent? Working on it. All presents bought? Mostly. Presents wrapped? Nope.

Missing in Action:
-Rankin & Bass Christmas shows. (Knew I should have bought those at WalMart last year!);
-No constant Christmas music on the radio (okay with this - downloaded all my favorites anyway);
-Huge shopping stores (we actually did find a ToysRUs no too far away. It was big too. Yeah!);
-Constant barrage of Christmas in your face (much more low key over here - I like that);

Problems:
-Getting all new Christmas lights since the plugs don't work here. (Done)
-Keeping kids away from decorative village houses. (No hope. Accept there will be damages)
-Am I supposed to watch the Queens speech? Not sure. I'm not her 'subject' so probably not.

Pray for a white Christmas? Hmmm. Doubtful. But, I assume the odds are better than snow in Houston! Hey, that's a good thing!

Have a great holiday season in your neck of the woods! Grab some letterboxes or geocaches over your break. (It will make you smile when you've had enough of the extended family.)

:)

In a Land Far Far Away

Random thoughts for the week. . .

- this was the first time in my entire life I didn't have a Thanksgiving. I was really missing the family dinner and watching the Macy's parade. Next year we'll hopefully be settled in our own house so I can start a new Thanksgiving tradition. Although the ovens look tiny.

- cars. . .I like cars. Personally, I've been a Jaguar fan since I was 16 (I've had 3), but I still notice and enjoy the cars that are out and about. The #1 car I've seen around this area (and remember this is one of the wealthiest counties in England as it's right next to London) is the Land Rover. Yep. They're like pickups in Texas - everyone has one. Have also seen three 3-wheel cars. Now THOSE are interesting to see!

- on Saturday we were driving through Farnham when I spotted this man in colonel clothes walking though town. Fancy dress ball? Nope. He's the town crier. Seems like a lot of the villages have these. They have a bell and handouts to announce any town activities. In this case, it was the Christmas lighting. That's a neat tradition. I wish I had had my camera.

- I was reading the article in Outdoor magazine about the upcoming US presidential candidates. It was giving their views and agendas for the environment. After reading the whole article there wasn't one person worth a flip. No matter how good they talked the talk, their outside relationships and voting showed a different story. That was depressing. Someone who actually did sound interesting was Richard Branson. He's doing an amazing amount of 'green' things. Of course, is he really doing it for the greater good? or just for his own benefit? hmmm.

-Haven't done any geocaching or letterboxing this past week. Got excited that a new lb was at Box Hill, but then found I had already gotten this one elsewhere. Boo. Still need to go there though to plant one of the hedgehog boxes. I REALLY want to hit 200 caches by the end of the year, but not feeling very motivated lately. Temps in the 30s and 40s, so a bit cold to me. I normally spent the last 10 years in shorts at this time of year, not hats, scarfs, boots, gloves, and scraping frost off the car window in the morning. I'm just hoping I can get all these hedgehog boxes planted soon. Still have about 6 to go.

- Something I used to do over the post-Thanksgiving weekend was to go down to this Hallmark store and pick out a new Dept 56 Dickens Village house. I only did one a year - at Christmas. Then I'd race home and get all my others out (about 6, LOL) and set them all out. I really enjoyed that. But now, I have a two-fold problem - the electric plugs are US not UK, and no one sells them around here. I found a similar line - Lemax. UK based. But it just isn't the same as my Dickens Village. :(

-To consol myself over the above, I got us all a Hornby Hogwarts Express train set. Oooohhh. Cool. I had some second cousins who used to put up a really awesome train and village scene around their tree every year. I always thought that was so neat. So, once I get the train laid out, I'm going to see if I can add Village houses to it. If not, I may just have to jump ship and make and buy the train houses and scenery. Next, I'll be up in the attic like Alec Baldwin in Beetlejuice. :)

- TV. . .haven't watched much TV at all really. Mr. TeamKing usually plants himself in for the football (soccer) games. So, I've been downloading some of my favorites from iTunes and watching them that way. Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, etc. I love that I can still see my US shows. Although they don't have The Amazing Race as a download option. Boo. Still, I'm happy with what I can get. Is the writers strike over yet?

- Went to the Windsor Theatre the week before and saw a really great show 'Absurd Personal Singular'. 3 couples and their interactions. One of the funniest plays I've seen in a long time. One of the stars was Jane Horrocks - she was Bubble in Absolutely Fabulous, and the lead role in the film Little Voice. I think I'll have to go to some more.

- That's all for now. I'll ponder some new things this week and let you know all about them. LOL.

Cheers.

Pathtag to Trade

Are you a geocacher and have a pathtag to trade? If you're interested in trading with us, look us up on the Pathtags website.

We're always willing to trade with a letterboxer or cacher who reads this blog!

New Sig Stamp

I've been wanting to update my sig stamp for a while now. I actually really like it, but a lot of people don't realize it is a Wellie boot, not a riding boot (although I am doing some riding!).

But the problem was in how to change it? I want the same size, my same favorite font - Goudy Old Style, same layout, same green color. I just wanted to change up the boot somehow. Finally, I think I have found a solution. If you recall a month or so back, I mentioned I was in the process of ordering some pathtags. I'll post a picture of them here once they arrive, but basically they more or less look like my sig stamp - only better. I had one of their design people do the layout for me and she made my boot look more like a Wellie boot - yea!

So, for 2008, my goal is to get this new sig stamp carved and completed. It will then look like my pathtag thus giving me a complete 'corporate' identity. So remember, green Wellie boot = TeamKing. LOL.

Speaking of pathtags. . .I haven't met any cachers around my area yet, so I don't even know if they 'do' pathtags around here. I may just end up with a bunch of these things collecting dust! Even so, I'm really interested in doing either a new special pathtag for Penny dachshund, or my own geocoin. This will be another 2008 project. So, if you collect pathtags or geocoins, let me know! Maybe I'll do something fun to give some away!

The Hunt

Saw my first hunt today - completely coincidental as I was only driving by and spotted them.

The hounds were gearing up.

Was surprised when I saw them going around with food for the spectators!





























A single rider went ahead while they waited and laid the scent. I couldn't see how he did this exactly - either a spray or dropping


something on the ground.

Then, off they went. Really neat to watch - the men in the red jackets, the ladies in black. And a few young kids on their ponies and dressed up lagged behind.

I don't know where they were supposed to end up. I imagine they probably have a real fox in a cage or something that is the target. Would have been interesting to see how they finish up.

Bonfire with a Bunch of Guys

Well, we had our first real experience with celebrating Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night. The real day is November 5th. However, since the 5th is a Monday, most of the celebrations I've seen advertised were for this weekend.

On Saturday night we went to the Bonfire at the kids school. We got there and ate hot dogs and mulled wine, then they lite the bonfire. (Interesting side note here, the school sent home some reminders with the younger kids to beware of hedgehogs before lighting your bonfires. Seems they crawl under the brush piles. Poor things.) While the bonfire was blazing away keeping us nice and toasty warm, they let off fireworks just off in the distance. I was surprised there wasn't the 'ooh' & 'aah' we do in the states. No one said a peep until it ended and everyone clapped. It was all very nice and social.

Then tonight we did basically the same thing at a village pub. However, they also did the burning effigy of Guys. When we walked up, we saw some people carrying their Guys. 'Look at the all the Guys!' I heard someone remark. Then, as we got up to the unlite bonfire, the man in charge yelled out, 'Bring all the Guys over here!'. So, people brought their Guys up to the bonfire pile and they were all laid out.

The best Guy was voted on, and the winner was placed at the top of the pile.















Then the bonfire was lite, and everything burned up. All the Guys were burned to death, celebrating the capture & execution of the real Guy on November 5th 1605.

Fireworks followed as the bonfire burned away followed by food and drinks at the pub where this was held.

And that was our first experiences with Bonfire Night.

Military Training

Out today to one of the military training areas for the British Army. I'm still surprised that people can just walk through these areas!

Todays focus was a geocache that was not too far off of the parking area and had a low difficulty rating. Plus it mentioned 'hedgehogs'. Not real hedgies. These were military hedgehogs. Huh? Yep. That's one in the photo.

Then decided on the longer walk cache with the 3.5 terrain rating. Off we went.















Nice views from the ridge.

Ran across quite a few dog walkers. Their dogs were running loose. Penny dachshund had to stay on her lead. She is a really docile dog EXCEPT around other dogs. She just goes mad. A spaniel ran up to her, approached slowly and they sniffed noses, then suddenly Penny tries to fight. She's mad! Anyway, she's on the lead for the time being.

We finally got to the cache. Thank God for the hint because my gps (Garmin 60CSX) took me to about 40ft from where it actually was located. Hmmm. I hope that means they used an old gps and not that mine has an issue. Oddly, the ammo can was covered in a burlap cloth. That worried me at first as I couldn't tell what was actually in the burlap bag. Should I touch it? Is that the cache? or something else? You gotta worry when you're digging around military areas!

I was able to drop off a traveling geocoin sent to me by 3doxies of Tennessee. As a fellow dachshund lover, she asked me to place her coin for her over here to travel around Europe. In return, I got one of her awesome coins for my own collection! I sure hope her coin doesn't run into any issues. Seems like a lot of them go missing for sure. Good luck little coin!


And finally back home with wet belly dachshund who promptly found a sunny spot by the window and went to sleep until the sun moved and she crawled over to her pillow. Tough life.

Putting Together a Micro Letterbox

I remember when I started out that I would have given anything to 'see' what these letterboxes were before I tried to find them or even think about creating one. How big are they? What kind of containers? What do you put in them?

Hopefully, this might help someone out there. Here's how I put together a microbox. . .

First, one of the most common containers for a micro is a 35mm plastic film container. They are nice and small. Fairly rugged. More or less waterproof.

I almost always cover all my containers in camo tape. It just helps them out. I saw a large ammo can geocache one time that was so well done with camo tape and fitting in with the surrounding bush, that I nearly fell over it! Another cache I remember being a favorite was one done in tree bark camo. It was positioned in a hanging place on a tree trunk. It blended so well, it was nearly impossible to see. Be creative with camo tape. You can get some at most every hunting/fishing store and even WalMart. I'll have to find a source in the UK.

Now, on the container in this example, I added a piece of hanger in the tape so that I can hang it in a tree. Not only do these type of hanging boxes make it easier for me to place, they're really convenient for finders who can grab them quickly and re-place them in your designated spot.

So, what goes in the micro? First off, you need a log book that fits. I cut some paper to 1 3/4" x 3 1/2" sheets and staple them at the top. This size fits the 35mm's perfectly. Once you've written the title on the logbook and stamped it or added any other info to it, I like to put it in a plastic bag. (WalMart sells a nice mixed set of small plastic bags that fits this.) Even though most 35mm's are pretty watertight, they still get moisture. And if someone doesn't snap the lid back on correctly, the contents will get wet. Pulling a wet logbook out of a microbox without a baggie is a drag. You usually end up tearing them to get them out. The bagged logbook slips out nicely.

The stamp obviously has to be small enough to fit a microbox. More than once I've carved a stamp that ended up too big to fit. Lots of trimming had to be done to get a fit. Should the stamp be in a plastic bag? Well, I've seen it both ways. For me personally, if the logbook is covered, I don't put the stamp in anything. The only reason I've ever seen to use one was so that leftover ink on the stamp didn't get all over everything. It's up to you. You might have to cut down a baggie to get one small enough for a micro, but it will work if you are determined. The stamp in this photo was not carved by me, so when I got it, it was already in a bag.

Finally, I usually add a first finders certificate to my boxes. When I first started letterboxing, one of our local boxers always added them. Since I was often the FFer, I acquired quite a few of them. So, to return the gesture, I started adding them to mine, and that boxer ended up with quite a few of mine. It was really fun. I'm still doing them. My certificates are the same size as the logbook. I put them in their own plastic bag so the finder can just grab it and go.

To complete the microbox, I put the bagged logbook in first. It will expand to the sides. Then the FF certif and the stamp fit in the center. Put the lid on and Viola! You have a micro letterbox!

Hurry, go plant it! :)

Penny Arrives!

After 11 weeks here in the UK without Penny Dachshund, she finally arrived this week!

Quite an ordeal to ship a pet. There is still a 6mth quarantine requirement, so Penny had to stay behind until she fulfilled it - and all the paperwork involved. Then she had to get flea & tick treatment within 24hrs before flying. Then she had to go into a plastic crate and travel in the luggage/cargo hold. In the dark. For the 9hr flight. :(

Finally her plane arrived and she had to go through and be checked through customs. They check her microchip and let them out for bathroom, food, & water in their kennels. We hired a pet travel service to handle the whole thing. The agent picked her up and cleared her after customs. Then I had to drive to Gatwick Airport which is an hour away to meet the agent and get her.

She was quite timid and unsure when I finally got her out of the cage. Then, she remembered. Then I got kisses and she curled up on my lap for the ride home. Once home, more food, water, and a bath (she was smelly!). Then a trip to a park where she got to run off of the lead and stretch her legs. Back home for lots of exploring to do around the house and garden.

Unfortunately, it's been a rainy cold day today and will continue for the rest of the week. So, we may be stuck in - but that's okay. Now we've got Penny to keep us entertained!

I've been waiting for her to join me in getting the caches around Fleet Pond. Hopefully, next week we'll be out there!

Letterpod Patches

I love listening to the few podcasts I subscribe to - a few geocaching ones and the only letterboxing one I've found. . .Letterpod.

You can find the link to the right under the 'Sites I Recommend' section. New host jackbear is doing a great job of putting these together and drumming up interest. Not only will you continue to see more audio podcasts, but special video podcasts are being planned also.

Go to their site and check it out .

Then, when you're a dedicated listener, make sure you order of their new neat patches. Very cool.

http://letterpod.podbean.com/patch/

Fleet Pond & Hedgehogs

We found a wonderful nature reserve this weekend - Fleet Pond. 52 acres. It was so lovely that I'm having second thoughts on how I want to place the remaining hedgehog letterboxes. Perhaps the whole series placed around Fleet Pond would be more desirable than placed all around Surrey county.

Below is the link to the site. Check it out and let me know your feedback. Since there doesn't appear to be many letterboxers around the whole Surrey county, perhaps having all the stamps at one location would be more effective for getting people to come and visit.

What do you think?

http://www.hart.gov.uk/index/leisure/leisure-countryside_services/fleet_pond.htm

Sculpture Park and Black Swan

In one of my normal wanderings, I drove by this interesting looking place yesterday. 'Pride of the Valley Sculpture Park'. Hmmm. What is this? So, we stopped and went in to see what it was all about. What a neat place! It is an outdoor 'park' with sculptures placed randomly around a wooded and ponds setting. It was a nice day, so we decided to see everything.

As we were approaching the reception area to pay, I kept hearing this 'peep-peep' 'peep-peep' noise. Like a baby bird or a little chick. What is that? I kept looking around but didn't see anything. Suddenly I heard it right near me. I jumped around and looked. A few feet off at the edge of the water, was a black swan. 'Peep-peep' he looked at us and said. Beautiful. He was just beautiful. All by himself/herself. It just floated in the water looking at us looking at it making that peculiar high pitched peeping sound. Wow.

The park was really neat. Wonderful variety of art sculptures. All for sale actually. Although I don't think I would want something that's been out in the elements for inside my house. But most all of it looked in good condition and the quality of work was outstanding. We had a lovely walk around and enjoyed it.
















If you enjoy art, and find yourself around Farnham, Surrey, check it out. I'm going to see if I can do a Waymark for this place.

Books - Laugh Out Loud

Don't you just love books that make you laugh out loud? I just finished another Bill Bryson book (I think it's the only one I hadn't read) and parts of it still make me smile. Even though the book takes place in the 50s when Bryson was growing up in Iowa, some of it you can just relate to - at least I could - reminding me of people or places I've known. . .a couple excerpts I found funny. . .

"Actually I don't know why he had a hole in his throat. It was just a fact of life. A lot of rural people in Iowa in the fifties has arresting physical features - wooden legs, stumpy arms, outstandingly dented heads, hands without fingers, mouths without tongues, sockets without eyes, scars that ran on for feet, sometimes going in one sleeve and out the other. Goodness knows what people got up to back then, but they suffered some mishaps, that's for sure."

"Getting money from Mrs. Vandermeister was a perennial nightmare. Her front door had a small window in it that provided a clear view down her hallway to his living room. If you rang the doorbell at fifteen second intervals for an hour and ten minutes, you knew that eventually she would realize that someone was at the door - "Now who the heck is that!" she would shout to herself - and begin the evening long process of getting from her chair to the front door, 25 feet away, bumping and shoving her walker before her. After about 20 minutes, she would reach the hallway and start coming toward the door at about the speed that ice melts. Sometimes she would forget where she was going and start to detour into the kitchen or bathroom, and you would have to ring the doorbell like fury to get her back on course."

"The only heat the sleeping porch contained was that of any human being who happened to be out there. It couldn't have been more than one or two degrees warmer than the world outside - and outside was perishing. So to sleep on the sleeping porch required preparation. First, you put on long underwear, pajamas, jeans, a sweatshirt, your grandfather's old cardigan and bathrobe, two pairs of woolen socks on your feet and another on your hands, and a hat with earflaps tied beneath your chin. Then you climbed into bed and were immediately covered with a dozen bed blankets, three horse blankets, all the household overcoats, a canvas tarpaulin, and a piece of old carpet. I'm not sure that they didn't lay an old wardrobe on top of that, just to hold everything down. It was like sleeping under a dead horse."

And so on it goes.

What was the last book you read that made you laugh out loud?

Foxy Loxy

And here we were blaming the neighboring cats for getting in our trash! Never saw a fox in Texas. I heard rabies killed them all off - don't know if that's true or not. We did often see coyotes though. The small ones look a far bit like this actually.

This poor creature looks like he/she's suffering from a nasty skin afflection like mange or such. Must be quite hungry as it comes right up through the yard to the back door for our bread bits I throw out for the birds. This was about the 3rd time I've seen him in the last week, but couldn't get a photo off until today.

Full Steam Ahead

I've mentioned Surrey county quite a bit, but haven't ventured into Hampshire on this blog much. But he's something fun we did in Hampshire. . .we took a ride on a steam train! The Watercress Line runs from Alton to Alresford. (Alresford being about halfway between Alton and Winchester).













We did just the ride part, but they have a wonderful dinner ride complete with linen, china, and wine on Sundays. (I think that would qualify as an adult only function.) Also a dress up Halloween ride and a Christmas ride where Father Christmas (or Santa Claus as we would say in the states) meets all the children during the ride.














Hampshire is known as Jane Austen country. Her last home is near Alton and she is buried in Winchester. So as you're chugging along past the countryside, you can think about the days of horse-drawn carriages heading out to London or Southampton from here.