Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A stinky smelly yucky gooey silty soggy mess

The Wednesday Walk was NOT pleasant. Swallowfield flooded in recent weeks and while the water has receded, it left behind a silt that is ripe with rotten fish. The trail was slippery and the air was overpoweringly stinky. Fifteen dogs thought nothing of it, trotting happily through the muck, into the fields and bushes, running back with decomposing fish parts, rolling in stink and swamp and poop and fishguts. The six humans were holding their breath, covering their noses, and trying hard not to gag. And they say dogs have the more acute sense of smell!

However, even stinky smelly dogs can be photogenic, so here is a short photographic summary of today’s outing.

In the "Looks Nicer than it Smells" department:


Pretty scenery

Quinn in Orange

Amie in Red

(Amie is a Turtle Gardens Alumni, and she says "don't forget to vote in the Shelter Challenge!")


The dogs still had fun:

On the Flats

Dolly and Amie

Charley, Kabuki and Amie

Down by the River

Vimy takes a break

Soon it was time to head home:

Dog sled candidates - or "how to keep them from rolling in the stink".

Two Tired Dogs


I think we will steer clear of Swallowfield until drier weather prevails for a significant length of time... or until we pick up our government-issued gas masks.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahhh Jean, this makes my heart sing... how does one describe that stinky smelly yucky gooey silty soggy mess that your whippets have just rolled in and want to share with you up close and personal, to another without the sensory aid of smell or having experienced it themselves????? You can't!!! It's that bad!!!! So all I can respond with is Na NaNa Na Naaa Naaaa! Welcome to my world! :-) :-) :-)

Ellen and FAST dog(s) who were off and running before I could leash them on that particular outing.

EvenSong said...

Glad I don't have "smell-o-net"! I imagine the aroma accompanied you all home, too.
That Amie seemed to sneak into quite a few of your shots....Somewhat of a spotlight hog?

Black Jack's Carol said...

The landscape shots are so pretty, and the dogs look so happy, it would be hard to imagine that smell, if it weren't for your descriptive writing skills. I swear, I am convinced I can almost smell and feel under my feet that "stinky smelly yucky gooey silty soggy" mess.

Jean said...

Ha Ha - Ellen, I was one of the lucky ones, as Charley and Sadie were among the few that didn't actually roll in the stuff. The smell still permeated their paws though and the mud clung to their belly and leg fur.

Evensong, Amie is usually on our walks (she's one of Karen's large crew) and stays in the background. Yet yesterday she was right there for every shot - I think that red bandanna must have given her a shot of bravado. So much so, that she nipped the Animal Control officer's leg when Karen chanced to meet him while unloading the dogs! Amie - NOOOOO!
(No problem - he knows Karen's dogs and didn't take offence, thank goodness!).