It’s a common complaint in our part of the world that there hasn’t been a proper summer for years. Well, now we’ve finally got one, with week after week of sunny, rain-free weather, and guess what? It’s too hot! I know it’s too hot because every couple of minutes there’s a loud thudding sound as Biggles wanders over to an area of the floor that he thinks might be cooler and collapses with all the grace of a drunk rugby player. Beanie doesn’t do this, but only because she’s almost permanently stationed in our bedroom, which is the coolest room in the house. In conditions like this living by the coast really comes into its own; no matter how hot it is, long energetic walks are still possible thanks to that ever present big salty paddling pool.

When the weather’s sunny but not overly warm I have to exercise extra caution when unleashing Team Chaos because they’re quite likely to go off in search of picnic debris. This week however I’ve been able to count on them heading straight into the cool wet stuff the instant I unclip their leads. Admittedly Beanie in particular has sometimes embarked on Project Picnic Hunt once she’s cooled off sufficiently, but for the most part, the two of them have been surprisingly manageable.

It’s almost like having a regular doggies, just so long as I don’t break the cardinal rules of off-lead Beagling:

• never run out of chicken
• never take your eyes off them
• never run out of chicken
• always get the little buggers back on lead before sunset, or the dusk scents will lead them astray
• and most importantly, never run out of chicken

Did someone mention chicken?

Yep, apparently someone did and Beanie is inbound!