Some very strange things have been happening of late..

One morning we heard some weird noises coming from the back garden. Upon investigation we found that the bin had been opened and various items of garbage – crisp packets, cheese and cake wrappers mostly – had been pulled out of it. Purely coincidentally Biggles was in the vicinity, desperately trying to decide which item he was going run off into the garden with before we could clean everything up. As it happened he plumped for an empty packet of Walkers salt & vinegar flavor, which in my opinion was not the best choice. But I digress. The point is that the outside bin is tall and hadn’t been knocked over by say, a gale force wind, so what mysterious force had managed to open it and extract all those items?

Later in the week we had further strange occurrences, this time involving socks. We kept finding them strewn about the corridor and the floor of our bedroom. We’d pick them up and tidy them away in their drawer, then a short time afterward they’d be back out, as though they’d gone on a walk by themselves.

Having seen far too many horror films I immediately suspected the work of a demon or poltergeist, but I needed proof. I set up a little video camera pointing at the sock draw and went back to work. When I later returned, sure enough the socks had gone walkies again and the camera had recorded the following disturbing footage. Hint – turn the volume up when you play it!

Since Biggles is normally such a good boy, I can only think that’s he’s been possessed by a demon with a penchant for salt & vinegar crisp packets and a sock fetish. After the video was taken that same demon drove my poor innocent boy to empty the sock drawer once again, and roll on his back with a fresh pack of Tesco value socks in his gob, periodically emitting grunts of pleasure.

Since most exorcism rituals are aimed at humans rather than beagles, I guess I’ll just head over to Homebase and drive this particular demon out with some strong magnetic drawer catches.

To sleep, perchance to dream … of socks. And notice how there aren’t any on Susan’s feet!

For some time I’ve been wanting a video camera small enough and light enough to attach to Beanie or Biggles to get a true Beagle’s-eye view of the world.  Unfortunately everything seemed to be too bulky, too expensive and of very low quality – or so I thought until a running friend showed me a small key-fob sized camera he’d bought from a Hong Kong retailer via ebay. The camera, known by the instantly memorable name “808 version 11” (!!)  is small, ridiculously light, shoots in 720P HD and can be had for £40 or less. Everything you may ever want to know about the camera, including which ebay retailers to use and which to avoid, is contained in the following wonderful article:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1362692

That article was written by a remote control enthusiast, and the qualities that make the camera ideal for attaching to RC planes, boats and vehicles should make it equally suited to serve as a Beagle-cam. Obviously I had to get one, and I put it through its first trials yesterday. I still haven’t worked out how best to attach the camera to our dogglets; for now I just popped a harness on ’em, then used a velcro strap to secure the camera to the harness mid way along the back. As you’ll see in this first clip of Biggles doing a fetch, that’s not an ideal position for the camera:

Biggles Fetch from Paul Roberts on Vimeo.

It’s jerky and you can’t really see what’s going on, but I still get a warm feeling every time I watch the back of his head and his flapping ears as he gallops back to me for a treat!

Later the same day we tried the camera on Beanie and Biggles at their agility lesson with Carol Rogers. We’ve been having lessons with Carol about once a fortnight and both our dogs and us have really come on leaps and bounds (no pun intended). Anyway, first here’s a clip of Beanie doing the course with me holding the camera:

That’s pretty good quality for such a tiny camera in such poor indoor light. Straight after that, I attached the camera to Beanie and she ran the course again. Unfortunately the poor light combined with the speed and vibration of doggy movement made things very hard for the camera, and again the mounting position is less than ideal. Still, I think the result is amusing, especially the first round when the camera falls off and nearly gets swallowed! Word of warning – if you suffer from epilepsy or have just had your lunch, you’d better watch this one through your fingers:

BeanieCam from Paul Roberts on Vimeo.

Obviously I had to try the same thing with Biggles:

Biggles Agility Cam from Paul Roberts on Vimeo.

So, we’ve got to find a better way of attaching the camera to our dogs. The top of the head would be about the best position – that way we’d get to see pretty much what they’re looking at. Susan’s considering making some kind of head gear out of tights or other underwear. At one point she tried fitting a pair of pink knickers onto Biggles’ head. He didn’t mind one bit, but I had to draw the line – no way is my boy wearing pink knickers in public!

Still tired from the previous day, we spent the morning following the Glencoe Lochan Trails. As far as I can tell, the Lochan is effectively the local park for Glencoe but unlike most parks it just happens to reside in one of the most beautiful locations in Scotland.

The trails are short but interesting, winding through woodland and around the water. The local wildlife is remarkably trusting; the ducks think nothing of swimming within a couple of feet of you, apparently unaware that to Beanie and Biggles they’re Happy Meals with webbed feet.

As it turned out our Beaglets never got their Happy Meals, but there were so many sights, smells and sounds to experience that they didn’t seem to mind.

In the afternoon we decided to check out Signal Rock. The conventional route was closed due to a damaged bridge, but an alternative route was available starting at the Clachaig Inn. Much of the walk was through forest, but occasional gaps in the trees made for some beautiful views..

If any signalling was required, Beanie and Biggles were certainly up to the task. They both bayed their heads off whenever they got a scent, and additionally Biggles peed and farted his way right to the top of the rock.

Steps behind the rock lead up to the top

“What are you doing down there Dad?”

Just like the ducks earlier, a little bird diced with death by landing within a foot of Biggles. Fortunately my boy was a bit slow on the uptake, but if the bird had done the same near Beanie, the outcome may have been rather different!

Beanie listens attentively to the “leave the birds alone lecture” but Biggles has heard it all before

The “signalling” continues long after we’ve left the rock!

On the way bag we stopped off at Glencoe Pass to get a closer look at the “Three Sisters of Glencoe”.

I could just make out a few intrepid walkers following a path up the sisters, possibly to the “Lost Valley“. The path looked impossibly steep, and according to the guides I’d seen this was another trail that could end in death. Maybe we’ll do that one in years to come, if/when our pups aren’t quite so keen on “signalling”…

Back at the caravan park Beanie & Biggles had a final session of snoozy sunbathing, then next morning – just as the weather returned to its normal overcast state – we headed back home.