Well, it’s that time of year again! When I was a kid, one of the best bits of Christmas was taking out the old, familiar tree decorations – by the time I reached early teens they were like old friends, especially the little plastic bells you could play a tune on.

My blog equivalent is letting the dog take over the blog for the Christmas post – she doesn’t realise that I know it’s all her work, but the paw prints and dog-biscuit crumbs on the computer keyboard are a dead giveaway. So, here are some of Mist’s favourite dog walks of 2019

My blog this week

Wooof – it’s me again, ‘Mist’ the Border Collie. The Boss is off doing something and he left the computer unattended, so it’s my chance to show you some of the dog walks I’ve done on our Scottish trip this year.

A big improvement

One of our first was on Skye, where the Boss met his mate Richie and I met up with my doggie mates Caizer and AJ., and we all had a walk up Glamaig. That Caizer loves having his picture taken and so does AJ, but I’m not so keen. Still, a dog’s got to do what a dog’s got to do, so I usually cooperate in the end.

The Red Cuillin Mountains of Skye

Glamaig

Me (left) and my mates Caizer (middle) and AJ (right)

Now I don’t really like having my picture taken ….

…. so much so that I stuck my tongue out at the Boss …

…. but in the end I agreed to pose

Me and the Boss – © Richie Boardwell

Me and the Boss had a great walk out over Cairngorm and Ben Macdui. Some really big open spaces there, I can tell you, but I was amazed to see a herd of reindeer – and it wasn’t even Christmas!

Me on Cairngorm

Big open spaces for a dog to run in

Ben Macdui

Heading back

Reindeer herd in the distance

We had lots of shorter walks out to what you humans call bothies, but I know they are big kennels really. The Missus usually has a look round ( I think she wants to tidy things up) and the Boss amuses himself by pouring hot water on to dried leaves – can’t say I see the point, but if that’s what floats your boat …..

We started with Duror Bothy near Glencoe.

Duror Bothy

Nearly there

The Missus having a look round

I hope she has a dog biscuit for me!

The Boss having fun

WE all had a nice little seaside stroll out to Craig Kennel – sorry must remember, it’s a BOTHY not a kennel. These seaside walks do have a lot of up and down walking, but I usually find a place for a paddle.

Seaside walk to Craig Bothy

Not all flat walking ….

…. in fact, quite a lot of up and down ….

…. but there’s always a pool somewhere to cool down in

Craig Kennel – woops sorry, Craig Bothy

A nice place for a lie down

I know the Boss liked Shenavall Bothy the best – I’ve got to say, the mountains out that way were really impressive. It was nice and cosy inside the bothy and the Boss poured hot water on dried leaves again – I was happy just to have an extra biscuit.

Setting off to Shenavall Bothy

Hmm, bigger ups and downs on this walk

The Fisherfield Mountains

Shenavall Bothy

Cosy inside

Someone having a joke – strange things these humans!

We all enjoyed the walk out to Bob Scott’s Bothy, and I managed to find yet another place for a paddle. Oh, there was more hot water and dry leaves from the Boss.

On the way to Bob Scott’s Bothy

Time for another paddle

The bothy

Another cosy place to sit ….

…. and for the Boss to have a bit more fun

We followed Bob Scott’s with a walk out to Callater Stables Bothy – now that was a nice little dog walk.

Heading out to Callater Stables Bothy

Nice little dog walk!

Here at last ….

…. and the Missus having her usual look round

We also had a nice dog walk out to Gleann Dubh Lighe Bothy.

Gleann Dubh Lighe Bothy – © UKH

A walk through the woods to start with

There at last

Another cosy place to sit

My favourite bothy walk, though, was Ryvoan, mainly because I got to have a paddle twice!

Ryvoan Bothy

Time for a paddle on the way

Looks like a bothy to me

The Boss having fun again

Time to head back ….

…. but another paddle for me on the way

Now, I know it looks like the Boss is at his happiest when he’s pouring hot water into a cup of leaves, but he’s also had fun taking pictures of sunsets again this year – a bit more practice and he might even get to be good at it!

The Boss seems to do a lot of this

Red Cuillin sunset

Sunset at Redpoint, near Craig Bothy

Sunset over An Teallach near Shenavall

Anyway, I can hear him coming back, so I’d better wipe my paw prints off the computer keyboard and shift the dog-biscuit crumbs. In the meantime, I’m still trying to work out how he manages to shrink the Missus – perhaps those dry leaves he pours hot water on are magic leaves!

Have a great Christmas!

I still don’t know how he does this!

Text and images © Border Collie ‘Mist’ unless indicated otherwise (with thanks to her human for doing the camera thing)