A procession of fronts affected northern areas of the UK, but for Beenham they just brought some cloud. Stats: Overnight low 11C, high 22C, rainfall 0.

Another Sunday, another trip to Beenham...

I left just before 8, to partially cloudy skies and temperatures already around 16C. Annoyingly, the bridge went up to I got to spend 10 minutes watching 3 yachts sailing slowly past - bah!. The roads were much busier than normal, no doubt due to the school holidays - I've never seen that much traffic on the M20 at half 8 on a Sunday before!

I took a wrong turn and ended up heading to Bracknell town centre (oops!) but despite all the setbacks I arrived around 10ish at the Trust, to find Dominic had already beaten me there. After chatting for a bit, the other volunteers started trickling in - and so Dominic and I were off to clear up Kodiak and Kenai's quarters.

This time, they were very clean - apart from a couple of chunks of leftover meat there was very little that needed doing. The other wolves had also left some meat, copycats that they are.

During this time, the skies had cleared and the sun blazed down - quite contrary to the GFS forecast which had been for cloud all day (come to think of it, the MetO forecast was for similar conditions).

Next up, thistle pulling - but as usual at the Trust, there were complications. One was that some were 6 feet tall (solved by using a fork in my case, or sheer strength in Dom's case). The other was that they were in Duma and Dakota's enclosure, which gave us all an excuse to go in with them (briefly) before they went into a side area. This time I didn't get prodded, nudged or leant on, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable time.

The time quickly passed and before I knew it the wolves were getting ready for today's walk. As ususal it was Duma and Dakota, although this time we used a different chunk of the woods as our normal section was being used for some sort of horse and carriage event.

As there's a new rule saying that trainees can't handle on public walks, I decided to take my camera along.

Duma goes off to explore an interesting scent.

Dominic making a fuss of Dakota. Note the way the lead is held in both hands, which is for a very good reason (more later).

Dakota - compare her tail to Duma's (not sure whether it was Lunca or Kenai that bit the chunk off, but either way not very nice for Dakota!)

Halway through the walk, the public received a talk from John, one of today's seniors. While that went on, the two sisters were taken around an open area, in light rain:

Needless to say, it rained several times in the woods, although as it seemed to be from midlevel cloud it was a world away from the downpours of last Sunday. The car thermometer suggested around 21C, which seems reasonable.

After the guests had left, it was time for yet another fantastic experience. Yes, another hands-on session with the wolves, this time around the fields beyond Kodiak and Kenai's enclosure. It started off well enough, but once we got close to Kodiak and Kenai two snarling, growling grey balls of fur bounced around - yes, the two old wolves still seem to hold a grudge against Duma and Dakota.

This is where it got interesting - I had Duma on the lead, and she pulled with immense force towards Kenai! I hadn't been expecting such power, and it was all I could do to keep her from the fence. I also learnt about transferred aggression - if a wolf wants to bite something, but can't get to it, it'll take its annoyance out on a nearby object. In Kenai's case, she did a great job of shredding weeds, and Duma would have been only too happy to chew on the fence. Needless to say, it can be dangerous being between two wolves that want to fight! Better them shred a flower than a handler.....

Duma hadn't finished with me yet, though. We went past K&K and out into the open field, when I realised I ought to stop as Dakota was miles behind. After a few seconds, Duma half heartedly jumped up at me - and instinctively I bent down to meet her. I was rewarded with a lick from my chin to my nose for my efforts - and apparently I'd reacted the right way, as you do not want the wolves jumping at the public.

After taking a short break, I was then dragged by Duma over to a small stream, although as I didn't have wellies on I decided to give paddling a miss. I have a strong feeling Duma was testing me today, although why she waited so long I don't know - whatever reason, it was great fun and very educational!

So, once again radiating an aura of contentment (and a lupine aroma) it was time to head home, and even the M25 wasn't as bad as usual. The temperature varied from +19C to +22C on the way back, with mostly overcast skies.

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