| 1st May 2005 |
 |
Low pressure lies to the SW, dragging
up warm and humid air across southern England. Conditions at 12z (1PM
BST): |
Last night was pretty mild and sticky for the time of year, with a low of 13.7C ensuring the day was already warm by the time I left this morning.
View to the northwest, 0555z
The skies were interesting, with a fair muddle of cloud
and some altocumulus castellanus suggesting it was
unstable air aloft.
The cloud thickened as I
headed westwards, although I wasn't taking much notice
once I saw a message on the variable message displays on
the M25:
ACCIDENT M25 J8-J9
Bah! As the junction drew
closer the messages changed to say:
M25 CLOSED AHEAD FOLLOW A217 AND ?
So, the traffic all came off at junction 8 (well, apart from a few clever so-and-sos who decided the "M25 closed" signs didn't apply to them - I hope they got a nice long wait for their efforts!)
The emergency diversion system worked surprisingly well and led me through the London suburbs past Walton on the Hill and West Ewell amongst others. Eventually I joined the A3 and the M25 and the rest of the journey was uneventful apart from a few very large raindrops from time to time.
A side effect was that I wasn't the first to arrive at the Trust, having been beaten by Tracy (who's in the midst of training to become a handler). We walked round to Duma and Dakota's enclosure and while she carried on to see Kodiak and Kenai, I unlocked the gate and went behind the stand-off barrier to say "hi" to them. I'd been planning to video their approach, but alas they heard the bolt and zoomed over to the fence before I'd opened the gate!
They were as friendly as ever and there was much tail wagging as they greeted me. After making a fuss of them I headed down to see the old wolves and like a grey bullet Kenai zoomed over and leapt up at the mesh - she obviously remembered last week's hotdogs which made me feel slightly guilty as this time I didn't have any with me.
Latea howling by the Obs Room viewing window
We headed back and the others turned up, then it was time for cleaning. This time it was Kodiak and Kenai's enclosure and boy did it pong... Both wolves had decided to mark it as their own and it took much scrubbing to clean things up. Indeed, by the time we'd finished the other group had cleaned both D&D and the Euro kennels!
Kodiak
There was an opportunity to watch Kodiak playing with
water; the elderly wolf loves to drink water straight
from the hose and today was no exception. It was thirsty
work for us volunteers too as the Sun shone down from a
mostly blue sky....
The next task was getting ready for the walk, as usual with Duma and Dakota. I watched how the trailer gets hooked up to the towing vehicle and it looks pretty complicated with all sorts of levers and such. One day it might be me hooking it up, so it's as wise to learn the ropes anyway - I'm sure it's not as awkward as it looks once you know what you're doing.
The woods were very warm indeed, with temperatures around 20C feeling higher due to the humidity and the strength of the sun. Today marked the first time I'd worn suncream and surprisingly the wolves didn't bat an eyelid once I splashed the stuff on - I thought the change in scent might pique their interest.
Dakota pawing at something that's caught her attention
For the first portion of the walk I stayed at the back, watching the changing cloudscape as clouds bubbled up, only to melt away again. I was then invited to head to the front to observe the handlers as part of my ongoing training. We soon arrived at the "stump" (which is where the members receive a talk about wolves) and no sooner had I chosen a nice place to sit than I was called over to handle Duma. She was perfectly behaved and lead me all around the bracken and through puddles, before deciding to stay put while a fuss was made of her by another handler.
We moved off and headed past the lake and by this stage the water looked almost tempting (I was absolutely parched). Duma thought so to and promptly lead me over before jumping in and lapping some down. Of course, once she came out she was dripping wet and you can imagine who got the full force of it as she shook herself dry!
Duma
By now there were some quite menacing clouds in the sky
and I was wondering if we'd see a heavy downpour.
However, as earlier the clouds melted away after a while
and the sun shone as I handed over control and Duma was
taken into the other side of the lake for a quick swim.
The rest of the walk saw my first real experience of
doing a "meet and greet", instructing the
public on how to approach and stroke the wolf, followed
by a session with Dakota on the way back to the trailer.
Both wolves were very relaxed today, although I had a
feeling as it was so hot they didn't feel like
"testing" me!
Back at the Trust there was a training walk for Tracy (who'd spent the whole walk on "car duty"), while the rest of us served refreshments and manned the merchandise stall. In the midst of all this, John (the safety officer) went in with the Euros but like the sensible creatures they are they stayed put. There's something about "mad dogs and Englishmen" and these wolves certainly aren't mad!
European wolves in the shade
The visitors left and after a quick discussion about the Kent Show it was time to set off along the motorways. This time there were two accidents on the M25, although they weren't severe enough to close the motorway. I came home to find it's absolutely stifling in here - indeed, at 23C earlier my part of the world was amongst the warmest places in the UK. It's still 30C upstairs as I write this - the joys of an early burst of summer!
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