Today was a long day. Between commuting (the kids to school from our distant flood-evacuation accommodation), work, childcare, insurance wrangling etc., I was pretty tired when I got back “home”. So I came in and lay on the floor.
At which point the dog decided I was a pillow.
This checkin to GCAWR04 Take an Allotment Break reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
The family and I are staying in Lyneham for a couple of weeks following the flooding of our house (on the other side of Witney). This morning the younger geokid, the geopup, and I came out for a walk to find this geocache as well as to explore Milton-under-Wychwood and tag some of the memorial benches for OpenBenches (1, 2, 3, 4).
We sat near the cache and the geokid immediately found it. Looks like we’re the second signatories of the New Year: somebody beat us to it on 5 Feb! TFTC.
It feels inconceivable to me that we’re only at F-Day plus three; that is, three days since a flash flood rushed through the ground floor of our house and forced us to evacuate. We’ve been able to visit since and start assessing the damage, but for now I figured that what you’d want would be the kinds of horrible pictures that make you say “wow; I’m glad that didn’t happen to me”.
These pictures are all from F-Day itself (which happened to be Friday the 13th; delightful, eh?):
We’ve had a few nights in Premier Inns, but it’s a new week and it’s time to hassle the insurance company to come and have a look around. And then, maybe, we can start working out where we’ll live so the repair work can start.
Ugh.
This checkin to GC8X84J Crawley to Minster Loop - #1 Acrux reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
One last cache on this afternoon’s walk before I had to take the geopup off for a doggy bath! We tried a couple of obvious hosts near the GZ before expanding our search and quickly finding its hidey-hole. TFTC!
This checkin to GC8X88R Crawley to Minster Loop - #12 Zosma reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Walking backwards and forwards past the GZ eventually enabled the geopup and I to spot this very-visible but high-up cache. Soon it was retrieved, the log signed, and returned. Logbook is very full; I had to just initial it.
This checkin to GC8X888 Crawley to Minster Loop - #11 Wasat reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
The dog’s walk needed extending to make sure she’s well worn-out and not too-excited for some guests we’re having over this evening, so she and I came and parked on Dry Lane (ironically-named, it seems, as the road was flooded) and walked down to try to find this cache. Unfortunately we weren’t able to find it, this time, but we’ll try again next time we’re in the vicinity.
Our dog has decided that the perfect place to lie down at our holiday accommodation is… on a staircase whose carpet is the same colour as her!
I’m grateful for her very-visible blep… or I’d have tripped over this camouflaged pupper several times already!
This checkin to GC7P0AN A Fine Pair # 1089 ~ Parkhouse reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
The geohound and I walked over from Catbrook this morning “the long way” – over the hill and woods, finding a couple of caches along the way – to this cache.
From both the cache type and my GPSr’s map data I fully expected to find a post box here alongside the (decrepit) red phone box, but it’s nowhere to be seen! Has it perhaps been removed?
In any case, the hint reassured me that I was in the right place and my geosense told me where to look. A disappointingly tiny cache container (where a larger one could have probably been placed) was soon found, caked in mud, and replaced as-found.
TFTC.
This checkin to GC2DJ9K The Wolf Cache reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
The geopup and I absolutely chose the right time to come up here on this wintery morning. The sun’s ascent over the valley whenever we escape the cover of the woods is absolutely spectacular.
Found without difficulty SL, TFTC!
This checkin to GC2EFAW The Cairn Cache reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Happy New Year! The geopup and I, on holiday from West Oxfordshire and staying nearby, came out for a morning walk in the ice and snow today.
Our little Frenchie’s tiny legs made the work of climbing the stiles on this path a little challenging, but with persistence we were treated to a wonderful view of the sun broaching the horizon over the valley at the North end of School Wood.
Soon the cairn was in sight, and what a brilliant spot for a cache! Signed log, and dropped a travel bug that’s come all the way from Texas to continue its journey. FP awarded for bringing us out this way.
I think the dog’s back paws were cold this evening. The giveaway was when she tucked them into a convenient nearby trouser pocket.
Unusually, we had no guests this Christmas Day. This meant that my usual level of overcatering went even further than normal.
A side effect of this is that a certain little doggo was delighted and surprised by her Boxing Day breakfast of roast goose!
A few pockets of the morning’s freezing fog still cling to the hedgerows as the dog and I set out on a chilly West Oxfordshire morning walk.
We got our dog a Christmas jumper.
My favourite thing about it is that its coat hanger contains instructions for use:
“Please insert dog” 🤣
This checkin to GC88ZY9 The Devil's Quoits reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
A local landowner has (controversially) decided to start enforcing their ownership of the land surrounding the lake at Dix Pit, and has erected new fences and private property signs to deter trespassers. So this evening, the geopup and I took a walk to the GZ to check that it’s still an achievable find.
Good news! It’s certainly still possible (though sometimes boggy, in the winter!) to get to The Devil’s Quoits and log this virtual while using only the permitted footpaths, whether coming from either the North or the South.
You might find that your map hasn’t yet been updated to reflect the approved routes, but you shouldn’t struggle to get here. Just stick to the path and you’ll find the GZ. (And once I’ve seen how the local controversy resolves itself I’ll be sure to submit updates to OpenStreetMap to accurately reflect the eventual state of the paths around here!)