Years ago I always went to the Maashorst with the dogs. It was wonderful to enjoy in and around the water. I hardly ever ran into anyone there, and that made it a great place for me to be with the dogs. They could run freely, sniff in the bushes, paddle (Rowan and Myla never swam), and just enjoy being dogs. They left many footprints there together, and every walk was a success. I enjoyed the nature around me and the obvious pleasure of my dogs. Those memories were so etched in my memory that I absolutely wanted to go here again.
At first that was not possible because the Maashorst can no longer be reached on foot since our move, and we no longer had a car for more than 5 years.
However, when there was a car again, there was always something that kept it off. But it kept gnawing at a spot in my memory, the longing to be back on the Maashorst, WITH all three dogs, grew stronger and stronger.
And last week, when my partner took two days off, we decided NOW was the time to give in to that desire. Yes the price of petrol is at a record high, yes the cost of living is skyrocketing… but we are living NOW. What will happen in the future is unknown. Going on holiday is not an option, and after denying ourselves almost everything for the past 8 years, it was time to really do this one little thing. One time to the Maashorst with all three dogs, and enjoy free nature there. At least we thought so!
It appears that the Maashorst has completely changed. Where I was used to being able to walk to the water, that was no longer possible at all ... We walked up the path where I had always walked, only to run into a large fence that was locked. That wasn't very practical, but we wouldn't have driven 30 kilometers to turn around without at least giving the dogs a paw bath.
So what do you do then? We looked for a way to get to that big pond that seemed so tempting to us from behind that big fence. And after having followed a crawl through, sneak through route, we have indeed found that possibility.
We had seen soon enough what had changed. The Maashorst is not actually a recreational area, it was to become a nature reserve, and that has indeed happened. Just different than what I expected. Traditionally, this location, near this large pond, has always been a sand quarry. In the years I've always been there with Rowan and Myla, the sand pit was inactive. But now the sand quarry has apparently been reactivated, which is why a large part has been deposited. I highly doubt whether this sand quarry has been activated to draw a large part of this pond into the nature reserve. The fence for the nature reserve, where Taurus and Exmoor ponies have been released, has been placed in front of the water. Which indicates that the water does not belong in the nature reserve. How idiotic can it be. A beautiful pond that would not be included in the nature reserve?
Luckily we were so early in the morning that no work was being done yet. We were alone with the dogs there, and managed to find our way to the water. Once we get somewhere, we don't give up until we've done what we set out to do.
**And that was giving the dogs their well-deserved playtime, off the leash, in the water ... just enjoying being a dog.
**
We now know that Myla still doesn't want to swim, we expected Lana to swim but she didn't dare ... and Skipper, he swam wonderfully. He enjoyed. The ladies in their own way too. And we enjoyed the dogs. Unfortunately this time not so much of nature ... because it was a bit less free than what I had in my memories.
So I didn't take the pictures I had hoped to be able to take. A few photos of the dogs near and in the water...that's it. I will have to look for another location where it is still untouched, and where I can enjoy with the dogs without disturbances.
