Bluehouse Kennels

25/01/2025

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT FOR DOGS

We are testing a personality tool and invite participants to fill in a questionnaire as part of its improvement & refinement

Please message me if you’re interested

21/01/2025

Raptor alert , hunting at twilight in winter

10/01/2025

It’s very cold but the sunshine is glorious and we are down to shirtsleeves here.

We are starting to get the Heritage Orchard Field ready, removing the grass cuttings after mowing close 3 weeks ago to reduce the sward and also lowering the fertility of the area where the native meadow will be laid down.

We are also mulching the ground ready for planting our special apple trees, this will improve the soil and provide a better winter environment for the soil critters

06/01/2025

We are excited that 2025 is here - a brand new, fresh year. Our focus has changed and all our efforts are to provide the retired racing greyhounds in our care with a new life as pets with loving families.

Preparing retired racing greyhounds for a loving forever home.

Increasing biodiversity on 12.5 acres by planting flower meadows, native grasses,orchards,hedges, trees; creating habitats to bring back birds, butterflies, bees & bats.

03/01/2025

It might be 28F (-2C) but it’s worth it to be alive on such a beautiful morning

It’s the first clear sunrise this year up here and the greyhounds are singing as they welcome the sun

❤️

Preparing retired racing greyhounds for a loving forever home.

Increasing biodiversity on 12.5 acres by planting flower meadows, native grasses,orchards,hedges, trees; creating habitats to bring back birds, butterflies, bees & bats.

03/01/2025

Here is Jacko, newly joined our retirement kennels. He’s enjoying cleaning his teeth - he also gets exercise and fresh bone marrow

03/01/2025

It might be 28F (-2C) but it’s worth it to be alive on such a beautiful morning

It’s the first clear sunrise this year up here and the greyhounds are singing as they welcome the sun

❤️

01/01/2025

JOIN OUR WAITING LIST

If you decide that you’d like to be considered to adopt a retired racing greyhound from us. Contact me now!!

We will match you.

Why do we match you?

Because you are bringing a living breathing conscious being into your home. You must understand that you are making a big commitment

Even though we will match you in detail, ultimately the greyhound will choose you - or not.

So when you decide to proceed - you will know that it’s worth it - You get a soulmate and the greyhound gets you.

How do we match

You must clearly understand your reasons. Recognising that it’s costly - the responsibilities which are real & the expenses and investment of time and love, required to make it work.

26/12/2024

Merry Christmas all.

As a Greyhound Retirement Scheme kennels, we receive retired racing greyhounds from trainers and find them forever homes

To match each dog to the wonderful people who wish to share their homes with the best dogs in the world means that I need to assess the personality of each greyhound.

What do you think is important to know before you choose?

16/12/2024

Jasper says Merry Christmas from Bluehouse Kennels

13/12/2024

HIBERNACLUM LOGPILE FOR CRITTERS - STEP BY STEP - It’s 6 metres long and stands 1 mete tall - so far.

25/11/2024

Logpile big day!!

The freezing weather has “knocked down” all the wild flowers - they will be left to shed their seeds and provide cover - no bare soil here. It’s revealed the 2 metre-long logpile which I built in 2023.

The idea is to create an environment for critters - which I continually top-up. It is a wild permanent compost heap that is damp, it rots down gently creating habitat and food for fungi, insects, amphibians, reptiles etc.

This encourages diversity and because it’s warm - it enables critters like rodents and hedgehogs to stay comfortable when the freezing weather comes.

The stems of the brash wood encourages overwintering bees and other important insects and spiders to make their home there.

I cut the Jerusalem Artichokes stems to 1 metre and left them in the ground - to provide cover. i also reduced the butter fly bush to 1 metre for winter cover. The brash wood has been cut into 10 cm lengths and put on top of the logpile.

I’ll be adding lots of more “green” stuff to put a thatch on it all, throughout the winter.

Cosy critters

23/11/2024

Orchard - Rare Heritage Apples
Dog's Snout, Yorkshire Aromatic & Cat's Head

It is very depressing that the leaders of the world are making a mess, again at COP, the annual United Nations (UN) climate change conference.

In our hearts, we all know that the solution starts at home, literally where we live and how we behave. My grandson asked me what I was actually doing to take my responsibilities seriously.

He called me out!

So we formed a Community Interest Company and now, we have started to get on with everything that we can do to protect the land, by improving soil health, reducing our reliance on chemicals, increasing diversity and educating the young.

It’s not easy!

The first step was to dig a pond to provide for the needs of hedgehogs.

Now, 2 years later, we are caring for 12.5 acres of land in the North East of England but it’s a baby step towards a better future.

Orchard - Rare Heritage Apples

Our latest project is to plant an orchard of rare heritage variety apples - you know the old varieties that our grandparents loved so much, those apples that tasted so good - the ones you can’t buy at the shops anymore. Varieties like Yorkshire Aromatic, Dog’s Snout and Cat’s Head.

Our not-for-profit CIC is skint and I’m reaching out today offering you the opportunity to buy a tree for us to plant.

So if your business has actual, real Corporate Social Responsibility (not just lip-service) then put you hand in your pocket. You buy the tree and our volunteers - schoolchildren, students and scouts will plant it in the half an acre we’ve set aside

Please share this post

Nuff said

16/11/2024

NEW LOG-PILE FOR CRITTERS

We have been saving logs for a year now and today we moved them to the ideal site.

So 5 cubic metres of big tree logs - lots of different types - all with bark~on - it is providing a 3 metre long base for a log pile - we added brash wood and hay and straw and soil.

Creating a massive amount of organic material which will decay, gently assisted by slugs, beetles and fungi- it will then the best possible cover and habitat for hedgehogs, rabbits, birds and amphibians.

This is so satisfying

30/10/2024

Here on the farm there’s a diverse population of species, especially hedgehogs.

At this time of year we keep our eyes open for youngsters and we give them a helping hand into our wildlife garden which is designed as a safe place, especially for hibernating hedgehogs.

We welcome donations especially “hog boxes”....

30/10/2024

New wildflowers are opening every day - here are today’s!