I do like a decent puddle.
On a wet round-the-fields walk with the dogs this morning, as my brain and body relaxed after the challenges of the working week, my thoughts turned away from budget, HR, leaky roofs and GDPR, and my attention turned to that all-important question, what actually makes a great puddle?
So, the dogs and I embarked on some highly scientific research of surveying, testing, measuring and discussing…OK, I did the discussing, the dogs just looked at me as if I was barmy!
Firstly, risk assessment. Wear wellies. Enter puddles with caution. Only enter puddle after dogs have done their splash through recce. Ensure there is a firm ground exit to puddle. Remove mobile phone from back pocket in case of slips, trips or falls. Have towels made ready, as well as dog biscuits, tea and cake, for your return home.
Here are the results of our very enjoyable morning’s work;
- It’s got to be natural. A pot hole full of water does not a puddle make. Nor does a blocked drain by the kerb and the inevitable build up of water that is going to wash all over me under the wheels of a passing truck as I wait to cross.
- It can’t be too big. We are not talking lake here, nor are we talking wildlife, peripheral reed bed or fish. If I can’t wade through it in my wellies without getting my feet wet then it is too big.
- It can’t be too deep. I might live near Gloucester but I do not want to be “up to my middle” (and my parents live in Gloucester so I will have to go there again). I like dry feet when I’m walking and that is, after all, what wellies are for.
- It can’t be too shallow. That’s called “standing water” and is not, in our book of fun, a puddle.
- It can’t be in the way. Not everyone has wellies, a great puddle has still got to give passers by, or small children in tiny wellies, the opportunity to walk around it.
- It has got to be puddle shape. By that I mean it has got to be roughly circular or oval in shape with a clear perimeter profile. When one is approaching a puddle, one needs to know when it starts and the extent of the boundary. This also helps with that alternative game, puddle jumping.
- It can’t be too long. We are not talking water collection pool in a river or stream here. We (the dogs and I) also decided that a great puddle doesn’t have an inlet or outlet.
So did we find a great puddle? We think so. Please do feel free to comment posting photos of a great puddle near you.
Our great puddle. You can see the dogs managed to churn it all up before I could take a photo 🙄
WorkingSBM 