Silly me!

Sunday was glorious. We went on one of our best walks along the coast and then inland a bit towards a little Inn by the harbour.
Two boys finding lots to sniff at in the long grass. Manchee likes to hunt little creatures, but rarely catches anything!

 Walley prefers a more wild approach to the water. This little freshwater stream runs into the sea and gives the boys a chance to wash off and have a drink.

 A quick gallop,

 and then it's our turn to sit on the harbour wall and have a drink of our own. Manchee was so chilled out, in the sun watching other dogs play in the mud. It's not his thing to get too wet and sticky!

 A rare picture of me at work with Finn and Bamban while the roast cooks. I had a sudden idea!

What would happen if I put some Alpaca wool into the water that I'd cooked the beetroot in? Well, not a lot. I used vinegar as a mordant but the colour was weak, so I added a few drops of red food dye (it was all that was left, to be honest). Still not much uptake.

Finally, I just boiled it for a bit and hoped for the best. It's a kind of pale apricot, but I'm thinking the colour would have been better had the fleece not been so saturated with dirt, despite my many washings.
I don't think I'm very good at dyeing and clearly need loads more practice! Or maybe a good book on natural dyes for Christmas (hint!)

  

However, the dinner was excellent and the roasted beetroot, in my opinion, the star of the dish :D