Hunter or..

...hunted? That's a broad winged hawk giving me the hairy eyeball, and I didn't even notice! There is a little red box around the little red dog and the big brown hawk but can you tell who is what? Click the photo to see more clearly if you dare.

That raptor could have swooped down and carried me away. Or I might have pounced on him and brought home a new toy for Adric. But neither happened. We both went on our merry ways.

And my way today was merry. I got to ride in a golf cart as part of my official duties (yes, I have them) as a bluebird trail monitor, I got to run by the river, and for once my Person brought home a tick and I didn't. She wasn't nearly as amused as I was, but I think we all know who has the better sense of humor in this household.

The river is wide...

... I can't cross o'er. Nor do I have light wings to fly.
Build me a boat that can carry two and both shall row, my Person and I.

Or so the song goes. But maybe I should just leave my Person on this side of the river. She made me walk, as part of one of her patently dubious Fun Ideas, for miles and miles, only to end up across the river from my favorite spot, the dog park.

This particular dog park is a wonder for dogs. It has miles of pristine beaches (okay, I am lying about the pristine part), woods to chase in, an alleged coyote to chase in those very woods, hills and swampy areas, many other dogs to bark at, squirrels, and if you were ever so sneaky and knew the way, it opens into a state park and from there you could head down the Mississippi and if you had your handy raft, you could commence the Huck Finn phase of your life. All in all it is a place where a little red dog can have some real Fun.

So here I am, on the wrong side of the river, listening to happy barks drifting across the water. Next time I'm in charge of the outing!

Hobbies

It is important to have hobbies. Some folks don't know what to do with themselves most of the time. And then they get up to No Good.

I have lots of hobbies and today is a good day for most of them. It is raining steadily, the squirrels are staying home (probably doing hobbies) and the thunder keeps me from my usual guard duty. (I am just a tiny bit afraid of thunder.) I have been, so far, chewing my chewy bone, napping, dogging my Person's footsteps, following Adric very closely so that he makes a funny whining noise and holds his ears back like arrows, napping, watching cars, doing short happy sprints to the door and then changing my mind, napping and every now and again I sigh.

Right now I am going to spend some more time on my napping hobby - I have been making good progress and want to make sure I have all my napping done before it is time to go to bed.

Rumination

Did you think I was some shy ruminant, hoofing it quietly through the woods? Wrong - it is me. Though I am grazing as happily as a deer.

Despite winter's steady refusal to go away and stay away, things are growing. And it is the time of year when dogs eat grass. To put it delicately, it helps with spring cleaning. Plus it tastes good!

You may also notice the faint indications of sunshine too. Still, I am going to keep what is left of my winter coat on for now (though I have left a few bits of it on the couch, on my Person's pillow and spread evenly on all the rugs) because this is not a spring for making assumptions. And I am going to eat all the grass my one stomach will hold because I might be back to eating snow again soon.

White tailed dear

I know I know! That was corny but I couldn't resist. Actually it is more a case of cat got your tail? This poor dove has been hanging around our yard and it is missing most of its rightful tail, leaving these silly white feathers to pull up the rear.

My Person, as you know, is a nut case so she immediately built this dove a little nesting platform. That is thoughtful and all but "building" in this instance means woodworking. If my Person has any strengths they are not apparent to me but I know for a fact that woodworking isn't one of them. To build a home! Talk about sub-prime (and we aren't talking mortgage here).

Well, it is the thought that counts, though after one big windstorm it may all end (as my Swedish human grandmother likes to point out about most things) in tears.

Ephemeral

Well, what isn't when it comes down to it? The madding crowd's taste for the great outdoors sure was. (My auntie veecee was right.) My Person and I pretty much had the path to ourselves today. A steady rain has convinced others of the pleasures of being indoors.

But out we went, and though our way was flooded in places it was beautiful. The tree trunks were elegantly dark with water and a bright green growth is beginning to push through the leaf litter. Spring flowers like this bloodroot emerged in the warm weather that was as ephemeral as the flowers will be. As we walked along the river, brown and still as cold tea, we disturbed a pair of wood ducks. My Person did the disturbing; I am a practitioner of silent sports.

Seeing the beautiful and already fading flowers put me in a pensive mood. We might have sat quietly and watched the silver sky reflected in the endlessly flowing river but our usual perch was under water. So we kept going, our feet padding, the rain falling, the river moving and we both considered the brevity of life, the surprise of change and the enduring cycles of nature.

Privacy

I'm inside having a little bit of privacy and as you can tell by the blur that is my tail I am pretty happy about it.

Just because the weather warmed up and the sun is shining and we aren't expecting a blizzard for at least 24 hours, people (and their dogs) act like they own the outdoors.

All the places I have tromped alone with my Person these past few long, gray and icy months are populated by people in shorts and sandals and by dogs with their tongues hanging out. Where have they been all winter when I have been laying claim to the snowy landscape, sniffing the smells of winter creatures and leaving a few of my own?

I don't mind sharing the path with the wild creatures that have arrived. They have more right than I to the natural world since I am a tame little red dog and have a house to go home to every day. But I wish all the daytrippers would stay out of my favorite private places by the river! It's so noisy down there a loon can't hear itself call. "Young people" as my Person refers to them, are everywhere, standing in groups and talking loudly, playing ball, lounging on my grass, running on my running grounds.

I just had to get away from it all so here I am. Soon enough the skies will darken and storms will come and it will be too chilly for most people and then the world will be quiet again. Just right for the wild animals and a not so wild me.