A pleasant Sunday

[intertext]

After slothing this morning, reading the Globe and Mail (see previous post), the d's and I went for a brisk walk in Mt. Doug park. No camera this time, as it was cold and I didn't have a lot of time, but I saw many things that I would photograph if I had nano-camera things in my brain:

sun slanting through the forest

a robin perched on a tree in the sunshine, his red breast in full spring plumage gleaming in the patch of sunlight.

carpets of erythroniums, little pale lanterns on the forest floor

three trilliums

my dear dogs, snuffling and padding through the paths, looking back at me companionably, waving their tails gently

Speaking of dear dogs, my dear elder dog became temporarily lost, when I was walking downhill and very pleased to be able to go quickly and he got left behind. I suddenly realized he wasn't with me. Robinson, meanwhile, had run quite a long way up ahead, so I had to wait while I called him back, all the time imagining Cholmondeley careening off into the bush, never to be seen again. When I turned back, I met another couple of dog walkers, who told me they had seen a brown beardie "way back there" looking lost, and my heart sank. I told Robinson to "speak" and he barked happily (Chums is quite deaf, but does seem to be able to hear R. barking), then sent R up ahead with instructions to "find" Cholmondely. A few minutes passed, then Cholmondeley hove into sight, quite obviously lost and distressed, but Robinson caught up with him and brought him to me. The dear boy was thrilled to see me. I snapped his leash on him and he walked happily beside me the rest of the way back, looking up from time to time as if to reassure himself that I was there, at the end of the leash. Another nice thing to remember - his face looking up at me.

This afternoon, I went downtown and met my friend mkb, over from Vancouver for a court case tomorrow. We poked around Munro's, then I went to a photo store and bought myself a gorillapod for my trip, then we had coffee and chatted.

This evening, I have fresh halibut, leeks and left-over scalloped potatoes for supper and the new James Bond to watch. All in all, a very pleasant day. and only two weeks left of term... yay

Comments

[brinian.livejournal.com]

I often use one dog barking to get the older one to come back to me. Lady used to get 'lost' if she got too far away and couldn't see me. Colton is starting to do that recently. Yesterday, I had Colton bark for Shiloh, the Flatcoat I was walking. Brin doesn't have 'talk to me' on command yet, but it's something I have to teach him soon. Neither of mine will 'find' the other one, but if I tell them to go 'jump on (name's) head', they do go run off after the other (evil grin)

[countrygardener.livejournal.com]

I know how scary it can be to lose one. These two are Malamutes, and they both run away when given the opportunity. They always manage to find their way home, but their adventures often last a terrifying two or three hours.

[lidocafe.livejournal.com]

Aww, I can picture him gratefully looking up at you. I probably take my life in my hands here when I say that I am not a dog-person (I don't dislike dogs; I just don't fancy taking one on). But one thing that always clutches at my heart is the way dogs look at their caregivers. Nothing says "Where did she go?" or "I think she's coming!" or "Thanks for coming back!" or "Let's go this way, shall we?" like the face of a dog!