Happy puppies

Two happy puppies and I walked to the park and back today.

It was a day like any other, but it was special too as the dogs had been at the vet while we visited, partied and played in Chicago. [They seemed glad to see me when I retrieved my retrievers from the vet. I could almost hear them sigh with relief, "She came back to get us!" ]

It was as if they had never seen the neighborhood before. They explored everything and the walk took a good long time. They found the high weeds along the sidewalk to be especially interesting - a forest of grasses that almost hid the sniffing doggies.

We arrived in an empty park and the pups halted in the middle of the road. Scruffy pretended bravery as Paddy disappeared behind me. She takes advantage of my position as leader of the pack (Alpha dog?) and hangs back when she is afraid, expecting me to protect her. But she and Scruff still jockey for second - marking and over-marking each other, pushing each other as they walk along and generally acting foolishly.

The return home was slower and birds began to sing as we reached our block.We had heard the crunch of acorns under foot. We noted the trees losing their leaves-our catalpa near naked now.

Even in the dark we could see the yellow blooming Esperanzas exploding with color along our route and we wondered what wildflowers might be blooming (besides the ragweed and goldenrod that we know by our allergies) beside the dirt track. A friend sent photos of liatris (a family favorite) and I remembered seeing them once in our park- they may be blooming now, but I will have to wait until a weekend daylight walk.

We have enjoyed the affection of all three pets these last couple of days. Paddy and Scruffy are snoozing now, waiting for tomorrow's walk. Hobbes is resting across my arms as I attempt to type. He is dead weight and refuses to move. Even my coughing cannot scoot him out of my lap.