STAYCATION DAY 3

Interesting moon

Sunday, August 2

I was awake at 5:30. It was 65 degrees, and the breeze was cool and refreshing all morning long. I saw the mama doe and baby at the pond. And I saw a covey of quail – mama, papa, and 15 adolescents – all of them fit and fat. Clearly, they have found something to eat.

“Let’s go for our walk,” I said to Bess. She reluctantly followed me to the top of the lane, then turned around abruptly and ran back to the house. Well, if she’s not going, neither am I!

That’s when it occurred to me that Bess really misses Mike. Our old dog, Nellie, was more independent than Bess and bonded with me as much as Mike. When Mike was gone, Nellie and I enjoyed our leisurely walks, but Bess is Mike’s dog.

Canola in the foreground

“So, would you like to go to the pond?” I asked. Oh yes, she would! She cavorted her joy. I grabbed the stick I’d found last night and down to the pond we went. I was relatively certain we would not see snakes in the morning coolness. I could tell by Bess’ demeanor that she was pretending to be “Bess, the Great Snake Hunter.” We were both on alert. She worked ahead of me, crouching low and sniffing loudly. Unseen to us, the mama doe whistled her alarm, and she and her baby took off through the canola. [By the way, I didn’t see them again.]

On the front side of the pond, Bess evidently didn’t detect a snake, but on the back of the pond, she went into the grass, sniffing away. She was not eager to give up the hunt when I called her, but she was eventually obedient. (Does “eventual obedience” constitute real obedience?)

It was good that we toured the pond. We both felt better knowing that “the enemy” had moved on. Then I tried to throw some balls for her with the “ChuckIt.” She loved the attention and was not critical of the poor throws.

A fairly comfortable sewing set-up for small projects

I so enjoyed the morning breeze that I didn’t close the house and came to regret that. It was cool enough this morning that I was able to crochet a few rows on my “Hudson Bay” afghan. In the afternoon, I finished another swimsuit for Hazel, and then I made a pair of capris for her.

I tried to take Bess for the afternoon constitutional, but once we were down that first incline – before we got to the apple trees – she lifted her snout to the breeze and then ran – RAN – back to the house. What can I say? She IS Butchie’s granddaughter. Well, this is staycation. She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to, and neither do I.

An evening photo of the yard

The moon was rather spectacular tonight, I thought.

Another early night for Bess. KW

 

[The capris were from 30-Minute Doll Clothes by Nancy Zieman with Joan Hinds. It was refreshingly easy, a reminder that a project need not be difficult to be satisfactory and rewarding, which is the point of this wonderful pattern book.]