September 21, 2010

Soaking it up

I thought I was dreaming when I woke up with a bit of sun in my eyes. Well, it was actually the second time I woke up. The first time it was dark out, but I made my way downstairs, went outside in a bit of a sleepy stupor, and then headed back into the house to curl up on my bed in the living room (yes, I have lots of beds to choose from). That’s where I woke up the second time and that’s when the sun tickled my eyes. I rubbed them with my paws, stretched a bit (I was having a really nice dream about swimming in a big, blue lake), blinked a few times, and then opened my eyes again to once more see sunshine.

“This could be a great day,” I told myself and with that, rose from my bed, ate my breakfast, and prepared for the day.

And the day (nor the sunshine) did not disappoint. Everywhere, everyone was soaking up the last of the summer sun, especially the spiders. Remember how a few weeks back I commented on how the webs were everywhere, but we couldn’t see them because of the lack of proper lighting. Well, today we had proper lighting and we found those webs everywhere.

The web to the right was found at Seward Park where Ollie and I went for a walk. Even though we walked in the sun for a majority of the time, we did head up to the trails and found little pockets of sun (along with spider webs) along the way.

While the trails were fun, it was even better to walk out in the open where the sun warmed us and we soaked it up while taking turns posing in the crux of a tree. Yep, it was Ollie’s idea. Gretchen walked over to the tree and up he leapt, like a rabbit with kangaroo legs. He thought it was the most fun ever, but when it was my turn, I wasn’t so thrilled. Sure, I put a smile on my face, but it was a nervous grimace, let me tell you.

Even the ducks were soaking up the rays and though I wanted to bark at them, I bit my tongue so as not to disturb their slumber.

If the day had ended there I would have been very content. I love going to Seward Park, especially when the sun is out. But the day didn’t end there and boy, was I in for a surprise when Gretchen and I walked over to Rosie’s house. “Okay, Rubin,” she told me, “Remember that Rosie is a tad bit nervous so it’s really important for you to be a calm boy and on your best behavior.”

“Got it,” I reassured her and into Rosie’s house we went. Rosie’s mom was there and was very excited to see me. Like everyone, she wanted to pet my head, but I backed away and said, “Sorry, but I’m working here and must be on my best behavior.” She understood.

Rosie was very excited to see me. I was kind of surprised. In fact, as we walked (Rosie on one side of Gretchen, me on the other) she kept leaping and galloping and asking me to play with her. “Sorry, Rosie,” I informed her. “I’ve been given direct orders to stay calm.”

She had a hard time understanding. Especially when Gretchen posed us next to each other. I was put in a down/stay and the second I went down, Rosie thought I was going into a play bow and she got very excited. It kind of freaked me out, but as promised, I stayed calm. But as you can see from the photos, Rosie was a bit confused as to why I didn’t want to play with her.

“Next time,” I told Gretchen, “You need to inform Rosie that she needs to remain calm!”

Of course, walking Rosie meant that I didn’t get to have a mid-morning nap because next up was Gemma and Dog knows, I need a nap before I play with her! And doubly strenuous is that we went to Saber’s house to pick him up, too! And then, if that wasn’t enough, we went down to the lake for a swim.

Yes, I was happy we got to swim, but when Saber stole my ball and Gemma decided to wander off down the shore, even Gretchen had to laugh with the overwhelming exhaustion of it all. Y

es, even she needed a mid-day nap!

But no naps for us. We had work to do.

Luckily, it was a beautiful day and the sun made us happy from the inside out and the outside in.

I got my ball back eventually, Gemma stopped wandering, and Saber, while a bit disappointed, was happy to continue on with the walk.

Up from the lake, there’s a secret passage way up the hill. It involves going through a series of tunnels until we arrive at the pea patch. But just below the pea patch is a rather medieval looking archway with moss-covered concrete benches.

“This is kind of creepy,” observed Saber.

“Ya think so?” asked Gemma.

“It makes me feel like a Knight!” I said.

“A night?” Saber pondered. “How can you be a night?”

“Not a night without a ‘k,'” Gemma explained.

“What?” Saber was still uncertain.

I took a moment to explain. “Human English is very confusing. Knight is a defender of the castle and kingdom in ancient times. Night is a time of day. One has a ‘k’ the other doesn’t.”

“There’s just so much to learn!” Saber said, exasperatedly.

“Luckily,” Gemma offered, “You have us to help you out!

And with that, we headed back to their respective houses, while Gretchen and I headed home. And what did we find there? Another spider basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun. Sweet.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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