A Kingfisher Day

Gretchen has always believed that if you see a Kingfisher you’re going to have a good day. I’m more skeptical though today could prove me wrong.

When I woke up and looked at the schedule, I was surprised to see that all of our clients were absent from the calendar. “Huh?” I questioned with my head cocked.

“I have to go into work at the pool earlier than usual,” Gretchen said, “And everyone was kind enough to take care of their own dogs today.”

“Yeah, but what about Woobie and me?” Remember, Woobie is staying with us so Gretchen has bigger obligations than just me.

“Don’t worry,” Gretchen reassured us. “I have big plans for this morning before I head off to the pool.”

See why I was skeptical about it being a good day? Even when we arrived at Seward Park, I tried to contain my excitement because I wasn’t sure how long we’d stay or which path we’d take — some are way more fun than others.

That’s when we heard this kind of laughing sound from the sky. “What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a Kingfisher,” Woobie informed me. “It’s going fishing as it name implies.”

“How do you know that?” Woobie’s intelligence is a subtle thing. You think she’s just happy-go-lucky and not really paying any serious attention and then something like this pops out of her.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I just do.” And with that, the Kingfisher dove down, snatched a small fish from the shallows and flew away with the fish flapping away in its beak.

Amazing!

“She’s right,” Gretchen concurred. “It’s going to be a good day.” Of course, we had to stop, pull out the camera and get photos of it all, which included photos of Mt. Rainier in the morning light…one with tree and one without.

Okay, I have to admit, things were starting to look pretty wonderful. And off we went, not just around the park…

…but through it as well, which is absolutely the most fun ever. The park has all sorts of hidden trails and if you take the time to explore, you can spend hours up there, which is exactly what we did.

It was a blast! Woobie enjoyed it too as we chased each other back and forth along the paths and through the woods and posed on top of a HUGE downed tree. I bet that tree made a loud noise when it fell.

When we got home, we were ready for our naps and even though it was a great morning, I was a bit worried since Gretchen was going off to work way earlier than ever before. Luckily, Ann came home and took us for another walk. Frankly, the long nap in the afternoon felt great especially since I invited myself onto the couch.

Shhhh, don’t tell!

Hope you all had a Kingfisher kind of day! Let’s take another look at that mountain, okay?

Rubin