“I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren’t certain we knew better.”
I just got home from a doctor’s appointment in Boston but decided to write a few musings anyway despite the lateness of the day. It rained last night, again this morning and on and off during my ride. The day is dank, damp and chilly, and the weatherman says it will stay this way most of the week. When I woke up, I turned on the heat just to warm the house. It was 49° outside.
The trip was uneventful, but I got a chance to see how all the trees along the highway are far more leafy, far more into spring, than the ones here on the Cape. The new leaves are light in color and the rows of trees have beautifully varied hues of green leaves. Some have a touch of red. I watched a hawk ride the thermals against the gray sky. Traffic was light and for that I was thankful.
Today is a nap day, no question about it. I woke up earlier than my alarm and had time for coffee and both newspapers before I left at 9. I yawned most of the way home. Gracie, who came with me, slept all the way up and all the way back. She got lively when I walked her in Cambridge near my doctor’s office. She sniffed just about every flower garden by the sidewalks. Gracie is usually a great walker but today she was excited and dragged me from garden to garden. Not being a city dog, today’s outing was quite exciting for Gracie, the country bumpkin. She did her part by leaving behind smells for the local dogs to ponder.
Last night I was standing by the back door waiting for Gracie. She was somewhere in the back of the yard as she had triggered the sensor lights. I noticed what I thought was a moving shadow near a tree so I kept an eye on it and saw a small possum quickly made its way out of the yard through the only part of the fence with an opening. I was glad it was I, not Gracie, who noticed the possum.
My Red Sox swept the Yankees.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: Boston, Gracie, new leaves
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
May 16, 2011 at 2:29 pm
That was quite a launch we saw this morning. The flight of Endeavour. Glad Gracie gave you your daily exercise and it always bothers me when the sensor lights go on at night. We too live in the country on one acre with woods all around us, empty or vacant lots of an acre or more, so you never know what triggered the sensor and that’s what bothers me. I walk from window to window but usually to no avail.
May 16, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Z&Me,
I saw that the launch was scheduled today and thought of you.
The sensor lights are rigged to an animal Gracie’s size so smaller creatures don’t set them off. I really need them to see Gracie in the backyard which I kept natural. In the summer, when I’m on the deck, the yard looks great in the lights, filled with shadows. Only once in the five years I’ve had them as something tuned them on: it may have been the coyote who used to hang around.
May 16, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Much the same wether over here and it will continue like this for a while they say. I started a fire in the stove when I came home and now my little cottage feels nice and warm.
Sensor lights are no use here in summer because it´s light outside for most of the 24 hours and in winter it would look like constant lightning since all kinds of animals runs through my garden 🙂 🙂 :-)But it would have been fun to see a possum, we don´t have them over here.
Have a great day now!
Christer.
May 16, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Christer,
It rained again late in the afternoon. Even Gracie is reluctant to go outside.
I don’t have all the creatures big enough to set off the sensors. Possums are really ugly!
May 16, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Dogs give us unconditional love. They don’t care if we are sick or if we had a bad day they greet us happily with tails wagging. They comfort us when times are bad and they even lower our blood pressure.
My former greyhound, a retired racer, once discovered a white cat in the bushes next to our fence in the backyard. She had that cat in her mouth by its back and was shaking it with great vigor. I took a broom and raised the bristle portion to try to knock the cat from her mouth. The dog immediately dropped the cat and went down on all fours and began to cry. Fortunately she only suffered minot cuts in the squabble with the cat. The dog racing industry supposedly does not train dogs on live bait, but this dog obviously had a taste for blood. The only good that comes from dog racing is that we can adopt the athletes that don’t qualify or are retired. They make wonderful house pets. The cat leaped the eight foot wooden fence and never returned.
May 16, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Bob,
Gracie makes me feel glad. She is always wagging her tail. My nephew calls her happy dog.
My neighbors adopted two greyhounds, and they were the gentlest of dogs.
May 16, 2011 at 6:01 pm
1. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/05/dogs_in_the_news.html
2. http://www.slate.com/id/2293232/
Cheers
May 16, 2011 at 6:44 pm
John,
The dog pictures were unbelievable. The ones which work for the armed services are the most amazing. I can’t imagine their jumping from planes and helicopters.
The cat one wouldn’t move for me-how like a cat!
May 16, 2011 at 6:29 pm
It’s raining here also. I like dogs, but as you know, I prefer cats. Meow. Glad about your Red Sox. It’s still early for me to comment, my brain is not quite functioning. We are getting possums which are not really harmful here, but we do worry about the raccoons; they are brazen and will hurt cats. They have no shame!
Getting my hamd warm enough to wave,
Lori
May 16, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Lori,
I like them both, and they live amiable in the same house. A few possume facts:
The opossum is the only marsupial in North America. They groom and bathe themselves meticulously, as scrupulously as the most finicky house cat, and have even been observed to stop in the midst of eating to clean themselves several times before finishing.
I worry about raccoons as well. Once Gracie had a huge one cornered, and it took all my strength to pull her away.
May 16, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Hi Kat,
My last dog would’ve had whatever she found out in the yard or the house except for the cat that was designated MINE. Very handy when there was a mouse to be removed. She is very much missed.
My current dog is a sweetheart. Supposedly chihuahua/terrier cross. He only kills his toys although he has shown predatory tendencies toward birds and is extremely aggressive towards coyotes. Not a good idea if one is only 17 pounds. But he’s a joy and I’m lucky to have found him.
May 16, 2011 at 11:15 pm
Hi Caryn,
Gracie got the baby possum tonight. She had this weird bark, and I went to call her and was totally ignored. I saw her pawing something in the yard, and it was the poor possum. I carried it out of the yard so Gracie would stop pawing it around. It was one of my least favorite things to do.
Gracie is not by any means a fierce dog. She lives quite happily with two cats, is kind to her toys even though she plays with them all the time; she is, however, a bit aggressive toward other dogs.
May 17, 2011 at 6:09 am
There is a sensation I’m eager to relive. On a walk early spring one year I walked down a lane lined with trees. Through the young foliage the sun shone with a green hue. It felt like walking under water.
A rare and beautiful sensation.
May 17, 2011 at 10:04 am
Bert,
I remember some places so well I can describe them perfectly. They stay with me the same as your walk has stayed with you.
I suspect that it may not happen again, but you’ll have another as memorable.