First day at the dog park

I imagine I will get back to writing more general posts about nature and my excursions, but for now I'm enjoying Schmoozer's firsts. It's a great way to look at life with a new perspective and it won't last long. He is now a big boy in many ways. In a few days he will be 4 months and he is definitely testing boundaries. He's got all his puppy vaccines and received his "honorary" rabies tag. He's changing so fast. One morning this week I woke up to find a sleek body had replaced his puppy pudge over night! He weighs 38lbs (17kg), which means he's tripled in weight since I brought him home. Last night, he was catching his toy in mid air, when a few days ago tracking it was still a challenge. Life is certainly an adventure and these adventures, unlike many in life, are full of joy and anticipation.

"Big Boy" explorations

Just for comparison, this is the little boy I brought home
(taken 9/16)

To celebrate his "big boy" status, we went to Marymoor dog park today. It was his first visit to a dog park but that didn't matter to him. I was so used to Coal - my sweet, shy, aloof dog. Schmoozer lived up to his name. He wanted to play with everyone. He was overjoyed and not intimidated at all. I started with him on the leash, but he was being so good and responsive to my calls I soon let him off. Fairly quickly we found another pup that was his age. They spent a great deal of time running and tussling. Schmoozer also was deeply impressed by the older dogs dashing and jumping into the water. I couldn't figure out at first, how he got so wet without actually swimming. I think it's because he was so close to every dog that came out of the water he got thoroughly sprayed down. There were times when I couldn't see him. That's because he'd run into the midst of a a group of dogs. I may be calling him a big boy, but he would disappear behind the adult dogs. I'd start peering around and then he'd reappear, trying to chase after someone twice his size. His run is still all puppy, a bouncing wobbly gait with legs that sometimes splay out in unpredictable directions.

The puppy on the right, is the same age or a few weeks older, but smaller,
then Schmoozer (on the left) They had a great time playing together

We spent several hours there. In spite of his enthusiasm and confidence, I was reassured to see that he stayed away from dogs that seemed aggressive. He never got himself in any trouble and found many play mates. He remembered to not jump on people, he understood dog manners and until the very end he came when I called him. By the time I headed back to the car, he was so tired I kept expecting him to fall over but he was still going at full speed. At that point, he apparently forget his name, what "come" means or who the heck I was. I got him to the car and when I started to towel him off he fell over and wanted to sleep right there! I'm sure he was asleep before I drove out of the park. Another one of those reminders of how to live life - embrace every moment, play, make friends and sleep deep.

Schmoozer, in the midst of the action
Maybe he's asking the secret to swimming

October Poem

October
Is the month
Of depression.
It leaves me
Swollen with emotion,
Dark and crumbling,
Like a rain soaked
Rotten log.

There are moments though,
Crisp and bright,
When the leaves dance
And the trees whisper.
My spirit stirs,
Remembering
That as a child
I laughed
And chased the wind.

Breathing the musk
Of autumn,
Full of emotion and memory,
I embrace the change.

All poetry and photography (c) Herman