I couldn't ask for better Sundays this summer. They've been absolutely amazing. I've been treasuring each one. The weather has been so delightful. Yesterday, I took my girl-dogs with me on my and Zach's weekly jaunt down to the lake. I love that we only live a two and a half mile drive from our little town beach. When we lived in our old apartment on the main road, we were only a mile and a half farther away but for some reason, we just didn't go down to the lake as often as we do now. I don't think it has to do with the fact that we're a mile and a half closer. I think it has a lot to do with the pace of our life these days. Zach loves to hang out down there and catch his fish, we started adopting dogs when we bought our house four years ago and they love playing in the water, and I've been intentional in finding ways to take moments to breathe, relax, and enjoy the peace around me in settings like this. I've always been fond of nature and being outside, but it's been hard for me in the past to settle down long enough in my physical pace and in my spirit to be able to sit still and enjoy what's going on around me.
I love watching my dogs play in the water. Their sense of adventure never gets old to me. I was never a dog person until we adopted our own dogs. My girl-dogs are my two best buddies. The adoration goes both ways and we hate being apart. Sometimes Zach and I go to the lake alone and I feel so awful leaving them behind. Yesterday, I took them with me. It makes me laugh to hear them carrying on in the truck as we drive down the road to the beach parking lot. Tovah (the black dog) pants and paces and Willow (the blonde dog) whines and bobs her head up and down, looking for a quick exit from the truck. As soon as the door opens, they're out and gone! I played fetch in the water with them for a while and got them all tuckered out and eventually, they settled down in the grass next to me while I worked on a zine about my grandfather.
Tovah is 4 years old now. We adopted her the same month we moved into our house (August 2008). She was just 15 weeks old at the time and was born at the shelter we adopted her from. Tovah is a Husky/Rottweiler mix and she's been my right-hand dog ever since and I can't imagine my life without this sweetheart. She's so docile and such a "mama's girl."
Willow is 3 years old and is a Husky/White Shepherd mix that we adopted in September of 2009. She was six months old when we brought her home and she set herself up as the Alpha right away. She's my cuddle bug and loves to snuggle. Huskies tend to be "talkers," meaning that they are very vocal in the sense that they act like they're carrying on a conversation. Here's a video that I took of Willow a few months after we brought her home so you can see what I mean about her "talking": Willow asking for pet-pets. I love that she freaks people out with her yellow eyes and her talking when people see her for the first time. I remember having that same feeling when I went to adopt her. I thought that maybe she was growling at me because she didn't like me, but soon found out that it was because she DID like me and wanted to get to know me. When she barks at people, that's when she's cautious. If she talks to people, her butt usually wiggles and that's a good sign.
I just found another video of Willow talking: Get Down, Willow!
Zach doesn't wiggle his butt, but he does love to talk to people. Here he is with his catch of minnows from yesterday. He made sure to put some pebbles in from the beach, along with some seaweed. He takes all of this home with him and creates a "habitat" (this is what he calls it) in a 10 gallon tank so the fish have something that looks natural to swim around in. The next day, he takes the fish back to the lake, lets them go, and catches all new fish and creates a whole new habitat for them.
His sense of wonderment never gets old. :)
Just another amazing summer Sunday.
