Labrador owners MUST be crazy!!

“We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”

 ~ a quotation by the poet Charles Bukowski in a book by Time Life called “The Meaning of Life”.

It was BEAUTIFUL when I woke this morning!

It is raining YET again!

It’s not often I manage to get wetter than the hound when I ramble .... but yesterday I did. Both of us did .... Carol and I that is. I’m not sure WHO created the bigger puddle at the front door 

... the hound OR me!

This is the netball she found on the beach a few weeks ago.

It was already raining when we headed to Waiatarua but, being the positive souls that we are, we continued on our way ever hopeful that the rain would stop. Mother Nature had other ideas.

She still prefers Sam's Chiefs rugby ball to it though.

Not only did the rain continue BUT it got heavier .... much heavier! There was a brief lull in the downpour whilst we were at the dog pond. We get wet there whether it’s raining or not ... the hounds and their balls and the impromptu showers they give us take care of that. No matter how carefully you try and avoid the fall-out from the pooch-shake, staying dry is never an option.

Contrary to popular belief, we weren’t the only insane humans walking hounds at Waiatarua yesterday. I’ve just had a thought though .... most of the hounds we met there were Labradors. That tells you something. 

Labrador owners MUST be crazy!  

Oh yes ... that includes all of you, Carol and Julia and Suzanne and Keith and Ebony’s human and all the other ‘wannabee’ Labrador owners that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know..

The weather hasn’t been much better today. The sun HAS tried to shine and it DIDN’T rain quite as hard but the wind was icy. For some reason unknown even to myself, I wore a short-sleeve T-shirt AND left my raincoat at home. 

The water is so clear today that we can even see the Mallard Duck's webbed feet!

Yes .... the mind boggles.

I need a more waterproof raincoat though. The one I wore yesterday left me just as wet on the inside as I was on the outside.

Shadow took a swim ... all on his own and without any prompting!

If anyone’s to blame for the unseasonal weather it MUST be Shadow. He jumped IN the river of his own accord today AND swam! He LOVED all the praise and gave us all an impromptu shower to thank us.  It’s one thing having a Labrador shower .... a Border Collie shaking is quite another. It was raining again ... but not from the clouds!

These interactions with other hounds and their humans make my day. I love the enjoyment we all take from them. Our hounds NEED these rambles and, in providing for their needs and fulfilling them, we find FULFILLMENT ourselves. 

What better way can there be to start a day!

Ebony got the ball!!

I have another market tomorrow, one of my favourites .... the St. Heliers one. It’s not just because it’s close to home that I enjoy it so much, I also see so many people I know. Every spare moment now is taken up with preparing stock for markets and selecting photos to have printed on canvas. THIS is a busy time of year AND I love it!

Shadow taking ANOTHER swim!

Mrs. Browns Boys have a lot answer for!

Ice, Ice and still MORE ice .... AND it’s fresh!!

These were really neat size balls .... had to stop her from popping them
 ... they were for the Weetbix Kids Triathlon.

Yes, Mrs Brown’s Boys have something to answer for. The boys in this house LOVE that program and the whacky humour that is part and parcel of it. Ice in our house has taken on new meaning ever since the episode where Betty was persuaded to take Agnes’s drink back to the bar as Agnes wanted the frozen ice replaced with fresh ice. Betty was up and on her way to the bar before registering that she’d been hoodwinked 

.... that episode never fails to make my boys laugh!

Strangely enough, Agnes was also drinking gin and tonic.

I’ve complained before about having ‘old’ ice in my drink .... ‘old’ ice being ice that’s been in the deep freeze for an inordinate length of time ... yes, it tastes stale.

They now make a point of asking me if I want frozen or fresh ice in my G + T. The fridge in the house we’ve just moved into has an ice-maker and the boys are thrilled. Now when they tell me they’ve put fresh ice in my drink, they really have .... and it still makes them chuckle.

Some semblance of sanity is slowly returning to my disordered world. I’ve been feeling philosophical today and can only put it down to the move and the upheaval and chaos that accompanies it. I need to open my eyes and listen with my soul because that’s the part of me that isn’t confused by what’s happening in my life.

I think too much. I ponder too much on the sins of the world and try to make them all right

 ... and it just doesn’t work. 

Insanity rules

.... but would I want it any other way?

The wind in our part of the world has been insane as well. It’s stirred up a world of discontent and unease ..... everyone feels it. It’s whipped clouds of sand through the village, it’s piled up against the kerb and along the shop fronts. 

You can see Mother Nature’s been in a bit of a frenzy

.... I know how she feels.

It’s spring tide and I love spring tides. I love the way the waves race up the beach, each wave trying to outdo the one before. The hound loves it too .... way more water to wade through after her ball!

Waiatarua was all but deserted this morning apart from the stalwarts like Carol and I, and Abby the German Shepherd and Sasha the Samoyed. Sasha’s beautiful ... she’s WHITE .... FLUFFY WHITE .... and she’s always clean! I have no idea how she manages to stay like that. Sasha and Wendy are often at Waiatarua and Wendy’s not like some of the other humans we encounter who flinch when a certain “wannabee” chocolate hound goes racing up to them, shaking mud in every direction.

My hound just gives you a shower .... there’s seldom mud involved.

The hounds could ramble for hours at Waiatarua. They NEVER tire of chasing down just one more rugby ball, leaping into the water just one more time. They’re doing what they love and they’re doing it well. 

I need to practise that .... not the leaping into water thingy .... but the doing what I love thingy. 

"When you're completely involved in an activity for its own sake, the ego falls away and time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."  ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The "treading water" hound ... she's so cute!