I think Sam's winning this battle!

Sam .... doing what dogs do best ... getting MUDDY!

A moment in time ..... a pause .... it’s only there for a second then it’s gone ... like sunsets!

This evening's sunset ... my pause ...

I’m sitting at my desk editing my photos from this morning and I sense, rather than see, the redness creeping across my evening sky. Sunsets are brief ... fleeting .... you have to capture the moment as it’s happening ... and I did. 


It quite derailed me from my blog and photo editing!!

“Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire and souls to save.” ~ Thomas Monson

Meeting and greeting

Sam MUST be one of these travelers .... he’s ALWAYS trying to help the other hounds - with their logs, with their balls .... even with their LEADS!

One of the few sticks we found to throw in the pond

Not all the other hounds want his help though and much grunting and growling ensues as he does his utmost to help them carry whatever treasure it is that they’ve found. He even tried to carry the hound’s leash today .... something she’s quite capable of doing on her own. I don’t think she really noticed as we were heading back to the car in Mangere and she was more focused on what FUN thing we were going to do next.

Unbeknown to her it was HOME time ... it was already close to midday and we’d been out since 7.30!

Sam ... doing what he does best .... giving my hound a helping hand!

Carol had collected the hound and I from the Co-op just before 8. We’d grabbed our coffee and headed for the reserve. There were hounds aplenty there today .... so MANY fellow travelers for Sam to help. He didn’t know which hound to help next!

The dog pond is finally open .... no more builders fences for me to clamber around .... thank goodness! Not that it was necessary today. I had forgotten her log at home and we were hard pressed to find anything suitable for retrieving. The small sticks I DID find kept on sinking and the thin branches were rapidly pulled apart by whichever hound was retrieving them and Sam the traveler!

They had heaps of fun in the pond and left a multitude of broken twigs and small sticks at the bottom of it.

All the rain we’ve been having has left Waiatarua water-logged in many parts. Venturing off the path results in water-logged and muddy shoes AND socks. My shoes are definitely NOT water-proof .... my socks are testimony to that. The rain has also created PUDDLES of MUD .... lots and lots of them!  OUR hounds LOVE mud!  It’s not always easy to see that my hound’s muddy but it’s sure easy to see when Sam’s muddy ... and boy, does he get muddy!

There’s STILL a battle of wills going on between Carol and Sam when it comes to traveling in the car. Sam is of the opinion that he should travel in the back seat when he’s in the car on his own with Carol. When Carol dropped the hound and I off, we put Sam back in the boot NINE times .... without success. Carol drove home with Sam on the back seat .... one up to the hound!