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!