Fear can be fruitful.

 I don’t know about you but my life has had several detours.

Detours are those things that happen when road blocks toss you off the path you were on.  

No, I’m not talking traffic, I’m talking life.

Road Blocks can be painful but the detours they enforce can be life-changing.

I should know.

Without our current detour my camera wouldn’t have become my chosen appendage.  I wouldn’t have my favourite four-legged friend rambling with me every day.  I wouldn’t be following the dictates of my heart and pointing a lens in every direction but mine.

My exposing of my soul to the world is a direct result of this current detour.

It’s made me braver and shown me that fear can be fruitful.  

Some detours, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary. 

The sun DID try to shine this morning 

“A truly happy person is one who is able to enjoy the scenery whilst on a detour.” 

~ author unknown

That quotation is very apt.

The hound ISN’T a big fan of detours

 ... and now we’re talking the rambling kind, not the life kind.

She sees them as a hindrance.  

They delay her arrival on the beach and her presence in the waves.

In her eyes, detours should be avoided at all costs.

Sam feels the same, especially on a Friday when we head across the bridge to Takapuna Beach.  

He can’t wait to get there and is well aware of ANY deviation from the normal route.

This morning we drove PAST the usual spot we park in and all hell broke lose in the car.  

Both Sam and the hound became EXTREMELY vocal. 

WHERE ARE WE GOING??   

WHY AREN'T WE STOPPING??

Unbeknown to them, Carol was trying to park as close to the beach as possible 

and was heading to the end of the road to do a u-turn and park in the angled parking.

In hindsight, it was the WRONG thing to do.

Not from the hound’s perspective but from the Traffic Warden’s perspective.

The furball that thinks it's a hound ...

We didn’t register that the Special Event sign on the road was STILL applicable.  

We read the 4th February date but not the “until 17th February” bit.

and LOVES to join in the morning wash-down!

On our return from an exuberant and fun ramble there was a $40.00 fine on the windscreen of Carol’s car.  EVERY car parked along the road had a similar flappy piece of paper on the windscreen.  Guaranteed they were MOSTLY hound owners taking advantage of the longer off-leash times on Takapuna Beach.

Look at that face!

What is it about Traffic Wardens and Dog Wardens and the Carols (plural).  

If it’s not the Dog Wardens trying to claim their pound of flesh, it’s the Traffic Wardens. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

We’ve had a thought though.  Both hounds SHAKE on command.  

If the command was silent these unsuspecting Fine-issuing Felons 

... and by felons, I mean it in the archaic sense of the word 

“a wicked person” not a criminal  ... 

would get their come-uppance.  

Carol and I would be smiling and the perceived injustice would be righted!