Bella, my daughter’s dog, is spending the day with us. The Wonder Dog is in heaven. He adores her. So, to give the “kids” a treat, we took them out to one of our favourite spots in the countryside. It’s a little water hole, off a dirt track out in the Mt Crawford area.
There were lots of baby Christmas trees; a good smattering of old gums; moss and lichen a-plenty, thanks to the recent rains; a few adventurous birds, and several ponds of water, as well as a couple of little creeks that had enough water in them to send them tumbling into the pools. We even heard a few frogs.
The two dawgs had a lovely time, sniffing everything and piddling everywhere. Bella barked at a couple of horse riders as they ambled by. (The Wonder Dog didn’t even notice them until Bella went a tad ballistic.) After rounding her up for the umpteenth time, the Old Boy put her on the leash and took her for a walk. Rex, trotted along behind. He doesn’t need a leash. He’s too scared to venture too far without us. Bella, on the other hand, has selective hearing.
All in all, it was a pleasant respite from the world. For a couple of peaceful hours, I didn’t think about bomb blasts and shootings and bigotry and unkindness…I just savoured the joy of being alive. There should be more of it.
Do yourself a favour this week. Every now and then, turn the TV off, shut down the mobile phone, put away the laptop or tablet and give yourself a break. Take a few moments to breath in and breath out, to listen to the birds, to watch a bug or two slowly crawl up a tree trunk or a plant leaf, and remind yourself that this is what it’s supposed to be like.