More of fall:
We are still having really nice weather, no frost yet, not a hard one anyhow, so the trees have not changed their colors all that much. Of course it is mostly oaks and lots of cottonwood trees here, so the colors are not nearly as spectacular as in the northeast.
But Kansas does have grass that changes color.
It is a more subtle change, you walk out on a short cropped pasture, and going north it just looks like grass, maybe a little dry... nothing to write about. Then you turn around and you find yourself surrounded by color, from yellow to orange to reddish purple, like flames dancing around you, with the wind making it all shimmy and wave and wiggle. You turn back and the grass looks greenish again.
The tall grass turns colors too, mostly a rich gold first then sort of a tarnished golden bronze, and then, later, in the winter when the rest of the world goes gray, then it becomes a rich copper that just warms the whole wide swath of land, in spite of the snow. It took me a while before I noticed all this, but now I do look forward to all these changes. (I usually don't like autumn, since it just ends up with winter...)
Maybe you can translate the words into a mental image, although pictures would be better, but they rarely come out. The camera can't quite capture the image at all, even though I am not really exaggerating it. It is a little like Van Gogh's Starry night, I've seen stars like that, but of course that was the emotion as well as the image that made the vision.
Okay, now I have to see what to do about apples and cheese in our house. Decibel is spoiling for a good run or a game of kick the ball around the yard. I am always amazed how energetic she is, and how nimble. Barley was rather clumsy as a pup, probably because he was growing so fast and much, he never quite caught up with it all, and Ralph was already an adult, so he is much more 'settled'.
Oh, Ralph has been rather good with Decibel for a while, he still doesn't LOVE her, but he grouches less, and often wags his tail when she licks his muzzle, not entirely friendly, but more like, oh-fine-I-won't-growl-but-only-because-you-are-a-girl, but there were times when I 'caught him' in a full play bow, and trying to play with her. It doesn't last long, but it is a start. Maggie plays with Decibel now, keep away with a toy, or tug of war, and of course she wins, but it is real play, and Decibel knows it too. Again, it doesn't last long, and it doesn't happen all the time, but it is more common now, which means that they are secure in their positions and all, and can relax enough to play a bit.
I better quit now, Decibel is poking me, c'mon mom, lets do something!
…she’ll want a cell phone next
Seriously, her teenage moments are nothing horrible, but there are the distinct 'whatever' times where she clearly rolls her eyes before she listens, or the 'OMG, I have to finish texting first' (texting is wrestling with the cat, or eating manure or whatever), and of course there is the demonstrative 'I love you' (complete with the jumping up and full face wash), because we do things that way now, and the 'I can't hear you' and the sneaky steal big brother's bowl and cart it outside, complete with wide-eyed innocent 'What?' when caught. We haven't got the 'I hate you, nobody loves me, you don't understand' yet, and I don't think she has it in her.
She really is a nice teenager.
Mostly, she is very cute, sweet and 'mostly' obedient. Mostly.
She never pushes anything very far, and knows the BIG rules, no bite, no fight, no messing in the house, and listen to Mom when she gets loud (although I would prefer a period after the listen to Mom part - we're working on it).
And there are the occasional flashes of sheer brilliance. I know she will be a great dog when she is all done. I actually think she will have a lot of sense (the je ne sais quoi quality that distinguishes Maggie from Ralph; both are good in obedience, but Maggie uses her 'powers' (a glance or a growl) sparingly, precisely, and fairly, while Ralph is one of those haphazard revolutionaries, that just wants to be against, without knowing what to be for. Although Ralph is acting a lot better with Decibel now. She is always submissive, and wants to make friends, make up, so it works.)
Below you see Decibel licking Ralphy's muzzle, which is a regular AM event. At first we had to intervene, as Ralph growled and warned her off with a show of teeth.
Decibel just kept at it though, and now we reward Ralph for 'suffering through the affection'. He gets special time and smooches for holding still, and you can see his 'enthusiasm' for it, in the first picture. But at the last picture, he is relaxed and going over to Harold for special ear rub rewards. I figure tolerating her is close enough. It's how I got along with my brother too, mostly.
No comments:
Post a Comment