It's a Dog's Life

Olga and I spent yesterday morning on the West Heath, Sandy Heath and Hampstead Heath Extension. She had quite an exhausting day.

First, she found a muddy tire rut just wide enough for her body...

...and then she got in the muddy pond on Sandy Heath where, gasp, she lost her Kong! The great failing of Kong toys, at least the ones we buy, is that they don't float. She let it slip from her jaws in the pond and it was gone for good. I even waded in again to help her (ugh!) but I couldn't find it either. The pond bottom was too soft and mucky and full of sticks and things that felt like they could be a Kong, but weren't.

Fortunately, it was an old, old Kong that was already halfway chewed up, so no big deal.

Even Olga got over it pretty quickly! She was soon distracted by chasing squirrels and running in the open fields on the Extension. There were lots of other people and dogs about -- so many that I heard a father asking his preschool-age son, "How many dogs do you see?" and counting them off with him. I was glad that Olga could contribute to the kid's education.

As you can see, our self-cleaning teflon dog was once again quickly clean as a whistle. And when she got home, we gave her a brand-new Kong that we had at the ready, so all is right with the world.

Dave and I had dinner with Chris and Linda, our former neighbors, last night at one of our old haunts in Notting Hill. Then, this morning, Dave was up early to leave for Paris, where he's taking a group of students on a music- and cooking-focused trip this week. In fact, almost all the kids in the Middle and High schools will be on various journeys through Friday. I'll be catching up on housekeeping tasks in the library, and holding down the fort with Olga!