Early Autumn Heath Adventures

I took Olga out for a nice long walk on the Heath yesterday. We were overdue, having skipped it entirely last weekend, and she was a wild thing, running and running with her Kong.

That Kong is going to be the death of me. She drops it when she chases a squirrel, and sometimes has trouble remembering where it went. (God forbid it should roll anywhere, because that throws her off, too.) And as we have established, it sinks in water. Yesterday I found myself feeling around in a deep puddle, trying to retrieve it, and then she dropped it in a woodsy area and had a terrible time locating it again. We must have searched for 15 minutes before she suddenly got a bright, knowing look, ran off, and came back with it in her mouth. (It's so funny to see her remember something.)

I think I'm going to get some tennis balls and give them to her for our forest walks. They'd be much easier to locate and they're more disposable. She can still have the Kong when we walk in open, grassy areas, or when she lies down to chew.

In terms of seasonal changes, we're definitely noticing some early autumn color -- a slight yellowing in the trees, a crunchy litter of leaves and mast on the forest floor, a rare bright red leaf or bush.

I call this photo "Autumn with Royal Free Hospital."

While walking I found an ornate dog collar with a tag. The tag gave an address not far from where we live, so on the way home I stopped at the house and knocked on the door. No one answered, so I put the dog collar through the mail slot. Hopefully its owner still lives there.

Anyway, Olga wore herself out on the Heath, which is a good thing. After a couple of hours we came home, and she fell fast asleep and slept until morning.

I, meanwhile, spent a relaxing evening watching "That Girl" DVDs, reading and eating leftovers. (Dave had a pub outing with some work people.) It was nice to nest with an exhausted dog!