Oh, Bother!

We took our walk early today; I wanted to get it out of the way and get to chores. But it was such a beautiful morning that, when we reached the point on the nearby ridge where we normally turn right and work our way home, I decided to keep going toward the next loop in the wash.

In a meadow on the other side of the ridge Ghost found a couple of peacefully grazing cattle and decided that just wouldn't do, so he went charging down the hill toward them. The dynamics of this maneuver have changed a bit over the past year, and I'm afraid Ghost's tactics haven't caught up with them. Used to be he could count on the whole pack charging after him, but the other younger dog got placed with another family and Fritz and Magnus have gotten to the age where it just doesn't seem like a lot of fun anymore. So we're always faced with the sad spectacle of Ghost barking furiously at a bunch of cattle who are clearly torn between the options of kicking him in the head or ignoring him completely, but who don't seem terribly tempted to run away in panic. Ghost isn't a small dog by any means, but neither is he intimidatingly large to something as massive as a full-grown bovine. Sometimes, to get it done right, you just need the whole pack. Ah, well - by the time we caught up with him, Ghost just looked disgusted and stalked off after us as we turned into the wash.

I always forget how long and winding this branch of the wash is, so it's always more of a walk than I anticipated. No sooner did it begin to look like this was going to be an appallingly long slog but the wind came up again, still cold, and my pleasant walk started to become an ordeal. Not what I'd had in mind. So we walked until the cliffs became a slope, and climbed back up the ridge. With our backs to the wind and firmer ground under us, things were much more pleasant. We finally made it back home and collapsed in a heap.

The original objective was to tire out the dogs so I could work in the yard without having to endure their complaints that I was ignoring them, and I sure accomplished that. Trouble is, now all I want to do is take a nap. And of course the wind is howling outside the scriptorium, and spending a few hours outside is not as attractive a prospect as it was earlier.

Tough shit, Joel. Duty calls.