Mark Doty’s book on description — The Art of Description — is such a good read even my dogs liked it, or I think they liked it. They certainly enjoyed ripping through the pages.
We finally had our backyard regraded to address a flooding problem we’ve been dealing with — parts of the yard would become lakes. And while that will be good in the long run, it makes for a bit of a hassle now because it means we can’t let the dogs back there. So, that means we have to walk them and walk them frequently.
With the good weather we’ve had the last few days, that is not a problem — except at midnight when it’s a bit dark and foreboding. In fact, it’s been nice, getting out for the trek around the neighborhood. Today we walked 2.4 miles — a record for the dogs (Rosie, top; Sophie, bottom) — and the pooches are now asleep and likely will be for quite some time.
That should give me some time to get some work done and watch the game (working from home).
Cesar Millan’s great pit, Daddy, died Friday. Our condolences — having lost three dogs over the years, we know what the Millans are feeling.
Benny loved to play ball and take long walks when he was a pup, back when Annie lived in an apartment in Plainsboro and then when she was renting a house in Brunswick Acres. He was an amazing pup.
When she moved into the Kendall Park ranch we now live in, Benny developed an interesting quirk — one we always laughed about. He would hide in the bathtub during thunderstorms, just run into the bathroom in the center of the house, climb in and try to burrow deep. It was understandable, I guess, because the bathroom is the only room without an external wall.
Things are rarely as dark as they seem when you’re stuck in the moment.
The dogs are sleeping on the couch and chair behind me, having spent a couple of hours in their pen while I was at a poetry reading and Annie was out with her sister.
After last night, we were scared that we couldn’t leave them together — they went at each other at we were unable to break the tension afterward — but Pat, the trainer, called this morning and talked us down.
Rosie and Sophie, she said, are like teenaged sisters. They’ll fight over almost anything and then move on. At the same time, we have to minimize their opportunities. So all toys are now put away and to be doled out only when we want them to play. If they get territorial, the toys get taken away.
And we need to make sure we make them work, both physically and intellectually, both to tire them out but also to address their innate need to work.
Annie and her sister Susan took them for a 25-minute walk before and Annie and I played a few attention-span games before I showered and left.
I think we’re both still anxious, but it is better. We will get through this. The dogs will get through this.
Hank Kalet 