Circle the Waggin's

Oo-la-la, what a day. When spring arrives in New England, it is not a particular day on the calendar, it is a day when the weather feels like the first kiss of true love-- and that day was today. When you can enjoy a walk near the ocean without pulling your coat closer, life is good, it's that simple, and when you can do that in March in Maine, it is magic.

The morning walk was accompanied by both the chirping of birds that every year I intend to learn to identify... maybe this year I'll add a few to my list of one-- cardinal; and the fog horn of Portland Headlight. It wasn't that foggy, and it wasn't cold and damp this morning, but a mist hung over the water, and I'm sure the morning fishermen and lobster boats appreciated the headlight, as mariners have for over two hundred years.

When I left work at the end of the day, there was only one thought in my mind-- extra walk night. The weather was too perfect to pass up the opportunity. In this part of the country, you do not expect the same weather on any two consecutive days. It is important to enjoy it when it happens. Fort Williams was strangely quiet at 6pm, but Athena was sooooo happy, she ran along with her tail wagging in complete circles. To try and imagine how that would work, try to imagaine hoola-hooping and running at the same time. I don't know how she does it. As she prances ahead of me, occasionally she breaks into something that I can only describe as skipping-- I never thought dogs could skip, but Athena can.
As she runs along, well ahead of me, passing other walkers to catch up to their dogs, I see the people gesturing to each other, mimicking with their hands the way Athena's long silky ears flap up and down when she runs. She runs with sheer joy, and she makes people happy just to see her joy. The most common comment people make is "That's a happy dog" and that is the truth. Athena is all happiness, and tonight, after a bonus evening run, she is a good tired dog. It makes me forget the couple of rough days when it rained something like 5-inches in 48 hours. Athena still seems traumatized by heavy rain, and on Sunday it was 4pm before I could get her off the porch. That kind of day leads to major mischief, and Athena can be an evil genius.

(Don't let the look of that sweet dog curled up in the chair fool you-- turn your back and you will be missing a box of Girl Scout cookies)

Spring is here, perhaps ahead of the calendar's schedule, but we will definitely welcome an early check-in. You can almost stand still for a few minutes and see the grass starting to green up. If there was no spring, winter would be impossible, but spring is such a wonderful thing to look forward to, we make it through to the end of winter, and we welcome Spring every year like a long lost friend. It is good to catch up with a long lost friend.

Afternoon Recess

I do enjoy the quiet of Fort Williams in the morning. The faithful every day walkers with dogs may be there (though they weren't yesterday-- Athena and I were all alone in our frost covered solitude), but it is quiet enough to gather your thoughts in the morning, or to just soak in the sounds of the birds and the waves and hopefully soon, the leaves on the trees. Sunday afternoon, it was a lovely day, much more spring-like than typical for early March in Maine, so we headed back to Fort Williams in the afternoon for a bonus walk.

The afternoon is a completely different place. It was a really lovely day, but instead of one or two cars parked, as in the morning, I started to worry that I wouldn't find a place to park my car! And when we entered the off-leash area, it looked like some sort of a dog convention! There were dogs everywhere, joyfully chasing balls and each other. Some we knew, like Rambo (pictured at right below), the giant labradoodle, and we met quite a few new dogs and their owners. New to to us, but not to each other, as many of them are afternoon regulars, another distinct community, this one a bit more energetic and busy than the morning dog community.

Afternoon recess is perfect for dogs, perfect for people-- why the work day doesn't somehow adopt it in its purest form, I don't know. A coffee break just does not do for you what the things we did at recess as children. would--a quick game of dodge ball or jump rope. You'd know you were alive again. Someone wrote a book about all the important life lessons learned in kindergarten. Maybe dogs are in our lives to remind us of these.

Dogs + Snow = Fun

With the sound of generators still in the distance telling us that some people were starting day two without electricity, the Sunday morning dogs were ready for some fun in a light coating of snow. This morning we met Damita, one of the most striking looking dogs I have ever encountered, and true to her name (translation "young lady"), a gentle mannered sweetie. And fast! So fast. Athena is usually ready to race any four-footed runner, but she totally gave up. It was cattle dog day at Fort Williams, as Damita was joined by Fawnie, who also had amazing markings (I would have totally named her Polka, for the dot pattens on her fawn colored coat).

To the left, Fawnie. Above, Damita

As we finish out February in a very unusual winter, the dogs in the off-leash area of Fort Williams remind us that every day can be a great day, even coming off two days of flooding, no electricity, and yards and some roads littered with trees downed by the nor-easter that tore through Maine on Thursday night. Happily, it was only a "one dog night" on Thursday and Friday nights. Temperatures were in the 40's during the day, and even with the severe weather, it is very clear that the earth is preparing for spring. Our dogs can definitely smell it, and Athena has taken to testing sticks on the ground for signs of life. Soon the gloves and scarves and hats of all the dog owners will be able to stay home, and the feral tennis balls of the off leash area will be easier to find!

Professor Tucker

This morning at the park, Professor Tucker mosied toward us, as he does most mornings. The "Professor" designation is not part of his official name, but it is how I always think of him, as I watch him studying the edges of the path, sniffing... thinking... sniffing... it appears that he is doing very scholarly research on the smells of the off-leash area of Fort Williams Park. Once he finishes with his research, he becomes much livlier, happily fetching a tennis ball heaved from a "chucker" that is always in his person's hand.

This morning, however, as he approached, something was different. He had something in his mouth, but it wasn't the orange tennis ball that can give him a wacky clown-like smile which is always a little incongrous with his very dignified Springer Spaniel demeanor. This morning, as he came closer, I could see what was hanging out of his mouth. "Is that a rawhide chew?", I asked his person. "He won't put it down", she laughed, the tennis ball and chucker, hanging down from her hand. I should have taken his picture then, but I was giggling so much I'm not sure I could have held the camera steady. Obviously, he was on to a new type of research, or else, to him, a rawhide chew was like a Nobel Prize medal. I'll have to wait and look for Tucker another morning to see if he puts the rawhide down...

Sunday Run Day

It is very difficult to convince Athena to sleep in on the weekends. I try to tell her all the good dogs are still asleep, but usually I give in and we head for Fort Williams fairly early, even on a Sunday morning. This morning, Athena was delighted to find her friend Gibson (the yellow lab, above, with Athena as "It" in a rousing game of tag). Today it all ended well. Athena has been known to get Gibson into trouble, one time leading him off into the woods, which caused

Gibson's owner to hunt for him for a good half hour.

As you can see here on the right, Gibson is the picture of a good dog. Athena is like a kid at school you wish your kid would not hang out with.

Thanks to Gibson today for giving Athena a good work out. It will help her to be patient on a long boring day traveling to take her human sister back to school. Good dog, Gibson!

The Faithful

Every day, as the sun comes up, Athena begins nagging me. "Is it time to go to the park?" "Now is it time to go to the park?" Somehow, my dog has figured out that the sign at the entrance to Fort Williams Park says "Open at Sunrise; Closed at Sunset". And every day, as soon as I've had at least part of a cup of tea, we head for Fort Williams.

We take the same route there every day, and as we get closer, the excited whining in the back seat reaches an ear-splitting crescendo. You would think she's returning to a most favorite place after being away for decades... maybe that's exactly how it feels to a dog, because each day, when I open the back door of the car and let her out, it's as if I've just approached the entrance to Disneyland with a 6-year old.

The backside of Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, has been designated as an off-leash exercise area for dogs. There I have met some of the nicest people, and their best friends. Almost everyone is an every day visitor-- and in the middle of a Maine winter, you can tell who really loves their dog by who is out in the worst weather, because most of the dogs are oblivious to the elements. Their ability to relish every day, to celebrate every moment, to delight in seeing a friend they see almost every day, is some of the best role modeling I could imagine.
So this blog is dedicated to Athena, who may appear blurry in photos because she seldom stands still, and the dogs she plays with at the park, who make her so happy her tail wags not just back and forth, but around in complete circles.

Athena and Noodle the Poodle 2-20-2010