Rock Hounds, Clean Hounds, and Happy Hounds

July 15, 2008

Rock hounding at the harbours ...

The morning was pretty laid back ... and stinking hot and humid. After lunch we headed off to cooler climes ... Baxter’s and Hall’s Harbours where we clambered over rocks and seaweed to hunt for rocks. At Hall’s Harbour I suddenly realized I had been there before.

The lobster wharf was where I learned that the planes had crashed into the twin towers. Roy and I were touring Nova Scotia. We had spent the night at a B&B in Wolfville, had eaten breakfast with the rest of the guests and listened to classical music as we ate. No one had turned on any source of news so we were absolutely unaware of what was happening in New York.

When we arrived for lunch at Hall’s Harbour we sat down at one of the trestle tables to wait for our orders. A car pulled up and its occupants made the announcement. Everything changed. Radios were turned on and no one could talk of anything else as the news filtered in. We went back to the B&B and, like everyone else, spent the evening huddled around the tv. Halifax, our next stop, was now out of the question as all the hotels were housing people stranded there. We decided to head home a week early.

Roy changed over the course of the trip into a mini-American waving his stars and stripes and cursing all things Arabic. It took him a couple of months to recall his politics ... but by then I think it was too late for us.

July 16, 2008
Spa Day

Kenya went in for her grooming today. The groomer wondered why we were there since she seemed perfectly clean and unsmelly to her ... but since she offends Maurice and Kerry’s sensibilities I am spending the $60 to make her palatable to them. I hope Kenya enjoys the pampering. She will apparently come home smelling like coconut cream shampoo instead of herself. That will likely last a day! She will also have her nails clipped and buffed so will, I hope, stop biting them.

I may end up going to a lake this afternoon ... with Margot ... I will see ...

I am not sure I want to take a freshly groomed dog swimming and lose all that expensive scent.

July 17, 2008

I ended up spending yesterday in a very comfortably lazy way. Early in the morning I took Kenya for an hour long walk, then drove her to the groomer. When I got back I got a call from Maurice. He needed his glasses, so I drove to New Minas to deliver them. Then I picked Kenya up at noon. (She smells like a coconut cream pie and is lovely and puppy-fluffy.)

I read for a while and then drove Kerry to an appointment. After wandering around downtown, I finally ended up having fair trade coffee and a samosa in Just Us to wait for her. When we got home I helped Maurice assemble the barbecue, and we made dinner and then went to the reservoir for a swim. It was wonderful, and reminded me of the lake.

I miss Pike Lake. I like it here and appreciate the bounty associated with a much warmer climate, but I miss the fresh coolness of the lake and the Gatineau Hills.

This morning after Kenya’s walk Kerry and I went to the Reservoir for an early morning swim. A lovely way to start the day ... a combination of Pike Lake peace and a view of Blomidon in mist. We didn’t take Kenya. Her coconut smell and air dried fluffiness is like having your own hair styled professionally. Looks great but you don’t want to ruin it all by going swimming. However; I will take her there to chase sticks in the water one day because a truly happy hound tends to smell like lake water and dogginess.