2003-11-12 - 9:47 a.m.
This morning Beau got on the bed and lay hard against my back. Ordinarily I discourage such activity, but it had been so long since I had felt a warm body snuggled against mine that I let him stay. Realizing he wasn't going to get immediately kicked off, he let out a long sigh and pushed back even a little harder--as if trying to meld his body with mine--before relaxing into what seemed a profoundly contented, if temporary, sleep. And I lay still as I could, trying not to disturb him.
I saw the grass shuffle and then the dogs, sniffing the ground, going after it. My first thought was pheasant, for that is how they will often attempt to elude a dog--running, rather than flying. Often, after a grouse has gone up, I will redirect the dogs if they've missed it, asking Where's the bird? and pointing to the place it had occupied. Sirius is great at this game, which is surprising inasmuch as he is part shepard and part rotweiller--neither breed being much celebrated for its hunting prowess. Nonetheless, he will search enthusiastically, even at times going on point. So, I was about to reinforce the dogs' already enthusiastic pursuit of what I thought was a bird when I saw a taletell elongated white flag disappearing through the goldenrod and called them off. I made them sit and stay while I waited for the doe to get clear, all the while asking them what they thought they were doing. The day before, Sirius and Chance had chased up a buck that subsequently circled around and crossed behind me not 50 feet away. I intercepted Chance as he came out of the woods, but to my surprise and consternation he eluded me and kept on going. Bad dog, that one. Lucky for him he rejoined us before we got home, for it is a cardinal rule that if you go off on a chase and don't return with the rest of us, you get put on the chain for the rest of the day. The dogs very well know they shouldn't chase deer (though they have no conception of the danger if a hunter should catch them at it), but oh, as they seem to want me to realize, it is just too tempting sometimes...
I leave you with a riddle that's been making the rounds. Apparently kindergartners get it with astounding frequency, while Yale undergraduates get regularly stumped. (So, what does that tell you about the correlation between wisdom and putative knowledge?) Anyway, here goes:
What is greater than God, more evil than the Devil, rich people want it, poor people have it, and if you eat it you die?
The answer next time.
