SUMMER IS ALMOST OVER

Everyone likes to hear about other people’s lives, so today I write about a slice of life from my world: the two-dog owner, avid gardener, poet, and writer of memoirs and fiction.

I woke to a beautiful sunrise at about 7:00 a.m., put my little dog Daisy back in her bed, and covered her with a thin blanket. Then I went back to bed. I woke again at 8:30 a.m. The morning is overcast and grey but warm. There is still smoke in the air.

While Daisy slept, I picked produce from my garden, and Henry watched for Mikey, my neighbor’s dog. They love to be together, although it is rare if they actually play.

Daisy is finally awake. It is already 10:00 a.m. I let her out into the garden, to walk her 10,000 steps! My vet calls her the energizer bunny; once awake, she won’t stop walking until I pick her up and take her inside again.

Henry has to wait for his walk today until Daisy has finished hers. Her route from the house to the garden is secure. She can no longer fall off the steps or between the uprights on the deck and ramp, but I can’t leave her alone for long. She likes to walk into corners and often cannot turn around. Then she will scream. Its scary!

To pass the time, while Daisy is going through her paces, I am having my second cup of coffee. The first was left over from last night; I made it and forgot it. The second cup is much better. I also make and eat my breakfast. 

It is now 11:00 a.m. I have brought Daisy inside, where I place four or five little squares of freeze-dried salmon and her anti-inflammatory pill, tucked inside a piece of bacon-flavored wrap-up into her bed. She will now sleep until 4:00 p.m. or later. It is time to take Henry to the park. I’ll be back to process my garden bounty. 

On my return, instead of processing vegetables, I am reminded of an appointment to help a new homeowner with their garden. I am excited to visit this site because this person bought the property above my first big landscape project in the 1990s above Lake Whatcom.

It was fun taking a step back in time, looking at the property overlooking Lake Whatcom. The new owners have done a lot to stop soil erosion. I left them with ideas about paths and small retainer walls to contain dirt in the planting area. And suggestions about keeping the deer out of their gardens.

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As I said I would, here is the continuation of my story from August 18th. Writing stories from interesting prompts: There is an Emu loose on the highway.

“The radio crackles, and then the sheriff’s voice announces, please use caution, do not apprehend when you see the Emu. Please keep your distance until the sheriff’s office can reach you.”

“Listen to the sheriff, Ernie. It’s a wild animal. I don’t want to do this, Ernie; I’m a little afraid. I read those creatures can reach up to six feet tall. I’m only four foot six. I have to be careful, you know. It’ll reach my head before the bread.”

“Just throw the bread on the ground, Ethel, and I’ll do the catching.”

Ernie is excited by the idea of pursuing the animal. Maybe taking some pictures to send to his son, Tommy, and then taking the creature to the sheriff’s office. But he isn’t a person to think through a problem first. When Ethel tosses the slices of bread out of the window, Ernie puts his head and arms through the window in the roof, coils the rope, and throws it. It lands on the Emu’s back and startles it. It jerks itself to its full height and lets out a blood-curdling hiss, raises one of its legs, and lashes out at the RV with a swift kick. The van rocks, and the ceiling window closes quickly and knocks Ernie off his balanced perch. He swears loudly and holds his arms to his sides. He feels like he has scratches and gorges all down the inside. 

The Emu aims another high kick at the door, and Ethel screams, “Go away, go away.”

“What’s the matter, dear?” Ernie groans sleepily, “Was I kicking you in my sleep?” 

“Something was kicking, that’s for sure.”

“I think you need to cut your nails. My arms feel like you raked them with claws.”

Ethel raised herself in the bed and stretched, “Oh, Ernie, I love being with you in this RV. That was some night. You sure know how to give a gal a great adventure.”

“Are you talking about the Emu?”

“What else, Ernie?