This morning I was looking at the calendar, checking to see when I need to be at work today. Katie was wandering around between my feet as usual, because…well…that’s what Katie does. Absentmindedly I picked her up while I studied my work schedule for next week. I shifted her in my arms and realized that she was staring intently at the picture attached to the calendar. Because of course my calendar would feature shelties. And she was very interested in the two representing September. I know that on occasion she will notice a dog on TV, but I mostly thought that was about the sound. But here she was very obviously studying the photo of two pretty shelties. It’s a cool calendar. A couple of months ago I thought the photo sort of looked like Ludo and Katie. 
I’m going to go visit a friend next weekend, up on a Great Lake. To get in the spirit (as if I needed to!) I’ve been painting a scene from my visit there last fall.
And of course the neighbors are still getting their new roof. Katie and I spend a lot of time watching. Just to make sure everything gets done correctly, don’t you know.
We’ve had a series of really beautiful days, warm and sunny, makes a person (and a Sheltie) want to go camping again, even though all the camping equipment had been put away for the season. So on a whim I put up the little tent because it’s easier than the larger one to assemble. Of course this little tent doesn’t have a doggie window, and it’s too small to put my inflated mattress inside. So I dragged out a bunch of pillows and a couple of blankets and we settled in. The first night we made it until 6 a.m. when I woke up FREEZING cold. The temp outside was just under 50 degrees. I reached for my second blanket and found that it had been taken over by Katie who was curled up in a tiny little ball, her nose in her tail, sound asleep. I tried to go back to sleep but I was too cold, so I woke her up and we went inside. It was worth getting cold, though, because the stars at 6 a.m. were absolutely amazing.
We’ve had the best weather for the past couple of days, highs in the mid 70’s, sunshine, no rain, blue skies, puffy white clouds and occasional gentle breezes. And even better I’ve been working most days shifts from 5 to 9 p.m. so Katie and I have the whole day together. I can’t think of a better way to end the summer.
Katie’s as wound up as a spring lately. Too many rainy days, or days when I’ve got to work, or both. We haven’t been to the park in a long time, no doggy school, no long walks anywhere. She’s out of control with energy. So today, given I’m not working and it’s not raining, we went to a park.
I read in the paper yesterday that there was a big house fire nearby, and this ash was from that fire. Once I noticed the first piece I noticed a lot of other pieces of ash on the pristine ball fields. It made me sad, as it represented the loss of someone’s home and probably all their belongings as well.
Pulling into our subdivision after our adventures we saw a whole big flock of young turkeys along the side of the road. There were 8 or 9 of them. Can you see them in this picture?
On occasion Katie gets interested in what I’m doing on the laptop. I don’t know what it is, maybe the clicking of the keys, my concentration or more likely the sound of dogs barking on bits of video I watch. Who knows how a Sheltie mind works.
Change Is Hard 