Walks and Dogs

Dear friend Jaime, of S/V Kookaburra has “tagged” me on Facebook, letting me know how much she misses me. Her posts mainly center around two things: Walking and Dogs. (I much appreciated the post that connected walking and red wine. We’ve not combined the two yet but may have to try it when she visits St. Augustine later this year—in the spring, when it’s warm.) I miss her, too.

 

The other day, Kirsten of S/V Night Music invited me to go for a long walk. In addition to sailing, and playing the guitar, Kirsten is a dog lover, so she shares my need for “fur fixes”. Fortunately, St. Augustine offers plenty of opportunity for beautiful walks and fur fixes from friendly canines.

Kirsten’s first choice would have been a 9 mile round trip jaunt, something I didn’t think my legs and feet would yet appreciate, so we shortened it to 5 miles, north along the water, through a beautiful neighborhood, past the Fountain of Youth, and one third of the way across the Usina Bridge to Vilano Beach. (And yes, now I have a goal of making it all the way to the beach and back, preferably on a morning when the temperature is above 60.)

 

We talked.

 

We took photos.

 

 

 

And near the marina, I introduced to ….. this little guy:

Well, this is where he used to be:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a slightly out of focus shot of me rubbing his chin. MMMMM.

And here’s a blurry shot of an excited pup:

And here’s a shot of Kirsten getting him to be still as she got a fur fix:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, a happy and handsome dog, posing for the camera:

He’s a young adult toy poodle who acts like a well behaved Labrador puppy—a trait designed to melt the hearts of Jaime, Kirsten, and me. His people, Karen and Kerry, always allow me a bit of play time.

He’s a big happy dog in a portable little dog’s body. I loved him at our first meeting.

Now here’s the thing, when he was a pup, the gray areas were a bit more white, so they named this tiny little boat dog…

Wait for it…

Wait for it…..

Orca.

How cool is that?

 

Non-dog photos:

• Sunrise from the deck.
• View of the Usina Bridge from the Catholic park.
• Kirsten and me
• View north of the Usina Bridge.
• Christmas decorations with color (finally!). These people will probably be run out of the town of white lights before next year.
• Posing bird.
• Wild Orca by San Juan Islands Whale Watching