Summer in September

Oh my… it seems like a cliche to say that today was perfect, but there are no other words. Grace played in a water dish I put in her cage. We swam a few times, the gentle waves bobbing us as we floated with our noodles. The breeze was warm but kept us cool. Bill and Brenda came by and enjoyed some of this September summer afternoon with us. I must have said a hundred times that I wish I had a water camera. The view of kayaks gliding by is different at eye level. I wanted to capture the afternoon for pulling out mid-winter when things seems so bleak.  

I've been doing the first exercise from the book I'm reading (something about How to become a writer). The main exercise is to do 10 minutes of freewriting everyday - don't look, don't fix grammar or spelling, just write. The idea is to let my mind move freely to develop content. I'm afraid I haven't been successful (although I'm not supposed to think of success or failure, just do without criticism). But anyway, I find my thoughts don't stray very far from here. I write about what is around me and my thoughts about being here. At first I thought it was a bad thing, but after some thought (while freestyle writing- I had to write something!), I realized that I don't want to leave, so my thoughts won't leave either.

Labour day weekend overfills the park with happy campers and their dogs. All sorts of dogs. It was a trial for Spike and sometimes Bella, but I have a confession to make. A few weeks before we came here Spike went through the fence and onto the road. I wasn't close enough to catch him, and the other dog walking down the road was too much of a lure. I freaked out and bought an e-collar: an electric training collar that can deliver a buzz, a vibrate, and if needed, an electric jolt. He got jolted twice for going up to the gate, but we need some setups with other dogs. It is important that he stay off the road.

I ordered the 2 collar package so I could put one on Bella too - I thought they might be handy here for barking at other dogs when we are camping. It does the trick! A gentle vibration stops them in their tracks. They turn away from the road and settle down right away. When they have the collar on they often remember not to bark. These collars have reduced everyone's stress levels. Especially mine.