Well, it is Lame Post Friday, but it is a false Friday for me, because I work tomorrow, which I don’t usually (don’t hate). However, I am feeling kind of lame. I will attempt a Pedestrian Post about a walk I took with my schnoodle, Tabby this afternoon.
It was something of a big deal to me to get the walk in, because we have not taken our usual walks this week. The reason for this is that it has been horribly cold in the Mohawk Valley. Monday was not only cold, it was snowing in a most ferocious manner (I believe the proper expression is “like a sonofabitch”) (which is actually one of my favorite expressions, but I digress). It was actually kind of OK with me to not walk, as I had rehearsal every night (actually, Monday’s was cancelled due to the weather, but a walk was clearly ineligible that day).
Today I had no rehearsal and it was supposed to be in the mid to upper 20s. As I often observe, perspective is everything. 20 degrees looks a whole lot warmer going up to it than it looked going down to it (kind of like 145 pound in opposite directions, but let’s not go there tonight). Work was warmer, so I felt confident.
As I left work I felt less confident. When I had gotten Tabby into her harness and got out the door, I was even less sanguine. However, I persevered, and we set off. Tabby was extremely happy to be going and pulled me down the sidewalk. I plowed through the snow behind her and wondered if I shouldn’t have shoveled the sidewalk in front of my house again. Several people had apparently walked that way, so I thought it was OK for now.
We walked up to German Street and turned toward Prospect. It was certainly cold. I wished I had found Tabby’s coat. Yes, I know, she has a natural fur coat. I think she could have used another layer. She trotted along quite happily, stopping to sniff the usual number of times. A car drove by and a young man yelled something out the window at me. I could not understand a word. Was he yelling at me or the lady who seemed to be waiting to cross the street up ahead? I was going to ask her if she had heard, but she avoided eye contact.
We crossed the street and continued down German. I thought Tabby was shaking a little. Her breed does shake under stress, but she had nothing to be stressed about. I was afraid somebody else would come along and say, “Why are you making your poor little dog stay out in the cold? Can’t you see she’s shaking?” She stopped to sniff a bush, seemingly more intent on that than on the weather. When she was finished, I asked, “You want to go back home?” She immediately pulled me in that direction.
And then turned down Prospect. That was OK; it wouldn’t be a whole lot further to go around this block back home. Two kids were in front of a house playing with a brown Labrador-looking dog on a leash. The dog got away and ran across the street toward us, dragging the leash.
“Good dog, good dog,” I said, hoping that was true. Apparently it was. I grabbed the leash. The little boy ran across the street, all apologetic, and retrieved the dog. She got away again and came back to us. She sniffed Tabby till Tabby got mad and barked. Apparently Tabby is kind of “do as I say, not as I do” about sniffing.
After the boy got his dog back again, Tabby started to run toward home. Luckily for me it was not her top speed. I still had to jog to keep up. This was OK for me, because I have not been running in a while. I realize half a block will not count as going running, but I like to think every little bit helps.
I was glad when our walk was over. I will find Tabby’s coat before we go out in the frigid cold again. Still, it was good to get out. A little fresh air, a little sunshine, and a little bit of something to write a blog post about.
