Thump Thump Thump

I lied! Here I am writing again, after I just said I wouldn't write again for 2 weeks.

I just had to share a couple fun images, mental images, alas, from last night.

I didn't feel like getting up and getting the camera, even though I knew the moment was developing. Sunny has a new habit. As soon as Star and I are all cozy, snuggled into bed at night, Sunny goes back out to the living room and gets another tennis ball. I guess he figures he's finally got a captive audience. So I indulge him, having declined him earlier in the evening when I sat in my microfiber rocking rotating recliner that I don't want destroyed by wet tennis balls.

The game has become Kara tries to toss the ball into the laundry hamper, in the closet across the room. The first time I got it in the hamper was empty. It's a tall one, so I had to get up and retrieve it after watching his desperate and futile attempts and rescue and recovery.

But last night, it was about half full so I decided to let him work it out. I have learned from observing the dog groups that I do that letting a dog solve a problem is a good thing, and it was a fun exercise. One of the best parts was when he got his teeth around the handle and tried to lift the whole hamper up. This hamper is taller than he is so it was a real stretch. He managed to move it around the closet a bit that way.

At one point he went behind and I thought for sure he was close to figuring out how to tip it over, and of course that's what he eventually did, after moving it around by the handle a few more times.

Good job, Sunny! You got the prize, and your reward was a dozen more ball tosses before bedtime was enforced.

The other image that I love happens frequently. The dogs and I will be laying on the bed. They have their heads on my shoulder and my stomach, or are sandwiched up against my side. They'll be totally still, but when I say something, one or two tails will go thump, thump, thump. When I stop talking, the thumping stops. I start again - thump, thump, thump. It's so cool. I guess it's fun because I can turn it on and off so easily. But I wonder too what it means. Does the sound of my voice make them happy or excited? I just love it.

And as a final note - I went back last night and re-read a lot of my old posts. I was surprised to see that when I wrote less often, it seemed more inspired. I chose more recently to write weekly, to capture more of our story and to get more practice writing, but I don't feel the result is as good. I miss the old stories that were better stories, in and of themselves.