Chasing Leaves

The sun decided to peek out for a bit today so I seized the moment to go for a walk with the dogs. Much like the wind that was blowing all the beautiful fall leaves off the trees, Baxter and Kirby were a swirl of wild activity. Despite the use of the "Gentle Leader" on Bax and the "No Pull Harness" on Kirby, I found myself being pulled down the street by two completely gonzo dogs that would appear not to have any training whatsoever. "Whoa!" "Easy!" "Heel!" "Just a dang minute here!"

Nothing seemed to have any effect. Baxter had his nose in the wind and Kirby was bouncing and pouncing and chasing every leaf that whipped by on the wind. While my common sense (and my shoulder) were suggesting that I might want to get better control over the situation, my spirit understood. After a couple of days spent mostly inside due to rainy weather, a bit of sunshine and the swirl of fall leaves on the wind was almost whipping me into a frenzy.

Of course, I was missing most of the interesting smells that Baxter was eagerly tracking on the wind (I'm sure a couple of them would have led us directly to the doorsteps of neighborhood cats). But I sort of understood Kirby's fascination with the leaves. I've always loved autumn leaves. As a child I collected them and pressed them between the pages of our old dictionary, trying to save a bit of that glorious color to discover during the gray winter months. My friends and I would rake leaves into big piles and jump into them, scattering them all over the yard to be raked up again.

For Kirby, leaves on the wind are perfect for terrier pouncing practice, and one could only describe the gusto with which he jumped and scurried and pounced as pure glee.

So I let the boys pull me a bit today. Sometimes you just can't hold back your enthusiasm, and I have to admit I was pretty excited to feel that sunshine on face and watch the swirling orange, red and gold.