Wet weather, first week of work: - Nurhan

Nurhan's take:

Just checked the weather forecast... dry... which is strange as it's raining so heavily that a twenty metre walk outside would have the same effect as standing under a shower.

Now I'm not trying to say that the weather has been bad (or the weather forecast less than accurate... you'd think that self preservation would have a subroutine that updated the current weather to reflect what you see out the window) but have a look at this forest track:

Obviously with the Newfie pup splashing ecstatically through it.

Apparently stumped, as to why I would take the longer route through the woods rather than the direct one through the puddle (didn't think to bring a kayak with me...). As I write this I can see the little chap sitting in the middle of the lawn, alternating between eating a bone and digging deeper holes in the garden... I'm beginning to suspect that he's trying to dig a lake.

Now this weather has a few drawbacks, not least of which are the thoughts of the mid 20ties that we had in April like the distant memories of holidays in warmer lands. But cuddly boy, never actually gets fully dry. Added to that muddy puddles and the mud matting in his coat and him being damp when in the house, makes both keeping him and the house clean, a rearguard action. It would be a distinct advantage now if I could hose the floors downstairs!

As you can see his puppy coat isn't that good just at the moment. This is after a walk at Bråstein.

You can also notice a slight increase in size between this photo taken at two months old and the one above when he's almost six months old. Notice in the above picture he does not even come over the height of the screen!

And looking longitudinally...

Still a bit too small to stop using the ramp/be lifted in/out the car.

Now at my brother's wedding one of the speeches made had the following line in it: "there's nothing quite so funny as watching a best friend falling off a ladder!" {I'm not really certain how my sister in law was supposed to take this comment!}. But there is humour to be had in this...

This picture does not do Atlas (the Leonberger) justice. He's five years old, weighs in at 70 kgs, and from nose to tail is over two metres long. But the angle the picture is taken at and the contrast with Kin's black coat makes it hard to see the large size difference between the two. Now Atlas first met Karma when he was a puppy younger than Kin is now (Kin's also met Atlas a few times before). Atlas's owner and I were talking at Sørmarkka whilst the dogs were running around and Atlas went into a muddy puddle up to his waist, coating the long hairs on the backs of his legs and on his chest in mud. I pointed out how good Kin was at not going in there (which I was somewhat surprised that he hadn't). Every time Kin went near the puddle, Atla's owner was willing him in... it wasn't long before Kin was similarly coated to Atlas. And thus both of us got, "our best friend and ladder experience"!

(Despite the sunny symbols on the weather forecasts it's now raining so heavily that despite the sun going down close to 23:00 hrs, it's gone dark out of the window (time now is 18:00 hrs)).

This is the first full week I have worked since getting Kin and I've been out the house for ten hours each day... but Jan (one of my neighbours, who had a Berner Sener {Tony}, dotted on Karma, and has a similar relationship with Kin) has kindly come everyday to take him out and feed him at lunchtime. Both of them enjoy this arrangement but I can't help to think that Kin and I by far get the better deal! A huge thank you to Jan who has made having Kin (and a job) significantly easier.

Helen at my work, asked me how I managed with a dog and the kind of work that we do... I told her that I didn't know yet, but will make it work. After all what's the alternative? I like dogs, and work to live, I don't live to work... a distinction that many folk would do well to focus on.

The other issue with working is now I get to cycle to work. round trip of 28 km... which doesn't sound much but after taking a plane to work for the last four years means that I have little cycling form... five days cycling to and from work is 140 k (which again doesn't sound like much), but wow, come the weekend do my legs hurt! And now I'm going to have to brave the pain in my legs and the torrential rain to take wet boy out for another trip!

One parting comment:

It's great being out. I'm looking forward to when Kin and I can walk miles together... six more months we will be able to go much further than now. Even on bad weather days I take enjoyment in being out, the freshness of the air after a heavy shower, and just look at the vividness of the greens in the above picture (which doesn't match the vitality of the reality).