Can't Get Much Better

The weather over the last few weeks has been generally fabulous - the kind of climate that we're really, really going to miss in about five months. Days where the sun plays across your face but doesn't try to beat you into submission; and warm clear evenings that envelope you like a soft dark security blanket while providing an incredible display of stars. (I even saw a shooting star last night, the second in less than a week. I love the Perseids!) Perhaps it's due to my much increased walking schedule with Nora, but I've just been in awe of how wonderful a Wisconsin summer can be.

But the days are already noticeably shorter, and it's only going to get worse from here. It's getting harder to fit in the time for 2 or 3 miles before dusk, so for safety reasons I popped into Fleet Farm last night and bought a reflective vest for me and a reflective collar for Nora. I was really hoping for a reflective vest for her, something with a little more area which would show up better when she's facing traffic; but since Fleet Farm failed me, I may have to swing into PetDumb or someplace like that. In the mean time, I hung a thumb-sized mini-flashlight from her collar and carried a mag light in my inside hand, and we both felt very virtuous and safety conscious. (Nora kept sniffing the ground in front of her for the first mile, trying to get a scent on that dot of light by her foot.) I put her gear on again this morning, so she could model her "safety dog" look for the blog.

I remembered all that gear, and my camera, and my phone. What I forgot was training treats, which really would have been handy when we passed the cows again. Nora is still highly suspicious of cows - especially curious ones that walk towards her making unidentifiable noises. The best think I could think of was to put her in a down/stay and make her see that I was in control and nothing was going to happen. Treats would have been better, since I think she doesn't always trust my judgment when a photographic opportunity presents itself. Oh, well.