Down By The Riverside...August 6, 1999

Down By The Riverside...August 6, 1999

The highlight of my day came this evening in a wonderfully stressfree, relaxing outing by the river. It was a beautiful summer's eve, cool, a light breeze, multi-coloured sunset with looming dark clouds on the horizon signaling perhaps a late evening shower. I love sunsets like this, where the varying shades of red, yellow, pink, and purple interveave with the grey and black forboding rain clouds. It leaves one wondering just what Mother Nature has planned on the horizon.

Accentuating this respite was the company of Reekie, Moo, Meris, Pookie, Ms. Thang, Lowlandz, Rhiannon, their two girls and pup Skye. Lowlandz and I make an honest attempt to take the dogs swimming on a semi-regular basis, as much for us as for them. We have such little time to spend together it seemsm and I have even less time to spend with his family and mine. It was a picture perfect evening.

Although the river is not that appealing for human endeavours, the dogs simply love it. Reekie has always had a fetish for water (that is not of the bath variety, that is), and Skye found her instinct for swimming later last summer after a few outings such outings. Baby Moo, at four months, is having a similar reaction to the water that Skye did. She will pad around in it, but not go out much further than half-way up her legs. Oh, but I could see the desire to chase after bobbing Reekie in her eyes, the instinct to jump in through her anxious behaviour and whines, but for this evening, caution won out. She was much more content to rob Reekie and Skye of the sticks they so proudly fetched, just as soon as they got within what Moo felt was a safe distance to traverse. It is quite comedic. It is also great exercise. Never is Reekie so contentedly and peacefully full of slumber than after a good swim. Moo is turning out to be the same.

The kids love going as well. This was the forst time I had all three. Pookie wanted oh so desperately to take his shoes and socks off to wade, but I would not let him. He would end up losing something for sure. The girls, weraing only sandals, did wade, and Pookie was feeling a bit put out. After we were there a few minutes, Meris asked to go to the old concrete wharf that used to be in service in ferry days. She and Lowlandz' daughter went for a stroll. It was not too long that I discovered just why Meris had her pee so hot to get over there.....

.....there were pre-adolescent boys fishing on the wharf. Meris was in reconnaissance. Low's daughter, apparently not boy crazy yet (thankfully), came back. Meris had to be called, of course.

Ms. Thang had a bit of a crisis in having to pee. Well, there was no modern facility around, so I told her to go into the bushes. Being a guy, I guess I take some things for granted, for Ms. Thang made a bit of a fuss. She went, eventually, and once back, I just had to ask her if she took her dress off and pulled her bathing suit down before peeing (oh, the benefits of being able to whip it out on a moments notice). Given the fact that she gave no coherent answer, I figured she made standing up, with no endeavour to pull her clothing down at all. Ironically, she had gotten her dress wet when she slipped on a rock, so I could not tell if if she peed on herself or not. Just to be on the safe side, she sat on a towel on the way home....

....which was accentuated with a stop at the ice cream parlour. The kids each got cones, and of course Meris wanted another. She is a hednist at heart I swear. I really love this particular ice cream stand. My parents used to take Quincy and I there when we were very little, and I have fond memories of a small cone seeming like a mountain of ice cream that I would never get through. Those were the days when there was not a convenience store selling over priced ice cream on every corner; they were the days when going for ice cream meant a family outing.

I am glad I could share a piece of that with my neices and nephews today, and even more so with my best friends.

....Blessed Be