When we first moved into the area to the north of our house was desert. In the past year this wasteland was plowed up and a development was erected. The newly built houses are mammoth, bulbous beige monstrosities of a uniform ugliness although no two are alike. The only positive is there are more streets and trails for Harper to explore on our dog walks.
Our peripatetic strolls are never predetermined. It is good to vary the direction. I do this hoping Harper will get the ‘gist’ of the layout so if she gets lost she can find her way home. The new development to the north needs exploration to sink it into our memories. When everything looks alike it is easy to get lost.
Harper seems to have a favorite route. We turn right when we get to the end of the driveway and then we go left crossing the street and go towards the schoolyard and the adjacent park. Despite its familiarity, she always seems to in a great rush to get there.
The park has the most interesting bushes and pillars for sniffing. If stretched out the olfactory receptors of a human would be the area of a postage stamp; a dog’s would cover an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. So why is it if a dog’s sense of smell is so superior she has to stick her nose directly into things in order to get a whiff? It’s a mystery, as is why we have to rush around as if we are about to miss the bus?
In the morning after my shower when I go into the walk-in closest to dress Harper now follows me in hopes of a sign for a dog-walk. On her face is a tense excitement looking at me like ‘Yes? Yes? Do I dare hope?”
If I say the magic word ‘walk’ and nod my head she explodes like a piece of machinery that was given one ounce of pressure too much and she goes into a euphoric agitation. I can not dress fast enough in her eyes.
Alas, sometimes I shake my head ‘no’ and she puts on a face the sort seen in ASPCA commercials used to guilt-trip you into giving them money. Then she goes away to brood like Ariadne auf Naxos.
Happily she seems quite satisfied with any length of walk whether it is ten or thirty minutes. A mere quick spin around the block makes her happy. Dogs are easily satisfied; they express such gratitude. No wonder dogs are man’s best friend.
Spo-Reflections 
13 comments
April 15, 2016 at 12:41 AM
Old Lurker
I imagine Harper gets close to her smells for the same humans bury their faces in their screens and books.
As for suburban sprawl: once your neighbours to the south probably saw your housing development in the same way.
April 15, 2016 at 7:06 AM
Urspo
Indeed.
April 15, 2016 at 4:25 AM
wfregosi
Speaking of grammar, as we have done recently, a missing comma in this excerpt from from the above: “when I go into the walk-in closest to dress Harper . . .” immediately wonder what kind of outdoor sportswear you had purchased for her.
April 15, 2016 at 7:05 AM
Urspo
Yes there should be a comma there.
April 15, 2016 at 4:26 AM
wfregosi
should be: immediately had me wonder
April 15, 2016 at 4:51 AM
Steven
Harper goes right to the schoolyard with the hopes of finding those brats that kept her awake during her lunchtime siesta!! 🙂
April 15, 2016 at 7:05 AM
Urspo
She is fearful of children; she tends to shun them.
April 15, 2016 at 8:14 AM
anne marie in philly
WOOF! I like the smell of fresh-cut wood (heh heh heh, I said “wood”), homemade bread, hot towels outta the dryer, and peeled oranges.
April 15, 2016 at 6:36 PM
larrymuffin
I read an article recently about dogs sense of smell and how developed it is, apparently according to research the whole smell things allows dogs to process tons of information. Who peed here and what was the health, mood, type of dog who came by. Was this dog happy or anxious or fearful. This would explain why Nicky per example gets all kinds of reactions depending on the tree or bush he sniffs. It is apparently a complex process which then allows the dog to know who has been in his or her territory. They catalogue all this in their memory. Memory = inventory of smells for dogs. Nora who is a hunting tracking dog prefers to vacuum the ground for all smells as she tracks what is happening on her route. Two dogs, two techniques.
April 16, 2016 at 4:52 AM
David
Finding happiness in simple and routine things, a lesson in happiness from dogs.
April 16, 2016 at 5:29 AM
Kato
What a beautiful but melancholic post. Hope you are okay.
April 16, 2016 at 5:46 AM
Mitchell is Moving
I can’t believe you can every actually stick to your “no.” I’m a sucker for brooding puppy dog eyes.
April 16, 2016 at 8:30 AM
Raybeard
Whenever I see you use the expression employed for the title of this post (and I believe you’ve used it before, maybe more than once) I get an earworm of the same-titled Gershwin miniature piece. Maybe that’s in your mind too. Perhaps you even listen to it on a portable stereo as you amble along, Harper in tow (or is it the other way around?)