Thursday

 
One of our neighbors hung this flag outside their house for the first time. I think they have good timing: "Imagine all the people, living life in peace." John Lennon, 1971

I did a little weeding this afternoon. Toby supervised. It was 82 degrees. The lawn is a constant battle with weeds, fungus, gypsy moths, etc. Our lawn care guy makes sure that the grass is always on the winning side, but the war is never over. That being said, a lawn is still the easiest ground cover compared to the other options. I think we've had them all: moss, plants, and wildflowers. Even the "natural look" demands more work than a lawn.

Toby gained two pounds in two days: up to 37. He's starting to look more like a dog and less like a puppy. He's also gaining in coordination and ambition. He likes to carry around sticks and sometimes limbs in his mouth on our walks, reminding us of Dexter. He's also discovered the tall "water bowls" in the bathrooms. He must be thinking, "Great! This water bowl is the perfect height." Unfortunately, to save water, we don't always flush the yellow stuff. So now, we have to put the lids down.

When we're in the kitchen cooking or cleaning up, this is where he lies down, as if the corner sink area is not already overcrowded!

I just noticed in this picture that Toby's pink skin matches our counter tops!

Toby got two trips to the causeway this morning. The first trip it was just me and Toby because John had an appointment with a friend. I parked on this side of the drawbridge and got him to walk to the other side and back. He did okay on the way over, but the traffic was heavy and the noise of tires on the steel grate frightened him. I plied him with lots of treats to get him to cross. On the way back, he wanted to jog across. I hope he's not too traumatized. I tried to make it fun and rewarding.

 

The second trip, with the three of us, was also filled with drama, even though we parked on the far side of the bridge. There must have been some kind of fire or emergency because several fire trucks passed and police cars, even a fire and rescue boat passed by in the sound--all on the way to Honeymoon Island. Sirens were blaring. Toby was interested and concerned but didn't freak out. He also didn't start singing, like Dee Dee used to do whenever a siren sounded. 

It was 75 degrees on our second trip to the causeway.

 

 

The wind was blowing about 11-13 mph, so there weren't many kayaks out today. 

We sat on the bench and looked out over the sound. Toby settled down on the concrete. John and I talked about how Dexter and Dee Dee would never settle in this situation.

The view was nice. It was another super low tide.

 

The fishermen had to walk far out, and the "no wake" buoys were lying on their sides in the mud.

We took a bike ride with Toby late this afternoon to the Community Center. We walked around and then took the Pinellas Trail home. Toby was much more relaxed. He climbed in the trailer and didn't struggle to get out while shutting him in. He sat up and looked out while riding and occasionally laid down and looked out. 

We think he might be ready for a longer trip. Tomorrow we plan to ride our bikes out to the causeway with him in tow for our morning walk. It's about three miles to the bike rack near the restrooms, about half way of the causeway. We'll see how it goes. I hope he will prefer riding over the draw bridge as opposed to walking over it.

Miles walked: 5.5
Miles biked: 3.61