What a pleasant surprise to see our shadows during a late afternoon walk with our newest best friend Leica the wonder dog. We wonder if she is a dog! What a piece of work.

After our rather old-fashioned winter and cold, the opportunity to be outside at 6 o’clock and still have sunlight is pretty special. As I age, I am finding the winter 4:30 slipping away of sunlight ever more challenging. So, when Miss Leica and I shoved off for the back fields, I was pleasantly surprised to see the long shadow ahead of us. Leica was actually a little spooked by how our shadows moved as we walked.

It is always an interesting transition for me to feel the changing of the seasons. As much as we growl about winter and its obvious annoyances, it's especially enjoyable to experience, most notably, the increased daylight. Things really start to pop here on the farm: The grasses start to green up, the peepers peep, new birds populate the trees, turkeys resume their strutting and courtships, new deer appear, varmints scurry about. It’s the season of regeneration and new birth. Fun to be a part of it all and nice to feel the transition.

Over the years, we have also enjoyed the friendship of our canine pals. After we lost our last two pups, golden retriever Buddy and Jack Rotten Terrible Roobie, we decided to take a break from doggie world. As many of you know, the passing of these old friends is quite traumatic. I was a mess when we had to put Buddy down. Roobie, bless her heart, decided she did not want to share her departure with us, so one day she wandered off into the woods, never to be seen again. Ugh.

Then, one day in a flash of empty nestedness, I came across an ad for miniature Labradoodle pups and thought maybe it would be nice to return to the land of dog. It also seemed like maybe a good idea to invite a new member of the family that wouldn’t shed everywhere as did our Golden and Jack Russell. Brother, those critters spread their hair relentlessly. Leica, the wonder dog, doesn’t shed as much but certainly isn’t far behind. It seems that part of the combination of Lab and Poodle nullifies the hypoallergenic factor. Oh, we have hair Jerry!

The thing about our dog friends is their exceptional loyalty. Always happy to see us, completely devoted to being who they are. Leica Byka, as our good friend Carol Jordan used to call her, makes friends everywhere, especially if you have a chuck-it ball or a tennis ball close at hand. She is berserk for anything that she can put in her mouth. Even to go out to relieve herself, she must have something in her mouth! I suspect this may be a Labrador trait. The poodle part is an added adventure. We did not realize until quite recently that poodles were originally bred as a sort of retriever and water dog, originating in Germany long ago.

They are very smart, in our personal experience, perhaps a bit too smart. The water part helps us understand why Leica, after a good ball romp, plows head long into the pond for a little dip, which results in massive shaking and spinning and rolling, often inappropriately in-house! 

We love our doggie friends and enjoy late afternoon ball games in the back field where we discover lots of winter lost or neglected objects recovered by the Leica nose!