July 30 words by francoise

July 30 words

Slime /smile


That dog decidedly does not have a smile on her face.   It's rather warm and, being the canny old lady that she is, surely she has a slight suspicion that a long hot walk precedesbathing in the pond.   If that is what she was thinking, she was correct.  I dragged the dogs to the top of the hill before we came back down to the water and the benches.   Perhaps I used the dogs as an excuse to drag myself to the top of the hill.   After all, the canines, especially the young ones, need their runs and their swims. Old ladies like myself and Lucy?  

One of the casualties of the pandemic, for many of us, was motion.   Even people who deliberately went for walks and did online yoga generally moved around a lot less than in the course of their previous daily lives.   As a simple example, consider the difference between teaching online via zoom while sitting at my desk and teaching in a classroom.   Even though one doesn't think of lecturing as exercise, you do have to go downstairs or to another building, be on your feet talking for an hour, lift and stretch your stretch your arms to write on the board,  run back to your office to find a market that works or a paper you forgot.   All that activity is practically training for the Olympics compared to sitting at your desk on the computer.

You might think the dogs would have kept me moving, and they might have, had L not been home with the god-awful long covid that just wouldn't let go.  He took care of the dogs,  and I deemed it therapeutic for him to have straightforward contributions to the good of the household when he could manage so little.   Even walking the dogs a short way sometimes did him in for days.

The second dose of the vaccine pretty much cured him, in that not understood manner that happens for some people.  At least it cured him in a sort of relative way.  Compared to the previous ten months, he is hale and hearty, but still something of a shadow compared to before.   He takes the dogs on longer outings, to be sure, though that is currently irrelevant since he is visiting his father for six weeks.

So,  I'm letting the dogs propel me into more physical activity.   They take me swimming in the creek.   They take me climbing to the top of the hill and back before a dip in the pond.   I'm sitting on a bench while they splash around.   I wish I could join them,  but they can tolerate the some at the edge of the pond and I can't.   Plus,  I've seen the snappers that live in it.   So I think my water refreshment will be a lovely civilized shower when we get home.
I really like this photo of the flowers so beautifully detailed in this light and the shallow DOF that reveals the dog lurking in the background.

I’m sorry to hear your husband, I assume, had Covid! I’m glad to hear that he’s OK!
August 1st, 2021  
@grammyn no, it was my son. He had it last July. A pretty mild case, just never got better.
August 1st, 2021  
@francoise Oh, Francoise! I’m so sorry that it didn’t get better!
August 2nd, 2021  
Your dog does seem a bit skeptical as it peers at you through the grass. I hope that your son continues to regain his strength and stamina. Long Covid has been tough on people.
August 2nd, 2021  
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