Almost August

The other morning Gracie and River were doing their regular morning chase around the yard. Gracie was in the lead, zigging and zagging, to stay ahead of River. River was cutting corners to try and catch-up, when Gracie switched directions and almost ran headlong into the black locust. She stopped just in time and managed to scoot around it avoiding being caught by River. It helps that she has no tail. He grabs for her, but there’s nothing to latch onto and she slips his grasp.

“I didn’t do anything!”

But River has multiple ways of catching her. As they raced off in the other direction, Gracie fell head first into a hole River had dug last summer. The grass had grown up and over it, obscuring its existence. You’d almost think River knew what he was doing when he dug that hole.

The kestrels have finally fledged, over a month later than past years. I’m not sure if they lost their first clutch, or if they just got a late start. For the last two days, the babies, now almost full grown, had been coming out on the ledge outside their nesting hole and trying out their wings. I saw them there even this morning. But after lunch, when I went out to hang up laundry, I could hear them calling from the maple tree. I can’t see them, but I’m pretty sure they took their maiden voyage.

I’m sad to have missed it, but on the other hand, I’m glad they made it safely and I didn’t have to watch them. Their first flight always fills me with anxiety. We have, over the years, had to take two fledglings to Cornell when they broke a wing on their first flight. Neither one made it, so my anxiety soars until I know they are soaring on their own.

The dogs are sleeping now, River curled on the couch beside me as I am writing. I moved the laptop to the side, so he could lay his head on my lap. River may have all kinds of bad behaviors – all of them my fault – but there is one thing he has over Ben (who I still miss) and that’s that he lays with his head on my lap. Whenever Ben curled up beside me, he always turned his butt to me. But River likes sleeping with his head on my lap. Asleep River is the best-behaved dog in the world, with the softest head imaginable, perfect for petting and whiling away a summer afternoon.