Thursday, September 22, 2011

"I bark at the sea! Bark, bark at the sea!"

The quote in the title of this post is from Roy Blount Jr., whose book of poems, If Only You Knew How Much I Smell You, is about the best collection of dogs' thoughts there is.

Orent's people apologize for the blog silence. Back to school has been a hard transition this year, and keeping up with a 4-month old puppy and increased work demands took up a lot of energy. Keeping up with his adoring fans slid a little bit!

But Orent has, nonetheless, had adventures!

Last Saturday, he went to the sea. Now that Labor Day is past and he doesn't have to content with anyone in white shoes, he can walk on the beaches of New Jersey.

We took him to Margate, near Lucy the Elephant. There, he encountered LOTS of new things:

  • Sand: tickles the paws, makes you jump, and really good for digging.
  • Snails, mussels, and other shells: fun to pick up in your mouth, but not good to eat. And you get told "don't" when you pick them up.
  • The ocean: It's like a pool or a creek but IT COMES AT YOU! That's weird. Interesting, but weird. Sometimes it's deep and sometimes it's shallow, so you never know when your belly will get wet. Also, it's water but it's not good for drinking. It has a sort of sneezy smell and taste.
  • Currents: it's hard to walk straight when all the smells are swirling around your ankles!
  • Horseshoe crabs: they smell like alive things and food, but they're hard. They are confusing and need to be jumped on and barked at. Move, bizarre thing! Prove you're alive!
On the way home, he also encountered barbecued chicken. We stopped at the remarkable Twin Kiss ice-cream stand (which is listed on various websites as a food selling place but, at least in September, is not). Behind Twin Kiss was a guy with lots of opinions and a big smoker selling really tasty BBQ chicken (and 2 sides). Orent practiced "under" and worked valiantly on not being a nudge around extra-yummy food. Kaytee and I celebrated the not-quite-summer-not-quite-fall by sharing a pumpkin ice cream with marshmallow syrup.

Then, the little guy was kind enough to pose for some silly photos in his paratrooper outfit. Thanks buddy!


2 comments:

  1. pumpkin ice cream with marshmallow syrup???? yes please!!

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  2. Something Orent "speaks" to! Did you end up finding things closer to home he would bark at too?

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