Scree - April 16, 2011
Jake's Trip to Shelby Farms
Yesterday, Friday, we got up early, finished the Journal entry, posted it to Metro to Mountain, and left for Memphis. We needed to be there by 8.30 for a schools conference Amy was attending. Google Maps said it would take us three hours and twenty minutes to reach our destination and that was exactly how much time we had. Yikes.
Well, Friday in Tennessee (and across the southeast) was a very stormy day. We had to drive right into the storm. We could still see; but we both paid undivided attention to the road ahead.
We made Memphis on schedule; but it was a tiring drive.
Jake, the dog, went with us on the mini-trip. While Amy was in her meetings, Jake and I were going to visit the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy in Memphis.
Now, Jake is a large Golden Retriever but he is not the bravest dog. We believe that Jake likes to think of himself as a "cautious" dog, not a scaredy dog. When it thunders, Jake goes to a safe place. Jim Cantore does not have to warn Jake to find his safe place, our dog is a weather barometer. When he gets nervous, you had better be looking for cover. Here are a few moments from his busy day...
During the car ride, one crack of thunder shook the car. He dug for safety under the car mats.
Once at Shelby Farms, aggressive geese immediately began honking at him. They wanted food, he wanted to run away.
There were bison in a fenced field. I went to the fence for a better look and Jake cautiously shied away from the approaching beasts.
The Sheriff's Pistol Range was adjacent to the Park. With each volley of shots, he looked at me wanting to know if he should be afraid.
The wind was howling and as the trees swayed and creaked, he moved with concern.
Lots of folks had dogs on the trails. Jake always shies away from dogs. He was constantly positioning me between other dogs and himself.
A woman riding a pink bicycle had a small dog in a wicker handlebar basket. The ferocious dog yapped away at us. To Jake this was a double whammy - not only was there a yappy dog, but the yappy dog was on one of those scary bikes! Jake quickly moved as far away as possible.
Finally, on the last walk of the day, we rounded a corner and saw a beach ball looking object rolling across a nearby field. Stopping in his tracks he looked at me and said, can we please go home.
Our cautious dog slept all the way home.