On Tuesday I drove to Kansas and sat on a log bench and waited. How long would it take for a dog to show up?
Just two sips of coffee.
Because here comes Aussie!
But wait...
Anyone else?
And here comes...
Elvis!
Elvis never says no to a head scratch...or a belly rub...or just a reach down touch to see if he's still there. Once Elvis got his chin scratched enough, he rolled onto his back...
closed his eyes...
opened them just a little...
put the ears down...
...and then he was out.
A couple weeks ago I found a patch of bamboo and decided that I need to start clearing out some weeds. That bamboo (Pleioblastus pygmaeus) was the only growing plant I recognized (other than the daylilies) in one of the garden beds. A twenty year old patch of bamboo that covered just a couple square feet of earth? That does not bode well for future gardening in this area. That bamboo should have covered Kansas by now.
It's very boring stuff, clearing weeds...
...and my two helpers soon got too bored to help.
Bella eventually showed up but I don't think she ever made it out of the weedpatch so I'm not going to consider her as a third helper. Besides, she's...you know, Bella.
While I kept pulling up trumpet creeper and who knows what else, Aussie and Elvis moved up the hill with me and supervised from the daylily patch.
Which was too much work for them again. Those two certainly remind me of two "gardening" turtles I live with....if there's a nice cushiony plant out there, plop yourself on it and get comfortable.
It's taken many months and I'm still surprised at the change, but Elvis and I are now friends. For a better part of a year, whenever he saw me, he would run over and bark and growl. I felt the same about him. We did not like each other.
But slowly we got used to each other and learned to trust each other. I was out there one day with just Bella and Elvis and while I was sitting on a rock in the creek reading a book, I put an arm out and Bella slid in under it but unexpectedly, Elvis got in there too. So there we sat, me with my book, one arm wrapped around two dogs, and a big smile on my face. That was a very big day for Elvis and me. 
We are now very good friends, that cross-eyed country dog and I. Sometimes he'll even escort me part of the way in the direction leading to home.
11 comments:
That must be cheering to know Elvis finally trusts you and is fine with keeping you company. Even though they're not much help when it comes to yard work, it looks like your Kansas dogs are great companions.
You'll have to add Elvis and Bella to your "friends in Kansas" sidebar.
Leenie-!t was cheering! That dog had been sending me mean looks for such a long time and I just sent them right back to him. And then that one day, he decided it was okay to hang out with me. I thought he was an aggressive dog but after spending time with various members of the pack, I found out that Elvis is actually at the bottom. I used to have to throw his fair share of biscuits toward him because he would almost take off my hand trying to get them from me as fast as he could. Have to admit, he was a very good biscuit catcher. I could throw one about 8 feet away and he would catch it in the air. But these days? That dog has a very gentle mouth. Actually, that would probably be the best word to describe him these days. Go figure.
And as for the sidebar photos, do you know how hard it is to get a tiny photo of a black dog to read as a black dog? I've been trying. I'll make it tonight's project. :-)
the shot of the two of them sitting together looking at you is really charming.
Beautiful post, my friend. The image of you sitting and reading a book with the dog under your arm was just priceless.
Maureen-I know. When I saw those two together like that, I told them to stay put so I could get a picture. They usually don't oblige. Immediate things to do, you know? :-)
Kate-Not one dog, two dogs. !t's a very sweet image for me to recall. It was just so unexpected to have Elvis sneak in there like that. :-)
What a great guy Elvis is! This is a really nice tribute to a new friendship.
Love those dogs...do you know their humans? Love these adventures!
Leenie-I'm having some problems getting some photos up of Bella and Sassy because um, a nice way to describe them would be "not very photogenic." Hahaha. Those two girls are just not attractive! And since they are always moving,it's impossible to take a picture which is not a big black blur but I"m working on it!
Sandra-What a nice comment. Thanks. :-)
Mental-I met Aussie's owner once and he filled me in on all the names of the dogs, not that any of them EVER respond to me when I say any of their names, even Aussie! The rest of the dogs belong to Aussie's owner's father who adopts any dog that wants to stay. I thought that was sweet when I first heard that but good grief, that man has a lot of dogs. A LOT.
Awww Maria, they are sweet :) Nice to see them. I am thinking the same as Leenie that adding them to your "friends in Kansas" sidebar would be fun! I have a new perspective on "that land in Kansas" now :) Elvis-that face, that nose, reminds me of someone. Hmmm, I will figure it out. Well, after two days in Kansas City we were back on the road three hours south of home to see CH's nephew, wife, and their new baby. They came in unexpectedly from Wisconsin. Got in late last night. We are pooped.
Awwww!!! I love Elvis!! What a great picture of them both! I'm so glad it all worked out in the end...you obviously need all the help you can get with the weeding!!! hahahaha!!
Pix-I got a "good" picture of Sassy yesterday so now she's in the Friends in Kansas label....but I don't really consider her a friend. More like...Sassy "Pain-in-the-Assy." I'm still trying to get a picture of Bella but she's clueless about cameras...as well as everything. That photo might take some time. :-)
Eve-I really like that Elvis too. I'm hoping there will be a big transition like that when it comes to Sassy...but I have big doubts.
I have some pictures of "weeding" that I have to post soon. When you have a lot of dogs helping you, the landscape can really change in an afternoon...NOT that anything gets pulled out of the ground...more like flattened. A lot of napping is involved with work like that too.
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