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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Dog Watching on a Peaceful Morning

Yesterday evening, I got to see a purple martin colony up close, from the safety and comfort of an enclosed porch of a purple martin landlord. I have never been much of a bird watcher, but I could see the beauty and sense the peace that the martins brought to the landscape as they socialized with each other, flitting about on the outside of their housing. The birds were free to come and go, and we were hemmed in by mesh that kept the insects out of the porch, and yet it felt so peaceful to just be a spectator.



Bird watching is a little like people watching -- or dog watching.  When I went out with Bow to the outer pen this morning, I realized there was a kind of similarity between that experience with the purple martins and Bow's peaceful enjoyment of the antics of the dogs out in the yard.


A window on somebody else's world is often all we need to refresh ourselves. I sometimes do that just watching butterflies flit from one milkweed flower to the next, and there are times where they seem to be congregating.


For Bow, watching the dogs at play serves a similar purpose.


When the weather is nice and all is right with the world, Bow enjoys just surveying the dogs from his perch on the bench, until his eyes grow heavy and he feels a late morning nap coming on.


Bow knows that he can afford to slumber, because if any intruder were suddenly to appear, the dogs would let him know.


So he lets his eyelids droop and his guard down, while the dogs guard the peace.


5 comments:

  1. Hi Aya! Thanks for the link and yes, it is my little piece of heaven and is exactly where I go to relax every evening. Ironically, I never became a birdwatcher either until I became involved with purple martins. I have learned a lot from them - such as learning to slow down and really observe them, and it's amazing how quickly they recover from hawk attacks, disasters, etc.. There is no drama or dwelling on the past, always just forward movement. I love the picture of Bow sleeping. He does look very calm and secure.
    And WOW - you have a lot of Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies hanging out on your purple milkweed! It has such a heady fragrance right now! Great picture!
    Where's Leo? And is that a new dog with Brownie? I LOVE his coat - it's beautiful!

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    1. There is no new dog, Kathy. That's Leo. He's a sheltie-beagle mix. (Brownie is a chocolate lab.)

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  2. I guess I've never seen Leo from this angle. I usually see him from inside the pen when he's jumping up and down with Bow. I didn't realize he's such a big dog!

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  3. I like watching birds, but realize I need to study up on the names of local ones. Some people do not like crows, but I think they are amazing when I see them circling over the local hills, or sitting on telephone wires.

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