Freezing Cold

We have no more snow and ice on the ground, but it is freezing cold outside. Yesterday afternoon, Bow went out and spent some time in the outer pen despite the cold.

He stayed there a good long while and looked very contemplative, before he chose to go back in.

This morning patterns in frost adorned the glass in our front door. 

But the back door that leads to the outer pen was clear and transparent. Bow asked to go outside. I put on my heavy boots and jacket. When I opened the door to the outer pen, Bow gestured that I should go first. I thought this would be a nice opportunity to film him going out from a different angle. But then he hesitated. "Are you coming out?" I asked him and started to film. Bow shut the glass door in reply!

Needless to say, we went right back inside.

Braving the Snow

Bow has wanted to go outside right from the start of the snowy weather, but something kept him from asking to go out until yesterday. Yesterday, he almost went out.  First, he told me he wanted to go outside, and then when I took him there and opened the door, he looked out on the snow for a good long moment.

The bench was covered in snow.

But the ledge and a small portion of the concrete right next to it were bare.

Nevertheless, Bow decided not to step out at all.

But that was yesterday. Today, Bow was much braver. He went out on the ledge, looked around, shook himself a couple of times, then opted to go back in.

Maybe tomorrow will be even better!

Bow Goes on Vacation

Lately there has been a lot of local activity to market Theodosia and the Pirates.   I gave a talk at the Texas County Museum of Art and History , and Sword and her friend were able to attend, but Bow had to stay home with Lawrence. Later, I showed Bow a video of my talk, so he did not really miss out on the content of the event, but it's not the same as being there. For one thing, he missed out on the soup social. He would have liked the food there. For another, he missed the company of  other people. But in a way, it's good that Bow could not go, because when I showed him the Q & A session, he started displaying at all those strangers who were talking to me. And yet, Bow seemed to wish he could go.

Yesterday, which was a Wednesday, Lawrence came in later in the day, because he put in a long day on Tuesday on account of my talk. In the morning, before Lawrence came, I had this exchange with Bow:

BOW:  תני לי שבת
          "Give me Saturday." (Sabbath.)
       
AYA: ?שבת
           "Saturday?"

BOW: לא לעבוד
           "Not to work."

AYA: ?איזה מין עבודה אתה עושה
           "What kind of work do you do?" (A little sarcastic.)

At this point in the conversation, Bow lifted a tuft of his shed hair from the floor and gave it to me, as if showing what a big help he is in cleaning up around here.

AYA:  ?אתה נותן לי לכלוך
           "You're giving me some dirt?"

BOW: תני לי חופש
           "Give me a vacation."

AYA: ?איזה מין חופש
           "What kind of vacation?"

BOW: בחוץ
           "Outside."

AYA: ?אתה רוצה לצאת
           "You want to go out?"
     

BOW: תני לי לצאת
           "Let me go out."

I let him go out, but that was yesterday morning, and it was still quite cold, and so he did not stay out long. It wasn't much of a vacation.

 But today, when Bow went out and began to sunbathe, I could see why it might seem a lot like going on vacation after months of being cooped up indoors.

A little sunbathing and a little rest and recreation and it begins to feel like a real vacation!

Choosing to Go Outside

We all have choices. Sometimes we take them for granted, and sometimes we feel unduly fenced in by the choices that we have made in the past, so that we don't think we can just choose anything we want today. No, not everything is available to us, but we can choose from what is.

Bow and I interact all the time, every day. Every interaction is a choice. Even not interacting is a choice. Bow asks for food, for a blanket or a shirt, a toy or just to play together. He can also choose to stay indoors or to go out.

With me, Bow does not tend to ask to go out as often as he does with Lawrence. He is content for hours at a time to play indoors. For a while, it almost seemed that he had forgotten that going outside was a choice with me.

But in the past few months, he's asked to go outside a lot more, and he's okay with my going back in, while he suns himself, listens to the birds chirp, watches the dogs at play and even provokes a little mischief. He is not worried that I will run out on him, as I am usually in the inner pen, working on my computer, proofing books, and he can summon me at a moment's notice. This is a small step toward independence for both of us, but it has been a long time in coming, and it's nice and comfortable now.