Tuesday
Cooler today. The expected high is only eighty-two degrees. The morning walk was beautiful. Those we met on the way seemed giddy at the thought of the "cool down."
Toward noon my neighbor's daughter brought her two labs to play in the lake. She throws tennis balls or hits them with a tennis racket. The dogs dive in after them. They do this for hours.
Duke was trained not to go out in the lake. Sounds mean, I know, but there are good reasons. He fell through the ice his first winter and nearly drowned. Most boxers are poor swimmers. Because of their muscle mass they are not very buoyant.
Other reasons: A dog will expand his territory so long as he is able. Duke is trained to stay in the yard so he will not wander freely. I don't want him in the street or in another's yard except with me. Once he visits a place on his own that place "belongs" to him. He will return.
Duke is friendly but large. He would frighten many children and some adults. Even though he could easily walk around the end of the fence or jump in the water and bypass it altogether he has been trained not to do so.
My neighbor is a wonderful person in many ways. Very kind. I could hardly ask for a nicer neighbor. Neither she or her daughter understand why Duke can't visit. They think I am hard on him.
Duke was outside. I was reading. After some time I went to check on him. He was in the water with the girl and her dogs, chasing a ball. I was upset. I went out to scold him and was told, "Its alright, we asked him to play."
It was not alright, but I couldn't scold Duke. He wouldn't understand. Past experience informed me that it would do no good to speak with them. I was angry but defeated. I let Duke play because I would have felt badly to spoil his fun. It was a mistake. Later I found out that he nearly drowned and was rescued by a passing jet-skier. After the girl and her dogs had gone, he jumped in the water again. I did scold him and brought him inside.
To deaden my anger I read from a beautiful book: Haiku: Japanese Art and Poetry. The images are from the Art Gallery or Greater Victoria, Canada and are lovely. Many of the poems are of Basho, Issa and Buson and I am familiar with them. There some by others I enjoyed too. The book is a collaborative effort by three authors: Judith Pratt, a professor of Asian history; Michiko Warkentyne, a Japanese linguist; and Barry Till curator of Asian art at the museum.
The reading helped, but I returned to James for a scolding:
"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." James 1: 19-20 (NKJV)
Calming, soothing
a whisper in passing--
Summer book pages.
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