I blame it on Stieg Larsson.  Howard was lucky if I got dinner on the table while I was reading THAT trilogy.  But now that my guilty summer reading frenzy is over, I’m back on the program.

As for the Dooze?  Well, he’s been spending his time hunting crabs on the beach — and there’s nothing new about that.

He can hear them scurrying under the rocks, you see.  Then one day I made the mistake of showing him how to turn over the rocks to discover what was making all that racket down there.

Which means that now we can’t walk for more than about 2 steps without flipping over a rock to paw, snatch and grab at tiny blue crabs — who were peacefully going about their day in near darkness until we came along.

Needless to say, we’ve done more ambling than actual walking along the shore in the past couple of weeks.  That’s ok, though.  I had Stieg for company.

Basking on the deck amongst my herbs and tomato pots,taking advantage of the sun`s brief appearance over the weekend.

About 10 seconds after Koda scared the *^@% out of a Great Blue Heron who was waiting out low tide on one leg — until our little bugger precious darling snuck up from behind.

Howard, a great lover of birds, simply will not permit this kind of primitive behaviour.

Unfortunately, he can’t run fast enough to prevent it.

We may live on an island, but that doesn’t guarantee sandy beaches.

Not that we’re complaining — he’s content to turn over every rock on every beach in his perpetual hunt for crabs, while I focus my gaze on the rocky path ahead and absorb the silence between the calls of the birds and the waves against the shore.

Walking side by side, each taking our own path.

And somehow, we always end up back at the car at the same time.

Koda (aka Douglas Doozley) had a bit of a fixation with the woodpile in the shed this past winter.  More specifically, his focus was on the nest of mice under that pile.  Now that winter is over and the wood is gone, so are the mice, and so is the Dooze`s fascination with the shed.

Only to be replaced by cargo ship chasing — no more slow ambles along the shore for this family.

Once the ship has been spotted, his our course is set.  The shoreline birds are saved from the chase and the sea life in the tidal pools are safe from dexterous paws and a nosy snout.

Instead, he is intent on the path of a freighter half a mile off shore.  He runs a few paces, then stands, watching, as the ship catches up. His excitement is palpable.  The air is ELECTRIC.

Ok, that’s a bit over the top — but, to be honest, if it weren’t for my red-neck-four-finger whistle, I don’t think we’d be able to stop him.

]]> http://islandvittles.com/2010/06/01/tuesday-dooze-the-lookout/feed/ 0 http://islandvittles.com/2010/05/25/tuesday-dooze-the-nutcracker/ http://islandvittles.com/2010/05/25/tuesday-dooze-the-nutcracker/#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 12:11:53 +0000 Theresa http://islandvittles.com/?p=2390

Now if that doesn’t make you smile, then you really are one tough nut.  

Caught myself a nice piece of tail over the weekend.