top of page

A New World






I told you in an earlier post how my turf grew from a small metal cage to a larger spread of carpeting in the upstairs loft. Well, with Mom by my side every day, the cage and plastic fencing lost their usefulness. From then on I roamed the whole house, shuttling from post to post as I tracked the four-wheeled monsters threatening the homestead. The perils of Old Man Winter made taking long walks difficult, but things changed when Spring—my first—arrived. As the chart at the top shows, that transition dramatically expanded my turf to tens of thousands of square feet!

Danger lurked in our neighborhood, however, and I couldn't roam freely outside. Because of soaring eagles and hawks and roaming coyotes and foxes, Mom and Dad nixed installing an electric fence. During the day when I was outside on the grass, Mom watched over me or left me attached to a long, long leash. But there was a big world beyond our property, too, hardly known to them. The way Dad tells it, when Spring 2012 arrived, it was as though we'd moved to a new house. They knew the departments at Home Depot and Macy's better than the trails in the parks surrounding our house. As soon as the birds returned and the flowers bloomed, they reordered their priorities and, on my daily walks, started exploring the neighborhood.

One of the best things about Dublin, Ohio, is the parks. They're everywhere. Each new development seems to add at least one. Near our house, a trail looped west to a wetlands park supported by Honda. It was a great place to spend time except at dusk, when the bugs came out to play. Head east and miles of trails took you through the woods to acre upon acre of baseball and soccer fields. Sidewalks leading north and south from our house inevitably connected with a park. Mom sometimes took me on two walks before Dad even returned from Honda, and then we'd all go out for another stroll. On the walks with Mom, I'd run and run until I dropped, and Mom would have to carry me back. Her solution, a stroller (more about that wonderful invention in a later post), allowed me to run and rest, and run and rest. Her arms and shoulder got a break too. What a great way to spend the day!


I made my first play friend, a lanky Airedale named Tucker, at nearby Avery Park. He towered over me, but always was playful and gentle. Even though he was recovering from knee surgery, Tucker raced with me around the fenced-in grass outfields. Addy, a Havanese who lived nearby at Dad's boss' kids' house, became another play friend. Whenever I stopped by, we jousted on her lawn, dodging bushes and branches and flowers, having fun together.


Spring seemed to be a reward for surviving Winter. Everything was new and fresh. People gathered outside or piled into cars and took trips. When Summer beckoned, we made a plan to head north, near Cleveland, and meet Grandma. I'll tell you more about that next time.

Thanks for reading my blog,


Tango

Recent Posts

See All

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating

Drop Me a Line, Let Me Know What You Think

Thanks for submitting!

2023 by Tango's Tales. Powered and secured by Wix

bottom of page