Yet another drive to the Nature Reserve and a morning walk there today. Only that this time round, I did bring the camera.
Aramis did some play-bowing:
Some running:
And (eventually) some jumping:
A little later I went into town on my hunt for a particular book that I needed for work and that poaching pan. The pan was easier to find than I had expected (did you know that there are at least four different methods of poaching an egg?), but I was a bit unlucky with the book at first. Fortunately, a great many other tomes which I happened to chance upon during my search needed a new home too and began to pile up in my bag until the desired volume could eventually be found.
I cycled back on it and decided to give both Aramis and it an opportunity to stretch their respective legs and wheels on Walmgate Stray, a large marshy field dividing the university from the area where my friends live. So I went for what I would like to call a bike walk.
Idyllic and deserted as the Stray may look on the pictures, our bike walk did not begin as peacefully as I could have wished.
The scene: a narrow entrance to Walmgate Stray.
Me, approaching with Aramis on the short lead: ‘Excuse me, would you mind waiting for a second until we’ve passed before unleashing your yappy little terrier whose bones will snap faster than a chicken’s if my dog takes a wrong step pooch?’
Her: ‘Haha!’ Unclips the lead, dog runs off.
Me: ‘Well, I was just trying to protect your dog from potential harm. My dog is on a lead for a reason. He is not always friendly with other dogs.’
After taking quite some time to reassess all eventualities of an encounter, she too reaches the conclusion that her dog might not stand a chance against mine. Even if Aramis was only half as bad-tempered as his owner.
She makes a very halfhearted attempt at calling her dog, but doesn’t quite seem to remember as to how this is done. I resist my urge to congratulate her on her training skills when her dog does not so much as bend an ear to acknowledge her efforts.
Aramis and I move on and decide that the joke is on her, not us. The rest of our evening walk is placid and relaxing.
I’ll see the day off at the pub nearby, in the company of some friends. Cheers!
The Adventures of Aramis 