h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The sun is shining again. The dogs anxiously await their walk. I have birdseed again, and the feeder is full.

please do tell me what kind of dogs you have my dear alicat...they are quite lovely
AA

Thank you AA. The big grey dog is Angus. He's a five year old weimaraner. That's a German hunting dog, that only comes in grey. He has light blue eyes. The smaller yellow dog is Rosee. She's a one year old yellow lab. She's pure love. They both love exploring and long walks. Rosee loves to swim, even in cold weather.

They obviously like cats too, or do they just like you?

LOL. I have two cats that they genarally leave alone, but sometimes it's chaos.

~Greebo arrives~... Me has a dog chum too... she's a Norfolk Terrier... and her name is Kiyah....

She's lovely, Greebs. Angus seems particularly taken with her. His girlfriend, Midnight, got cancer a year ago, and was layed to sleep. He hasn't looked at another girl since. Until now, that is. If no one minds, we can start our walk here, in Ontario, Canada. The little village of Dain City is a triagle shaped piece of land formed by the intersection of the old and new Welland Canals. The canals were created to allow ships to by-pass the Niagara Falls. The original canal was dug by men with shovels and horses to remove the dirt. The new canal was built using all the available machinery of the early 70's. It is straighter than the old canal and the roads travel underneath in tunnels. Before traffic was always backed up at bridges. Our walk starts along the new canal. There are ducks, geese, herons, and songbirds, as well as hawks, ospreys and turkey vultures. It is fairly easy to see nests of all shapes and sizes. The woods are also home to deer, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, rabbits and squirrels. The dogs happily chase, but never catch, wildlife. Hills were created by the earth removed from the canal. A trail slowly climbs the hill, and the land is covered in wildflowers in every colous. There are a number of trails which meander through the acres of woods on the other side of the hill. Our favourite enters the woods and is beside a clear, babbling brook. Ducks fly up when we enter the woods, and the dogs bark happily. The woods are made up mostly with oak, maple, elm, and ash trees. There is very little underbrush.

*listens and nods*

I've never seen countryside like that. I'd love to. Show us more.

Thank you, Wowbagger. There are wild strawberries, in flower, covering the hills. In a couple of weeks there will be small berries. You have to watch where you step because there are snails on the path. whenever I accidentally step on one, and hear the crunch, I think what a terrible, slow death it must be. Mockingbirds and goldfinches chatter to each other, and warn other birds of our approach. The dogs playfully chase them, with no hope of ever catching them. At one place along the trail there are clumps of CHIVES! The aroma is overpowering. You wonder if they were planted there, or are they nature's gift? The pathway leads deep into the woods, but there is no sense of foreboding, only wonder. Wildlife, safe in their cover, watch our progress with no worries. Deer tracks are present in the soft earth. Maybe they have young already. When we emerge from the woods, wildflowers capture our eyes. The dogs search the longer grasses for mice. We wind our way back to the canal, so the dogs can have a drink and a swim. A female mallard, surprised by the intrusion, flies off and lands in the canal a short distance away. She is nesting upon the rocks and her nest is barely visible. There are seven eggs. We hurriedly call the dogs away, so she can return to her clutch. We wonder if the male is away getting food. The sun is shining brightly and glistens on the water. A ship is travelling down the canal, on its way to Lake Ontario. We wave to everyone on the deck, and they happily wave back.

BTW, Wowbagger, I wanted to tell you how much I love your artwork. You are very talented.

strolling along slowly looking all about in complete wonder at all that is before him...this is such a lovely part of the world Ali...it almost feels like being in a fairy story....what are those lovely flowers over there that are covering the open space like a carpet i wonder.....my dogs certainly like this place but i am afraid that some of the wildlife must catch a wake up because they are pretty sharp when it comes to catching things...they have never all been out together like this before so they are a bit excited at the moment.

LOL. I know what you mean. Both of my dogs are hunting dogs, and they spend a lot of their time with their noses in the air, catching scents. They all get along well together. I have a field guide to look up those flowers. there is so much I don't know. I can identify all the birds though. I think of this place as Eden. All before us is to enjoy. We just have to leave it the way I found it.

*smiles that sort of smile that if you try to stop smiling the muscles in your face hurt and you get this silly sort of look so you might as well just smile and be done with it*

That is the most satisfying smile there is.

Though a good grin comes close me thinks... ~grin~

Yes. Especially when it's your grin, Greebs.

A coelacanth smile does tend to put people off a bit tho. Must be all the teeth, as well as the blue face.

<----- HUGE cheshire cat grin......unstoppable!!!

~Greebo gets quite excited at the grin~

This is absolutely amazing! I was by the Welland Canal in the '60's, and haven't been back since. Back then I didn't have time to stop and see all this beauty. The dogs are sure having a great time. Wish my old Springer was still alive - she would have loved this.