Today, I talked to two complete strangers. One after another. Both had a beautiful dog on the lead: Archy, 7, and Leila, 5.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning. The soccer fields were not very damp, just right to walk on. I had all of them completely to myself! Quite a few large patches of clover had appeared all over the place and were a lovely sight, since they are in full bloom. However, the grass was pretty dense in some places for no lawn mowing tractor had touched the place for a while.
I managed to cross the fields in full sun and felt quite elated for I had taken my lovely light Jean jacket off, and was wearing only a skimpy top with no bra underneath! It felt so good to let the sun touch much of my skin! I went slowly, for it was not easy to get my rollator to make it through some of the rather high patches of grass. After a while I made it to the bench number two at the footpath. It was still in the shade. I actually set down on that bench rather than on the seat of my rollator. So I took my water bottle out to have a sip. I also thought of putting my nice jacket back on! Through some trees I could see some cars on the carpark where recently a test site had been established. They even had put a huge dome up as protection against wind and weather!
Sitting on that bench was very enjoyable! I contemplated that easily somebody else could be sitting there with me, for there seemed to be ample room for social distancing! For months on end though I had during my morning walks never ever seen anyone sitting on one of the benches!
Usually I put one of my masks on for my morning walks, even though never ever anybody does come at all close to me! But I tell myself, it is good to get used to wearing a mask in case I would go sometime somewhere where mask wearing is required by law. Maybe it is even required in that nearly totally deserted park! I mean, the few people that I do see crossing this park are never ever close to each other except perhaps for some family groups with a few children usually on the way to the playground in the distance. But it is seldom that any children are actually seen on the playground. The people, that walk their dogs, are usually single people that walk very briskly. Some people let their dogs run freely across the grass fields, but only for a little while, and then they are gone again.
So after I had relaxed on that park bench for some time, a mature, not exactly skinny man passed. He had a very skinny looking black poodle dog. on the lead. Some polite greetings were exchanged, but the man didn’t actually stop. Still I had the presence of mind to make him stop for a bit by asking some questions about the name and age of his dog. So, this poodle was 7 year old Archie.
Soon after the man had disappeared with Archie, another much younger and rather skinny man appeared with a female dog of good proportions. He was the owner of beautiful looking Leila. He said that Leila was getting old. I protested, saying that 5 years was not very old for a dog. I was allowed some patting of Leila! Then the man wished me a good day, and I wished him a good day too. I think Leila was black too but not quite as black as Archie.
I went back home all the way on that bumpy footpath, thinking that asking these questions about the two dogs, had made my day! 🙂
AuntyUta 