Days 91 and 92: The Weekend

Safely at the concert, Gracie says, "So that is a cat!"



Gracie was a party animal this weekend.  Saturday, we went to Jeff's 40th birthday party.  It was supposed to be a surprise.  We got lost on our way there, though, and were the ones surprised to find Jeff already in the kitchen!  Oh, well.  Gracie had an exciting time keeping track of the resident cat who, though wearing a bell, felt it necessary to flaunt her freedom.  Gracie was in her vest and attached to me with her leash: in other words, she was working.  At one point, the two of them stood literally nose to nose.  I'm sure the condo would have been in a shambles in no time had I let Gracie go.  All in all, Bette was pretty nice to the canine intruder on her turf--thankfully.

Our next stop was the third annual Blood on the Tracks concert and fundraiser for a group that gives guitars and guitar lessons to veterans.  Fittingly, the concert was in Veterans Memorial Amphitheater in Wolff Park in St. Louis Park.  Gracie was not the only dog at the concert, but I think she was the only hearing dog.  I didn't see a single cat, though, at least not of the four legged variety.  Gracie and I slipped out a bit early, but we spent three hours there...a long time for both of us.

Today, we mowed the lawn and then made killer bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches with beautiful beef steak tomatoes from the vegetable garden that Gracie patiently watched me water all summer.  Afterward, we took a walk to the park where we discovered owl decoys attached to a neighbors fence.  We have noticed before that these people have three chickens: a red one, a white one, and a black one. We suspect they are left over from Easter baskets given to their three little girls.  The owl scared Gracie who jumped when she noticed it and then tried to give it a wide berth.  We turned and crossed the baseball diamond to escape the owl's ominous glare--undoubted there to scare hawks and maybe even a bald eagle as both had been sighted in and about our neighborhood park and swamp and either would undoubtedly love a nice chicken dinner (or maybe one or the other has already had a chicken dinner already and the decoys are there to save the others!)  In the park, a grasshopper jumped right in Gracie's face...and soon wished it hadn't as Gracie snapped it boldly up.  Scared of the plastic owl but fearless when faced--literally--with bugs. This is not the first insect that I've seen her catch and eat, really a fine choice as a dietary supplement for any species requiring protein.  Some red leaves have appeared in the woods and though I wish now that it's not 100+ degrees and humid anymore that summer would last forever, it doesn't.  School starts tomorrow.