More on Amos

Say that three times fast.

Amos has reached 30 pounds. Our growth chart suggests he's headed for an adult weight of around 50 pounds. He's a little over 5 months now, and his brain still hasn't developed.

Today, on this cool Thanksgiving Day we went for a walk in the park. For once, it was all of us together; the whole of scaq and Amos, too. We had the park pretty much to ourselves. A little rain was falling, and the temperature was around 40 F. It was very pleasant.

I'd like to let the oak leaves in our yard lie where they fall. In a few years our yard would look like this park. Much better it would be than the green monoculture so valued and required by our society.





Amos had had a bath yesterday, so shortly after we started down the path he found some poop to roll in. I'm not sure what sort of poop it was. It was kind of gray in color, with a shiny surface. I know it wasn't goose poop because Amos didn't eat it.

Legg Park is long and thin, comprising the natural levee and bottom lands between the Red Cedar River and the railroad track. In some places small trails head off and cross the tracks. We were hoping a train would come by, but maybe they don't run on Thanksgiving.



There were muddy spots on the trail, but Amos was not worried about getting his paws muddy. He did, however, generally avoid stepping in water, choosing instead to try to walk on the logs or boards to get across small rivulets.

I think it would be fun if Amos would learn to play in water, so I had the bright idea to position myself on the opposite side of a stream from him to see if he'd cross when I called him. It sort of worked. I called, and he really, really wanted to come across. He bounded back and forth along the water's edge, but he did not cross. I moved to a wide spot along the creek where the water was shallow so he could cross easily, but Amos had a different idea. He ran to a narrow point where the water was deep and flowing and attempted to leap across. He landed in deep water in the middle, up to his belly, and didn't know what to do. What he did was the last thing I ever expected. He did nothing. He just stood there. We didn't know what to do. We tried to call him, but he wouldn't move. A minute passed, perhaps two, and he still wouldn't move. He began to shiver, so I stepped into the water, well over the tops of my boots, and pulled him out. We were near the car and done with our walk, so we dried him, and took him home for another bath.