Do not talk about those leaves.”

“You mentioned them not me Lucy.”

“Looks like a good day to lay out. Come on down.”

“I’m coming. Don’t see a lot of sun though.”

“Yeah, you are right. There’s no umbrella shadow.”

“But look at the roses, Little One.”

“I’m wondering why there’s no shadow.”

“For one thing the umbrella’s not up. For another, there’s no sun.”

“How can there be no sun?”

“It’s cloudy today. The sun is behind the clouds. Do you see the roses?”

“Yes, I see the roses. They are beautiful. When’s the sun coming back?”

“Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny.”

“Tomorrow. Tomorrow. That’s a whole day away.”

“Been into the Boss’s show tunes again I see.”

“If there is no sun then I can chase after those pesky puma’s and not take on water like the Titanic.”

“Well, that is one way to look at the lack of sun. You go girl.”

“It looks like the noise monster has taken the leaves.”

“You have to believe the boss took care of them, Little One.”

“I kinda miss them. I liked the smell.”

“I don’t like walking on them. Those oak leaves stick to my paws.”

“You coming out to the patio?”

“I think I might take a sunbath here on the turf.”

“It gets mighty hot out there.”

“Yeah, but on these old bones, it sure feels good.”

“I think I’ll just enjoy the shade.”

“That is a good thing too.”

“You have to wonder what the stray dogs are doing now?”

“What brought that up?”

“Oh, I don’t know. We have such a nice life. I just don’t want to take it for granted.”

“You are sounding pretty philosophical today, Little One.”

“I suppose I am. Not to change the subject, but did you hear that?”

“Says the old philosopher with the attention span of a gnat.”

“What? I didn’t hear you.”

“I said I didn’t hear that.”

“Yeah, it was nothing.”

“Figures.”

 

 

 

“What the heck, Little One. It looks like someone shot a tree.”

“Big winds last night. Ixnay on the eveslay.”

“Huh. What do you mean?”

“Dad’s on the other side of the yard. So don’t talk about the leaves.”

“Why not?”

“It will cause him to get that noise monster out to pick them up.”

“I don’t think talking about them will have any effect. He knows they are here.”

“You don’t need to yell that all over the place.”

“He’s gone inside, so he can’t hear me. What are you doing?”

“I’m having a staring contest. I’ll bet I can make you look away.”

“Yeah, okay, you made me look away. You win.

“You didn’t even try. I’ll race you to the patio.”

“Okay, you win that too. Next time give me a heads up when it’s time to run.”

“I really don’t think it will make any difference. It reminds me of the tortoise and the hare.”

“You know how that turned out, don’t you? My, these impatiens are beautiful.”

“No, I never finished reading the story. So how does it turn out?”

The hare was so confident that he took a nap, and the tortoise passed him up and won the race.”

“Aw, that would never happen. The hare was so fast and the tortoise so slow.”

“Well, the tortoise just kept at it, and the hare slacked off. It’s a good lesson.

“To keep doing your best?”

“That’s it, Little one.”

“How’s your treat begging skill?”

 

“Where you going, little one?”

“I’m not sure. I’m a bit lost today.”

“What did Twiggy say?”

“It’s okay, Boss. We’ve got it handled.”

“Man, they have the ears of an elephant.”

“Yeah, so what were you saying about being lost?”

“Well, It’s just like we are in between things.”

“What do you mean ‘between things?’

“Well, take the garden, for example. All the flowers aren’t here yet.”

“Well, that’s because the weather isn’t stable.”

“Exactly. We are between warm and cold and sometimes in each.”

Yeah, but you can still soak up the sunshine. Look at how bright it is.”

“I see that, but the air is a little chilly.”

“I’ll give that to you. You have to make the best of it, though.”

“Okay. I’ll give the layout a chance. The sun does feel good.”

“You know, Little one. Sometimes life is about making accommodations.”

“If I were making the accommodations, there would be a pool here for sure.”

“By accommodations, I mean being flexible. Rolling with the punches.”

“Okay, I see what you mean. Call that cabana boy, and let’s get some kibble out here.”

“I guess that’s one kind of rolling.”

What’s all this stuff, Lucy?”

“These are spring plants, Little One.”

“This one has no scent. So how are we supposed to know what it is?”

“You have to study them. That is an impatiens.”

“Funny name. It doesn’t seem in a hurry.”

“Now these I will remember. They have a smell.”

“Yes. Those are herbs, and they have a nice scent.”

Where do these things come from?”

“When it is spring, Mom goes to the plant market and buys them.”

“How come we don’t have these in the winter?”

“These plants only like warm weather. Let’s go to the patio and see if there are more.”

“Look at these. hibiscus topiary plants.”

“Coming. There is something here.”

“Your something is a weed.”

“Yeah, I remember those. This dirt smells nice.”

“You are supposed to enjoy the plant, not the dirt.”

“To each his own. Anymore around here?”

“No, I think that’s it for now. There will be more. Let’s go play.”

“What are you doing?”

“I thought you said this was spring. These leaves are like it’s fall.”

“Yes, those are live oak leaves. They come down in the spring since the tree stays green all winter.

“So we should call this spring-fall?”

“You can. You’ll be alone, though.”

“Not unusual.”

“Well, Little One. It is a gorgeous day. What do you want to do?”

“It is beautiful for sure. I’m thinking sunbath.”

“Sounds good for a while. Any interest in chasing that bird?”

“Eh. I know him. He is way too fast. Bit of a tease too.”

“I get that. Anything we need to track?”

“Let me try a sniff or two here.”

No luck back there. What about the patio?”

“I’m getting a whiff of something but hard to put my nose on it.”

“What do you mean ‘hard to get your nose on it?’ Your nose never lets you down.”

“That’s why it’s so confusing. I would know Puma in an instant.”

“Where you going?”

“I think it has run along the fence. So I’m going to track it down.”

“Well, that was a big zero.”

“I know, right? Unfortunately, the trail stopped right here.”

“So you going for that sunbath now?”

“Yeah, feel how warm the sun is. This is great.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Where you going?”

“To see if the cabana boy is on duty.”

“He’s off today, darn it.”

“You can still stretch out and relax.”

“I was hoping we wouldn’t have to go all the way to the house for a drink.”

“You have such First World concerns, Lucy.”

“You think?”