What Ruby Knows

Ruby knows that when it’s Thursday, she comes to my house.  (How she knows what day it is, I have no idea, but she does).  And every once and awhile she gets to come on other days, too.  If her Mom says, “It’s time to go to Grammy’s house”, Ruby gets excited.   Yesterday was one of those times, because Ruby got to come to Grammy’s house for the whole weekend!

Ruby also knows when she is at Grammy’s house, and I get my hiking shoes on, it’s time to go for a walk.  Not just a romp around the yard, but a long walk around the path up the hill.

Only today, I got my old hiking shoes on because I was going to run the push mower and I didn’t want to chop my toes off.  Ruby didn’t know that though.  She got very excited because she thought we were going for a walk!  I promised her I would take her when my work was done.  So... a little while later, off we went.

For hiking-shoe-long-walks, Ruby knows where to go.  First, we follow the path around the garage.

Can you tell she's in a hurry?

Ruby easily jumps over the drain pipe.  When she was a tiny puppy, she used to fit under the corner of it!  (I wish I had a photo of that, but sadly, I don’t.)  When Ruby was a little pup, she even had trouble walking in the grass.

Ruby when she was a pup!

When the grass in the hayfields gets tall, she still has trouble walking in it, but that's okay because we have a path that I keep mowed.  In fact, I mowed it today for the first time this spring.  Ruby follows the path and she is usually out ahead of me.

Come on!!!

I was glad we went for a walk.  It sure was a beautiful day.

Ruby doesn’t really enjoy the view though.  She’s more of a nose-to-the-ground walker.   
Now, something catches her eye, I mean...  nose.  Then, it's time to make herself smell pretty.

Getting ready for a roll!

Oh, that’s soooo nice....

Next, our path arrives at the entrance to the woods part of our loop.  I don’t really have the energy for that much hiking today, so I tell Ruby “this way” and she knows to follow me along the path that runs along the edge of the woods and hayfield instead.

"This way Ruby" Oh, okay Grammy.

Soon we’re heading back down the hill toward home.

I can see the house thru the trees.

Ruby is starting to look a little tired, too.  After all, she watched me mow the lawn.  That's tiring for a basset hound!

Sometimes she reminds me of a little Guernsey cow like we had on the farm when I was growing up.

Can you see the resemblance between Ruby and the Guernsey calves on the farm where I grew up?

A few minutes later, we were back at the house.  Ruby was so tired she lay right down at the door and yawned.  Ruby knows it’s time for a nap!