Sunday afternoon

Back when we lived in Wakulla and Nikki and Beryl were in their prime, Darling Man used to take them out to the woods and let them run behind him on his mountain bike. They absolutely adored it. They were very quick and easily distracted though, and sometimes he had to stop and wait while Nikki found her way back after chasing after a deer. One time, a bolt of lightning hit somewhere nearby and Beryl bolted. It took three days for her to turn up again.

As the girls got older, the arthritis kicked in and it got harder and harder for them to run. Finally, they were just too old. No stamina. Too much pain. They always wanted to though, and Darling Man missed them desperately when we decided that they just couldn't do it any more.

They both died a couple of years ago, before we moved to town.

Enter Kida. Once she figured out that she really was our dog, she became my dog. She put up with Darling Man and ZBoy because they were part of my pack, but she was really my dog - I was the one who trained her, walked her, talked to her.

As she got bigger and more calm under our love and care, Darling Man started eyeing her speculatively... would Kida be a good bike dog? He gave it a try once he was sure she would come to him when he called. She loved it. He loved it. And Kida stopped being my dog exclusively and decided to be our dog. She loves our boy too, so it's a family thing now, this dog ownership.

Sunday, Darling Man and ZBoy and Kida went for a bike adventure on their own (while I stayed behind and started working on the garage).


ZBoy took my camera and took pictures of their ride. Kida sits in the back seat of the truck, but actually sticks her head between the seats to see where she's going. This is the road that leads to the off-road bike trails they like to ride on.

North Florida woods are different from the woods in the Northwest or Midwest or Northeast. They're sandy underneath, with a covering of pine needles, pine cones, and these pretty little flowers.

Kida and ZBoy have a rest.

After a ride, they're ALL happy!