“fort july day is a day to play on the trails and visit the stone fort, right?” says atlas.

“why yes, atlas. it is indeed.” says elizabeth.

oh, to be young again, and borrow a hammer and nails and a very floppy saw and set off into the woods to build a fort. i miss that.

when atlas was one, we spent an april weekend at a cottage in northern california’s wine country. it was part of a very dog-friendly place called sheep dung estates.

we spent all day saturday hiking in the hills above the cottage so, after dinner, i decided to rest my legs and just walk atlas down to the pond for his evening walk.

there was a couple at the pond, throwing a ball into the water for their black lab. the lab would race down the dock, dive into the pond, retrieve the ball, swim to shore, bring the ball to his people, and then excitedly wait for the next round.

atlas watched this for a while. all of a sudden, he ran down the dock and jumped into the water himself.

no one was more astonished than me.

except atlas.

he came up out of the water sputtering and splashing. his eyes were as wide as saucers. you could tell that whatever he expected, it was very much not. that.

his front legs were as stiff as boards and he slapped them in turn on the water, over and over.

he sputtered and splashed and slapped his legs on the water in a wide-eyed panic until he finally grew closer to shore and was able to get his legs on the ground. at that point, he ran out of the water and shook himself off.

atlas has never really gone in the water since that day. he always stops and turns around once the water gets to his knees. if he ever goes in any further than that, it is a rare occurrence and takes a great deal of time and coaxing.

i remember him watching another dog jumping into a pond after a ball years later. the expression on his face said very clearly, “what a silly dog! why on earth would he go to all that trouble for a ball? you’d never catch me doing that. if people want to throw a ball in the water, they can just fetch it themselves.”

i just got home from a hike in forest park. atlas got his exercise and we were done before the day got too warm. (i think it’s supposed to be 80 today.)

i am not sure atlas would agree with the “before the day got too warm” part. by the end of the hike, his tongue was long and droopy and he kept trying to drink from muddy puddles. to be fair, he likes to drink from muddy puddles no matter the temperature, but when it’s warmer, he’s more insistent.

now, atlas is napping in his crate and i am eating honey roasted peanuts and dried mango. it is a good day.

how is your wednesday treating you?

check this out!

i’ve done something like this to photos in the past using photoshop, and my broken camera did this all on its own. it’s not consistent – mostly the photos just turn out white – but it gave me a few cute photos of atlas when i was playing with it so i am a very happy camper.

speaking of atlas, i want to remember to tell you the story of atlas and the pond. next week, i think. i took him for an adjustment on tuesday and while we were waiting for the vet to come in, i told him a story; this was the story i picked. it reminded me that i should tell you. you might enjoy the story more than atlas does, because it is the reason he doesn’t like water.

atlas met a kitty this past weekend! we went for a walk on a nearby trail that we hadn’t visited in a while. as we walked down the path, we ran into a white cat sitting by the side of the path. naturally, atlas stopped and gazed happily at his potential new friend. after a few minutes of this, i happened to glance behind me, only to see a black and white cat standing right behind us! it stood there for a while and then turned around and went into the trees and came out by the white cat. it then walked right up to atlas and me, sniffed atlas’ feet, and eventually wandered off down the path in front of us. atlas abandoned the potential friend in favor of a confirmed friend and we followed it down the path until it veered off into the bushes on an adventure. (well, that was my doing. atlas wanted to follow it into the bushes.)

i am sorry to say that my camera is still most definitely not working, so it is time to upgrade to a new camera.

i suspect atlas is not sorry. his eyes do not look like he is saying, “yay! i’m so happy to be a photographic subject again!”

hey! maybe he broke it with the power of his eyes! it makes sense, right? after all, it did take this picture.

in this moment, atlas is stretched across my bed lengthwise. he is taking up half of the bed and both of the pillows. he is also snoring.

i have a habit of saying, “he’s so cute when he ..” we are trying to decide on the silliest thing i’ve said thus far. if i remember correctly, the current winner is, “he’s so cute when he breathes.”

the person in the apartment next door has a tiny kitten. atlas saw the kitten peering out through the screen door on the patio yesterday and he could not have been happier. who knows, maybe this kitten will someday be his friend, just like the last neighbor kitten that he managed to win over!

in this moment, i love my little big pup times a million and thirty three four. i need to go give him a kiss and tell him so.

gas station attendant to atlas: “i don’t have anything for you!”

atlas stands and stares.

gas station attendant to atlas: “but i don’t have anything!”

atlas stands and stares.

gas station attendant to atlas: “really, i don’t have anything!”

atlas stands and stares.

gas station attendant to me: “he thinks i have something for him but i don’t!”

me: “i know. it’s just that sometimes people do, so he’s eternally hopeful.”

it seems i have inadvertently trained atlas to connect the act of me whispering his name with the idea that there is something exciting nearby that he needs to find. whenever i whisper-say “atlas,” he acts as if i’ve just told him there’s a squirrel or kitty nearby and his ears perk up and his eyes fill with excitement and he begins looking all around for it.

i suspect this could be a problem in the case of an event during which i might want to whisper and have him pay attention to me. say, in the event of a home break-in, or a starring role in a movie, or a game of hide-and-seek.

want to hear a cute atlas story?

when i picked him up, sam told me that every night at the doggy ranch, atlas stands in front of his crate. sam has to bend down and give him a huge hug around the neck and look him in the eyes, and then atlas turns around and trots into his crate.

one night, sam gave him a hug but atlas didn't go into his crate afterward. sam was trying to figure out what it was, and then he realized that he forgot to look atlas in the eyes. apparently it doesn't count if there isn't eye contact.

isn't that the sweetest story? now, i am trying to remember to look him in the eyes every night when i thank him for being the best puppy in the world and for spending my day with me.

there is much excitement in the elizabeth & atlas house.

early tomorrow morning, i am setting out on an adventure. my youngest sister is studying in spain this semester and i am off to spend her spring break with her.

as a bonus, i am going to turn 35 years old in morocco! with that beginning, i am pretty sure that 35 is going to be the best year ever.

i will be back on the 20th – with lots of photos, i suspect.

(speaking of photos, did you know that if you buy a spare camera battery and it sits in the box for four plus years without use, when you happen upon it and are excited to take it on an adventure with you and go to charge it in preparation for the trip, you will discover that it doesn't work? i feel rather sad that my poor battery expired without ever getting to do the thing for which it was created.)

my blog will be quiet while i am gone, so i am leaving you with three things:

a picture of atlas, who will be having a jolly time at the doggy ranch;

a rather silly story about a hippopotamus named humphrey;

Humphrey

and a sneak peek of my brand new website, which i adore and will introduce sometime after i return. it's from the lovely allie of allie creative, who is a design genius.

until i return, may your april be full of sunshine and flowers.