March Photo A Day 10 - Youth

"The greatest pleasure of a dog is that 

you may make a fool of yourself with him,

and not only will he not scold you, 

but he will make a fool of himself, too."

~ Samuel Butler

Since I told you the story of our little Mabel on March Photo A Day 3, it seems only natural to tell a bit more about Micah with today's prompt of "Youth."  At nearly 17 months old, he is youth indeed. He is all the joy and curiosity, all the wonder and energy, that the word "youth" implies... and then some!

Except for an occasional afternoon lull, from the (early) moment Micah rises, until late in the evening when he finally settles down for the night, he is on the go.  He seems to try to form words with his silly sounds, as he taps you on the thigh with one paw.  He is fairly respectful if you are up and moving, doing a task, but the moment you sit down to relax, he is there, begging you to play.  In particular, his greatest joy is the whole wide world outside the back door.  "You want to go outside too, don't you? " he seems to inquire in his wavering tones.

Outside, he must investigate everything, which he does by smelling and by tasting.  If it looks odd enough, he might also roll in it, to satisfy his curiosity about the nature of thing in question.  If you begin to run, he is suddenly yards ahead of you, bounding and leaping joyfully.   If you sit on the old wooden swing at the end of the garden, he is burrowing under the seat, snuffling and sniffing in the tall dry grass that grew there last year.  If you head toward the house, he comes with you, but he looks back over his shoulder toward the fields, letting you know that there is still so much to explore.

To Micah, no corner of the world outside is boring.  Couldn't we learn something from that? Indoors, he becomes bored somewhat quickly, and just when you think you might slack off and rest for a minute or two, he is there again, tapping your leg with his big, furry paw, asking you to get up, go out, and MOVE!

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you good company.



More about the Photo A Day Challenge here.
Tomorrow's prompt is "I see..."