Lumen and The Pine Cone

In this picture, Lumen is back in his "cubby" and beside him is his highly cherished pine cone. One of the things I have come to cherish about this little dog is his obvious capacity for cherishing objects he comes across in his play or on our walks. The proof of his devotion is wrestling with said found object until it arrives in his cubby. You can almost see the pride on his face, the sense of victory and joy at a job well done. 

In his first week I watched him do this with sticks and leaves of various sizes. And with one bedraggled gumball from a Sweet Gum Tree. He loved and gnawed that gumball until it was barely recognizable. This week we increased our leash walking, visiting the Shearwater Pottery showroom and getting to know Gizmo, the shop dog, beloved of my cousin, Beth. He has made great progress with the older dog, but is always respectful. Pearl's teaching, I think... Then we walk out the road to the workshops where the pottery is made. Lumen is much made over by Adele, Nancy, Amber and Katie. He has a marvelous time. On the day he discovered his pine cone, we were returning from a visit at the annex, and the little dog stopped in his tracks to examine the very first pine cone he had seen. He stayed stopped, exploring its wonders on the edge of the road, until I picked it up and held it in front of him until we arrived at our yard. Rapturous play ensued... And lasted for fifteen minutes or more... Eventually I had to place it up high long enough to get him inside for a snack and a rest. On the second day, the pine cone made it into the cubby, and since then it has been taken out, knocked around the yard, gnawed on, replaced in the cubby, gnawed on, etc. 

Yes, I took a lot of photos on sunny and overcast days, but I am not so good at action shots. This is maybe my favorite, because of the light. Lumen is illuminated in his special spot. Dear little dog that illuminates my world...