Mmm...Morning Snack?

I took this shot from the kitchen window. 30 seconds earlier, Kirby was fast asleep in the carport. His inner clock can not be denied, and in the neighborhood of 10:00 a.m. he knows it's morning snack time. I will usually have a handful of nuts - almonds, cashews - and maybe a cheese stick. I usually share a cheese stick with Kirb at this time, and he damn well anticipates it. He can hear the covering pulled off the cheese stick from two states away. Here's the funniest thing - I usually pull apart the cheese stick into four parts, and I toss the chunks to him. He is so strong and agile in so many ways, such a powerful swimmer, but his hand-to-mouth skills in catching are so WEAK! It's pretty hilarious, actually. Out of the four I toss him, he'll catch one about every four or five days. They hit him in the nose, in the forehead, bounce off his cheek...he's so clueless. But it's funny to watch his effort.

It's very hot again - high tomorrow 95 - and Kirby at his advanced age is not a fan of the heat, but neither am I. I took him to the Willamette for a swim this morning and it perked him up. It's tough to watch a good old friend get old. I have to help him into the back of my pickup now, and I wince when he struggles to get up out of his bed. But he's a fighter, and he's got some more days ahead of him. He's one of the best friends I've ever known.

Maybe he'll catch one out of four cheese stick tosses tomorrow. I know he'll try.