Sheltering 2 (& Some Notes On Dogs & Cats)

I posted the above photo because it has something I wanted to frame: the curved shape of the old chestnut tree's bole complemented by someone standing there, sheltering (I actually had a couple of people in mind, a couple whom I've seen drinking there, but they haven't been around lately).

But this post, like many others, belongs to Lola. After that jogger left to continue her run Lola saw something in the tree and stood there, poised, 'pointing' resolutely with her nose. A squirrel, or possibly a cat I've seen about the place. It put me in mind of a piece I wrote recently on the differences between cats and dogs:


Notes On Dogs & Cats

Tree = wall

Tree = staircase

Delicately sniffs the air, a leaf, a grass-blade…

A dog delicately sniffs the air, a leaf, a grass-blade… then is yanked
snorting to the centre of the earth.

The tail is ever hopeful: metronome, propeller of delight.

The tail is a seismograph, warning, whipcrack of furious silence.

No matter how small, has bulk and is earthed.

No matter how large, treads one millimetre above the ground.

Chases a small bird with abandon, believing that if it runs fast enough it will sprout wings.

Wings are folded into the crouch, the stalk, the pounce.

On its back = the ultimate submission.

On its back = Maybe.

In its wake: opportunistic campfires, tossed bones, tradings of scent, streets, the slow, painstaking deciphering of the human face.

In its wake: deserts, palaces, streets, a niche for a household god.

= sun

= moon