The Tomato Eater

Have you ever heard of a dog that eats tomatoes? Well, this is a new one to me. I was in the family room the other evening, and I was startled by Will's bark. It was coming from the kitchen, which is connected to the family room. While he does like to bark, it didn't seem like a 'let me out to go duties' kind of bark, nor did it sound like his bark warning me that someone was coming to the door. Besides, it would have been Emma who barked first, as is the usual. I thought I had better check it out, so I got up to see what the proble was, and there he ws, standing in the kitchen with front legs splayed and head down, ready for the next bark. He looked at me, then looked over to his right, to make sure that I would look there too. What I saw was Emma, madly chomping into a big red tomato that was nestled in the half bushel box of tomatoes that I had just purchased. There were set on the floor where they were waiting for me to make chili sauce with them. Emma did not even stop to look up at me, she just kept munching away at the tomato, while Will and I watched. She seemed baffled when I told her to stop, and even more so when I picked up the box to remove the temptation. It was as if I had just taken away her favorite toy.
When I examined the damage she had done to the tomatoes, it was as if she took a little bite out of the side then sucked the juices out of them. Very strange indeed. Who knew that dogs like tomatoes. I definitely won't be leaving any more boxes of fresh tomatoes on the floor. And I will listen to Will when he is barking - you never know what Emma will be doing next!

Tomatoes by Emma

Kent Falls, Connecticut
Labor Day weekend has come and gone, and we’re now full blast into September! The weather has been just beautiful, and we were able to get out to a couple of new hiking places over the long weekend. What a month it’s been already! Most mornings there has been the feel of autumn in the air, with temperatures overnight falling down to the 50s. Daytime temperatures have been in the mid 70s, with mostly sunny skies. Really, you couldn’t ask for better weather for the last long weekend of summer.

Will at the top of the falls

Emma on the trail
We took advantage of the days by getting off to an early start, since we figured the trails would get pretty busy as the day went along. We set off about 9 am to drive to Kent Falls, a pretty place in the western hills of Connecticut, nearly bordering on New York state. There were a few cars in the parking lot when we arrived, and a few picnic tables had been claimed by families ready for a day at the park. Barbecues were already smoking, and we couldn’t figure out what was being cooked for a mid-morning meal, but some people eat anything anytime, so it wouldn’t surprise us if burgers and dogs were on the menu for brunch!

On one of the lookout landings

Looking over the top of the fallsTop tier of falls

Our legs took the two of us and the puppies (who are pretty much full grown now at 10 months) along the green trail to the top of the falls. These really are a long series of multiple falls, with short ones at the bottom and taller ones at the top. The walk was a little tough going up, mainly due to the way the path has been built. There are large blocks of stone built into the hillside to create steps, some of which are about 18 to 20 inches high. This made for a long step, which was tougher for the people than for the dogs. Their little legs took them up pretty easily. We reached the top, about 1/4 mile up the steps, without too much trouble, stopping to enjoy the falls at each of the landing points they had made. The view from the top of the falls was quite pretty, looking out over the mountains to the west. It will be even prettier once the fall color arrives.
Our walk down took us to the other side of the falls, where another less-trafficked set of trails had been made. Not far along the trail, we came to a group of inukshuks, statues made from boulders that were plentiful along the trail. At first we saw about a dozen or so of these stone men, then a little further along there were dozens of them! It was quite strange. Emma was pretty interested in checking them out, but Will just wanted to run in the woods around them, and was not quite as interested in figuring out what these things were all about. Jim had to put one together to leave as a sign that we had been by and appreciated the gathering.

Emma waits while Jim builds an Inukshuk

Emma likes the Inukshuk

A little further along the yellow trail, where the trail takes a 90 degree turn, it overlooks a farm field where there were a couple of jersey cows grazing. The puppies were taken by surprise, and had to have a good look and a little bark at them, and the cows wanted to get a good look too. We kept the two pups well away from the cows, though, envisioning what a good kick from an aggravated cow could do. We figured that our little curious pups don’t need to have a broken leg or rib as a reminder of how dangerous large animals can be.