Having Breakfast with Ruby

When I have cereal for breakfast, the routine is always the same.  Right now I'm working on a box of Raisin Bran Crunch, and I like it best with a banana cut up into it.  As soon as I pull a banana off the bunch, I can count on having company.   

Ruby loves banana.  She knows right where to be for the process, too ... the cabinet in front of her nose contains a pull-out trash can, where she knows I will be standing when I peel the banana.

Notice that she's still lying on the rug, even though she knows that the banana is peeled and she's practically drooling with anticipation.  This is because we have trained her well ... she has to sit to get treats and she has to lie down to get the REALLY good stuff (like cat food cans and banana pieces.)

I break off a little piece of banana butt, give it to her, and our morning routine is complete.

This started years ago with Daniel.  He used to hang out in the kitchen, hoping for a treat or a scrap, which he rarely got.  I had a brainstorm one day, and I began to experiment with different foods, to see what he would and wouldn't eat, taking advantage of his excitement.  Found that banana was one of his favorite things.  He always used to get a really funny look on his face while he was chewing it.  When Ruby joined the family last year, she was cautious about banana at first ... but big-brother Daniel liked it, so she figured that she would, too. 

... and the tradition continues.

A New Routine

Ruby and I are starting a new routine.  Both of us need to get more exercise, and I can't think of a more pleasurable way to do this than by going for a daily walk together.  Living out in the country like we do, it's not like we can just go out the front door and put in a couple of miles.  Our road is narrow and busy, and a long walk in the grass on our own property practically guarantees that at least one of us will pick up a tick.  We are fortunate that there's a great county park about a half mile up the road.
 
I park my car at the farthest point in the park, at the bottom of a hill by the lake.  That way, the beginning of our walk is uphill, and we go downhill on the way back to the car.

We saw geese and swans on the lake yesterday.  (Discovered that the HDR setting on my iPhone isn't all that great in bright sunlight for things that are moving.)

Weird double image of swans

 

 

A mixed flock of geese.

 

 

Ruby and I were on the quiet park road for the first part of our walk.  There's almost no traffic in this part of the park, particularly on a week day.  She and I kept up a pretty good pace as we climbed the hill, and I was really puffing by the time we reached the top.  I honestly thought that I was in better shape than that.  I'm strong and can lift and carry, but I guess this proves that I need some help in the endurance department.

Mama and Papa Canada Geese, with four goslings.

 

 

Millions of tiny tadpoles at the edge of the lake.

 

The park has a well-maintained nature trail that winds through the woods on both sides of the road.  The one side is fairly sunny (and has more poison ivy on the edge of the path than I'm comfortable with.).  We took the shadier path down the hill and back to the car.

 

 

 

It feels really good to get out in the sunshine and work up a sweat like that.  Ruby seems to enjoy these walks as much as I do.  (I will let you know when I get to the point where I can scale that hill more easily.)