It was one of those decisions you make without thinking it through. It sounds like a good idea. It's something we've always wanted and sicence tells us it's good for our stress levels. So a few months ago we paid a deposit for a kelpie pup. A short time after life took a few zigs, a zag, and we hit a stupidly busy period in our work and our home lives.
Then Remi arrives. He weighed in at 3kg, but made way more of an impact than that might suggest and way more than any of us had expected. We'd completely forgotten that having a pup was much like having a baby in the house. He can't sleep unless he's lying on you, eats like he's in a race, chews on the kids like they're toys, whines when they go to school and leaps on them when they get home.
I had notions of him being a well-behaved surf dog, but he thinks he has to say hello to everyone on the beach, doesn't like the cold water, the sand in his eyes, sea lions, roaring surf, rocks ... okay, so he is just a 10-week-old pup, there's still hope.
He does like early mornings – 6:00am to be exact and announced with a bark and a whine. That suits us with the whole tribe embracing the low-tide sunrise march along St Clair Beach. Perfect for me to shoot some sunrises and for Remi to practice rounding up the kids. It's a good ritual.
Yes, it was a poorly thought-out idea at a busy time, but when is a good time to add a new member to the family? Sometimes you just have to throw your hat over the fence and embrace the adventure that unfolds.
Looks like a decent lashing on our way from the south ... ready your guns.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Did you see that crazy cloud formation over Dunedin on Thursday? There's a shot of it below – it's a rare mammatus cloud which is formed when moist air sinks into dry air. They're kind of like an upside down cloud – we actually get them a few times each year. They remind me of the aeration formations underwater when a wave breaks. Very cool.
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