On Monday, I was supposed to be cleaning out the artist studio garage and working on my exciting, upcoming work move that will squelch our agility career as we know it, I decided it was a good idea to take the dogs on another mad dash on a muddy path in the rain wearing totally unsuitable clothing walk in the forest to waste some time build our championship relationship. Before Oprah started.

This day we went to the more Starters Level Forest, because it offers convenient parking which is part of our city’s greenbelt. This forest is sort of different because of the convenient parking for super fast sporty runners nice flat walking path for leathery old homeless guys to walk to their secret camping spots people who might not be able to do much clambering and bushwalking and crossing streams on suspended air logs.

Done editing now. I give up. I talk like this too. Since EVERYONE forgot to nominate me for this, no more editing. Ha, take THAT, reader.

And also, ladies with labs and now unseasonal holiday sweatshirts to enjoy the forest. Sorry holiday sweatshirt lady. We didn’t mean to scare you. We use the Starters Level Forest a little different than the more Advanced Level big meadow forest. Because of the sporty runners, Otterpop stays on a leash until we get to the more foresty section, off the main path. And because lots of people walking around in there who don’t neccessarily want an 11lb missile blasting into them, Gustavo stays on his leash until we get to the foresty section. Ruby can do whatever she wants in the whole forest, because she’s a good dog.

And holiday sweatshirt lady, with her friendly yellow lab, she didn’t know we were coming up through the foresty section. And also didn’t know that I was going to be imitating monkey calls out there. I don’t know what we were hearing at first, me and the dogs. Sounded like monkeys to me. And the dogs were so funny, stopping in their tracks every time they heard it. So when they would go running off, off and away, and I would make the monkey calls too. Except mine were like flying monkey calls. Just to freak the dogs out. Because that’s how we build our relationship, out there in the forest. Freaking out the dogs with fake monkey calls.

Poor lady in her holiday sweatshirt. Who is smartly vacating the forest in time for the rain. And also planned for the rain with smart rain walking outfit. Me, just out there making monkey calls, dripping wet in cashmere and muddy slip on vans. While those dog missiles just keep flying around. Running on the foresty path til we get to the goldfish box, and just sit up there for a while, getting rained on and listening for monkeys.