A visit that made my day

Last Monday I came by myself back to The House of Goodwill to start work again.  (My husband and son had to stay home for ongoing rehab due to the knee replacement.)  The day I arrived, it started raining for three days and didn't stop.

The flooding was amazing.  I was glad our house is up on a hill!

Here's a photo of our neighbor's dock, which is right next to our property line, that I took last summer:

Here's the same dock, two days after the rain started:

Just in case it's not clear, the whole thing is underwater!

The water rose above the railroad ties that are currently serving as the (disintegrating) shoreline in our yard.  (The water has since receded back to normal level.)

Anyway, since we had our kayaks sitting under a shelter not too far from the water, I walked down the hill to tie them up.  I didn't think the water would reach them (it didn't) but wanted to make sure they were secure just in case.

As I went outside, I was blessed by one of my favorite Pine Lake occurrences: a random dog visit.

At home in the suburbs, it drives me nuts when dogs are let loosely free to roam.  Here, in "the country," I love it.  Why?  Well, I suppose partly because all the dogs around here are nice.  If they weren't, I'm sure I'd feel differently.  (At home in a way more population-dense neighborhood, so many people come and go that I don't know all the dogs.  A couple of weeks ago a loose dog attacked one of my dogs while we were walking; my dog was ok but it was a little scary.)

Though just as I say "all the dogs around here are nice" I realize I had never seen the dog that randomly showed up in my yard.  I thought I knew all the dogs around here, so I have no idea whose dog it was, but boy, was it nice!

It saw me, ran over, got petted, and did mad runs of excitement.

My new friend did a property inspection; he probably could smell my dogs and wondered where they were.

Is this not the SWEETEST face??

The face matched the personality!

My new dog friend accompanied me down to tie up my kayaks.

Here is the dock of our neighbor's on the other side of our yard.

Totally flooded!

Apparently the dog loved the taste of muddy water...

I have always loved the overwhelming enthusiasm and unbridled joy of dogs.  I can walk outside to get the mail, and upon my return my dogs greet me like I've been gone for ten days.  Everyone should be loved like that!  

I was missing my dogs, and this dog's visit was just what I needed.  He walked me back up to the house, and was apparently hoping for a longer visit (inside):

Who can resist a face like this?  I went in to get him a treat, which he took back out to the yard to enjoy.

And then - believe it or not - he was back! 😉

More, please!

Regretfully, I had to shut the door and say goodbye.  I still haven't figured out where he came from.  But when I'm here by myself, if I go for a walk, chances are good I'll be joined at some point by a dog (or dogs) who will join me on my journey.

I often will be sitting on the porch and see a Golden Retriever (or some other dog) cruising through the yard.

My dogs (who have spent their lives on leashes and behind fences) never know when the thrill of the random dog visit will brighten their day and give them something to bark at.  We've seen dogs, deer, foxes, herons and a few little cats.

Ah, the country life!  There's nothing like a friendly visit from a dog thrilled by your presence to brighten up a gloomy day. 💗