Country Life

At about 10:30pm on Christmas Eve my husband took our dog out for his last walk of the day. The Blue Dog (as I refer to him) immediately began sniffing around the front porch and driveway, acting a bit more odd than his typical Blue Dog behavior. Steve was wondering what was around - was it the bear that has been paying nightly visits around our neck of the woods? (Do you like how I tied in the photo of the bear shirt I made Steve last year to this story?)

Being the big, brave, not-afraid-of-the-dark man he is, Steve continued down the drive onto the road. It was a very dark & murky night with the thin beam of Steve's flashlight supplying the only illumination. In the very same instant that Steve hears a rythmic clopping and a snort, Blue woofs and our neighbor's very large, black horse stops short right in front of Steve and Blue. All three of them exchange startled looks, various gasps and assorted noises then speed off in different directions.

Steve was the first to gather his wits and was able to notify the neighbors that Charlie was loose and providing a bit of Christmas surprise around the neighborhood. Charlie was quickly caught and returned to his stall, Blue was found busily marking the parameter of our front yard and Steve provided me an excuse to show off his bear shirt.