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The Backyard |
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The air is chilly this morning. From my sitting position, I can see a small tan spider floating on his or her invisible web just above the heavenly bamboo along the fence. Milo is over in his favorite spot near the heavily blooming pink and red rose shrubs. I'm alternating throwing his toy in that direction and then sometimes farther to the right and out by the children's wooden play structure. Sometimes his toy gets lodged in an unusual position -- in the V of branches or between fence boards. Then Milo has to decide what are the laws of physics in this new situation. Milo doesn't give up until he gets his toy. One day, he imagined it was caught high in the pyracantha branches This was not true, but he believed it was still there even after I showed it to him on the ground nearby. Milo stayed out after dark that night pawing at the pyracantha trunk and whining for his toy. For weeks he would go there and beg longingly. Every few days, I held him at all angles looking at the branches and leaves, talking to him and showing him the real thing until, gradually, he gave up. |