Day Seventeen: A Visit with Annie

We have a neighbor dog named Annie, so every time I mentioned to Buckaroo that Annie was coming, he'd say, "woof woof"-- which is sometimes difficult to distinguish from his request for food, "oof oof." Fortunately Annie does a lovely dog impression, so it all worked out.

Alas, Annie was not able to help with naming the flowers and trees out here because she doesn't know the East Coast vegetation. She's better than I am about making a darned good guess, though, because I don't even know what's growing on the West Coast.

Oh, and does she know a bird! We watched the Bohemian Waxwings nibbling away at the blueberries by the mailboxes today. I would have had to Google the things, but she knew right away they were bohemian and not cedar because of the tops of their heads.

Annie also has a way with tofu and made us a lovely stir fry with the stuff. I'm fascinated by how anything is transformed from greeny nugget to tofu or milk-like product. Buckaroo was not a fan of the tofu, though, and I was really hoping to get some protein in the guy. That drawing board is wearing thin.

But before all that we went to Peterborough (or Peterboro-- there seems to be some difference of opinion about the spelling) in New Hampshire. We visited Toadstool Books, and it was the best bookstore ever, complete with cafe where we had some delicious comestibles and Annie acted as the angel on my shoulder when we passed by the pastries.

The sun was shining, and not just in one corner of the sky. The whole sky was blue. We licked the windows (Annie says that's what the French call window shopping), and let Buckaroo run free in the park and float leaves down the extremely rapid river. There was a trail along the river that had a very sharp cliff down to the water, and then a place where the water was sort of dammed and forced into a whirlpool through a rock wall. One could have easily walked along the rock wall, across the tumult and to the other side. It did appear quite perilous, which is why I wouldn't let Buckaroo attempt it, as much as he wailed. Annie and I agreed that it seemed the kind of place a city would want to make a bit more safe, but then I remembered that New Hampshire is the "Live Free or Die" state, so I guess that includes children, too.

I think I've yakked Annie's ear floppy, but I have to say, grown-up conversation is a beautiful thing.