A cold morning.

7 degrees centigrade this morning. around 50 f. coldest day since summer. but clear and bright. we went out early. did the whole of the Bradney walk by the Drain. well over an hour in total. it must be doing one of use good.
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no other dogs out until just before we finished the return walk. Before then I could see Pluto was intently watching the entrance to the walk was it in hope of seeing another dog? I kept telling him there was nobody there which settled him for a while but soon he would be standing again staring intently. Then I got it. The shadow cast by one of the trees fell across the path and up onto a fence and bush. to me, from a distance and at my height, I could tell what it was but to Pluto, with eye level at knee height it must have looked like something else. I could see the shadow darken and lighten as some clouds passed before the Sun. Pluto ran to investigate and return. I really can only speculate what he might have been thinking from a human perspective. I will never really know what he could see.

He is coming back when I call more and sat politely when the first of the dogs we met ran up. Poppy. A small black and white dog. He wanted to get friendly and play but I knew that if I let Pluto off his lead I could end up repeating the walk. Pluto couldn't restrain himself completely and pulled to follow Poppy. I held him back until they had gone and had some stern words with him. Pluto pulled on his lead towards the second dog when that appeared but sat when told and behaved himself as the dog and its owner walked past.