It Was The Best of Days, It Was the Worst of Days

Well Sunday was a bitterly cold day for us here in Southwest Florida.  Our thoughts certainly
go out to all the farmers and orange grove owners in the state that will be losing millions of dollars this year due to crop loss which of course will be passed along to all of us consumers in pricing at the grocery stores.  It seems at times Mother Nature can certainly rear an ugly head.

In accordance with the frigid blast we were experiencing, Ken and I bundled up against the
elements (with flashbacks of our winters in Ohio) leashed up Miss Ziva and headed to
the beach.  We figured beach explorers would be few and far between and we were certainly
right about that.  At one point looking both south down the beach and north up the beach there
wasn't a soul in sight so I stepped into the depths of being a bad doggie steward and unleashed the the fired up V dog.  Dogs are to be on a six foot leash while on the beach, but
since we were the only ones in sight I thought, shoot what the heck.  Well let me tell you it was like Miss Z sprouted wings to fly.  She ran like the wind with a great big ol' V smile on her face, ears flappin' and sand a flyin'!  You just can't help but smile when you see a Vizsla so darned happy to be running at full tilt. 

She was running, splashing in the chilly Gulf waters, digging holes in the sand and fetching driftwood, having one heck of a rip roarin' good time. UNTIL dad threw the driftwood one time too many.  Out of no where comes an older couple walking down the beach in the direction the driftwood landed.... UH OH .... well you guessed it... happy go lucky Vizsla decides it's necessary to share her exuberance with the couple walking.  She circles them while doing the famous Vizsla Bounce... the man continually yelling at me to GET YOUR DOG - I SAID GET YOUR DOG, reminding me in no uncertain terms that dogs were suppose to be on a six foot leash.  I then replied that since it was a frigid day and there had been no one within a mile either way of us I had decided to let my six month old pup run for a bit and burn off steam to which he grunted, snorted and walked on grumbling the entire time, I apologized, then rued the day that
non-animal lovers were allowed out of their homes, leashed up Miss Ziva and walked on home.
Nothing like a grumpy old man to take the wind out of your sails.  Yes I was in the wrong to unleash her, however when there had been absolutely no one in the vicinity for as far as you could see the temptation was just too great for us to miss the opportunity to romp unencumbered.  From now on she will be unleashed only in our yard, at the fenced in dog parks or just off our island at an area called dog beach (not nearly as nice a location).

So as you can see it was not the canine's fault but the humans .... mine to be exact, that caused the wrath of a grumpy old man to steal our joy.  I certainly hope that man never on a whim does something fun in life, he just might crack that plastered on frown.

Before we left the beach to head across the street and home I did snap a few shots of the girl in action on a frigid day by the Gulf.

She certainly is a charmer, my little red dog, and I love her more each day.  Here's to happy V dogs everywhere and to hopes that grumpy old men will find a moment of joy in their lives before they depart this place we call home.

Until the next time ...  Ziva's disobedient human