Thursday 5 February 2009

Puppy too pooped to piddle

I decided last night that I wanted to keep up my walking fitness. While I was in the UK I was walking all over the place and could walk for ages. So last night I decided to walk the Ally Dawg down to the Kiara Food Hall which is about 2 km away from my house (I just realised that makes 4 km return trip – that’s almost 3 miles – not bad).

It was hotish yesterday, but not terribly hot, and certainly not as hot as it has been the last week. Different preparations for a walk here. Water bottle, rather than scarf. Still need a hat, but a different sort. Not a keep my head warm hat, but a keep the sun off my head hat. I also take a bum bag with my little poo bags, my phone (when it works) and my wallet. So that went with me as well. Find the dog lead and off we went.

Well, for starters it was considerably further than I had realised. Funny how things seem so much closer when you drive than when you walk. There was a nice breeze blowing which helped. And Ally stopping at every tree and post to check her peemail helped as well.

I didn’t take my camera this trip. I wasn’t sure if I could manage the dog on the lead, plus my bag of takeaway dinner and a camera.

The galahs were chattering away in the trees. This is their time of night. Cooler than during the day. Checking each other out and eating what seeds the trees have to offer. They are very vocal and incredibly beautiful with their pink chests. I would have tried for some photos had I had my camera with me.

Some of the lawns are parched as they should be at this time of the year. The green ones belong to people who waste water, a precious commodity here in Perth. I often wonder about people who water grass. They water to make the grass grow; throw on a bit of fertiliser to poison the groundwater; cut the grass as it’s too long and then start the whole process again. I just don’t understand their thinking.

It was interesting walking here in Perth again after such a long time away and the totally different walking in Oxford. Straight, for starters. Here the roads are planned, as opposed to roads that just happen. There are slight hills as well; Oxford doesn’t have many hills. They are not big hills, Perth is relatively flat in comparison. But not as flat as Oxford.

Individual houses, rather than terrace houses. Most people in Australia live in a single house, on a block of land. We have space around us. We have space inside our houses. Many of the houses I saw in the UK were on minute blocks of land, and attached to another house. Most of the houses here are single storey as well.

Green. This is an interesting colour. The ground here is mainly browns, reddy browns, except where people water their gardens. Dusty. Dry. But look up, and there is lots of green. The trees don’t lose their leaves the same way. The sky is incredibly blue. Clouds are fluffy and white. Very bright.

In Oxford, at this time of the year, the sky is often gray. The trees are leafless and stark. The whole world looks dark. Even on sunny days, there isn’t the brightness of the Perth summer. Our days are long. Sunrise is about 6 a.m. Sunset about 8:30 p.m. In Oxford, sunrise is about 7:30 a.m. and sunset is about 5 p.m. A big difference. I know the English summer days are much longer, but at this time of the year.....

However, when I was walking I was also aware of the world being too open. Too big.

When I was first studying to be a counsellor, I did an exercise.

Imagine you are in a box. The world is outside and you are closed in this box. The idea is that most people want to break free from the box, to come out of the enclosed space they live in. My response was totally different. I felt comfortable. I felt safe. Suddenly in my imagination, I had a pillow and a book and a little peep hole to look out at the world.

That’s the way I feel sometimes here in Perth. It is too open, too big. I think maybe that’s why I like the UK so much. You walk along little paths, with big trees covering. You drive down roads with hedgerows all along, so you don’t see the vastness of the world. It feels contained. But that’s just me.

Oh, yes, the title of this article. By the time we got home, Ally was too pooped to piddle on any more trees. She did a great job of trying to pee on every tree, and every bush, but finally ran out of pee and steam !!

Anyway, time to close for now. I’m back at work and tired this week and I know that will ease off as I get back into the routine again.

Cheers all

Madeleine

Thursday, 5 February 2009