Older Dog Wisdom: Tux 32: Bunnies and Branches

We were in the park by 6:00 a.m. this morning. Rumor had it that it was going to rain. Our weather people haven’t gotten it right (except for major events and then only when the tornadoes were practically upon us) that most of us have given up checking the TV weather people or even checking the weather apps on our phons. You see people stepping out their front doors and stopping a moment to check the sky. If it’s cloudy, we go back inside for an umbrella.

Tux, however, doesn’t care what the weather is or will be. He’s only interested in the walk. Everything else is totally immaterial to him. 

So there we were out in the park before the sun was even up. It was getting warm. The humidity was high. Ugh. Grace, Tux’s sister, and I were already suffering from the heat. 

There were birds singing on the tree boughs above our heads. Squirrels were running amok in the grass. The park was empty as we started our walk. As we made our way around the park, we saw a half dozen bunnies, most of whom headed for the underbrush when they caught sight of us. There were two, however, who held their ground. They hunkered down in the grass trying to be invisible. Grace, however, saw them, but she’s not one to waste energy chasing after other animals, especially those faster than her. 

Tux looked to see what Grace was staring at and immediately went into his 3-point hunter’s stance. Then he started advancing toward the bunnies. Slowly he place one paw in front of the other. The bunnies didn’t move. Tux advanced. Finally, Grace and I realized that he wasn’t stalking the bunnies. No, he was stalking a small fallen branch with its leaves still attached. The branch lay between Tux and the bunnies. He’d completely missed the bunnies. 

Once Tux determined that what he was stalking was a branch, he returned to the path ready to resume our walk. Grace didn’t move. She turned around to look at me. I swear she was giggling. As for the bunnies, I’m sure one of them snorted his derision.

Once again, our intrepid hunter had stalked an inanimate object rather than the living, breathing wild creature standing not two feet beyond the object of his choice. Never mind his idiosyncrasies, he remains our favorite intrepid hunter.

Lesson Learned:

There are times when we cannot see that which is directly in front of us, be it love or an opportunity. We need to learn to see the forest and the trees. Or, in Tux’s case, he needs to learn to see the branch and the bunnies.