Apology Accepted

As if to make up for her temper tantrum of the day before, Nature put on a bright, shiny face yesterday and put all the sound and fury behind her.  It was warm enough I didn't need to light the fire; it was simply a gorgeous fall day.

When daylight came, a walk-around assured me the wind had done no damage here.  All trees were intact and upright.  Before dawn, however, there was a bit of a problem.  Bessie Anne usually sleeps in, but she asked to go out about five and I let her.  Big mistake.  Whatever it was that put her on the hunt in the dark was not a skunk, for which I am so grateful.  She would have caught up with a skunk right away.  She has treed raccoons in the past; it wasn't a raccoon.  This "it" had her coursing over the property like a bloodhound, barking like something demented.  Bess becomes so single minded during a chase, she is deaf to everything.  Because she is not normally a barking dog, Joel called just after sunup, worried that something serious might have happened here to set her off.  While I was thanking him for his concern and explaining that my dog had lost her mind, she finally came dragging up the front path.  I do mean dragging.  Bess was completely knackered, made it into the house and collapsed.  She's had so many problems with her back legs and could barely walk.  I put her on the bed and she stayed there all day, going out on a potty run at nightfall and coming right back in.  I'd like to say she's learned her lesson, but then I've always been an optimist.