This is a video of how Simon reacts when he hears the Gypsy Kings version of “Zorba the Greek,” from the Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack.
PS> I realize the video quality is awful. I don’t have a video camera; I used the 15 frames-per-second video capture mode of our still camera.
If you have a Labrador or are familiar with them, you know about their tails. They’re long, powerful, and wag incessantly. They can clear a coffee table with a single swipe. Recently Simon’s happy tail got the best of him. When he wags it, it bangs on everything – walls, furniture, people, anything. All that contact has taken a toll. The tip of his tail is now a bloody little nub. We have it bandaged and wrapped in a baby sock to allow it to heal. I’m working from home now to keep an eye on him, so that he doesn’t eat his dressings. So far so good, though it does catch his attention at times and he wants to think it’s a toy.
Update! Shortly after posting this picture, we had an accident with his tail sock! There are some finish nail heads sticking out about 1/4″ from the door frame here in my office where the old casing had been removed. Simon snagged his sock on one of them and it tore a big hold in the sock! Now to remove those finish nails and re-dress the casualty…
Since the time we finished our french drain project in early-summer 2005, our back yard has looked like some less-than-responsible company tore through in search of coal and left the ecosystem in shambles. This year it filled in nicely with first-growth plant species. You know, weeds! Well, three weeks back we hired some cheap labor (Jess’s parents and sister) to help us restore the land to something not-so-heinous. We spent a full day moving and raking top soil, spreading seed and manure, and rolling it flat. It’s really coming in nicely now, and next year we should have a usable back yard!
When we work in the front yard, Simon likes to help by watching the underside of the Jeep.
We have a 20′ cable with clasps on each end. One end goes to his collar, the other hooks on the trailer hitch receiver.