Part of my retirement responsibilities include several daily dog walks.  This is my wife’s way of getting back at me for moving into a condo with no back yard to let the pets romp.  In a way, it would be much easier to open the sliding door to a fenced-in backyard, and let the dogs do their own walking.  However, I would then also have pick-up duty, lawn mowing responsibilities, fence repair, fertilizing, pruning, edging, sprinkling system maintenance, pool care, and maybe even some gardening work.  Instead, I take the dogs out on their leashes at least five times a day, while she’s stuck with a small patio and a container garden.

Admittedly, I am “condo man,” and there is no such thing as the “Great Outdoors,” in my humble opinion (See Post #177).  I gladly pay a fee each month to take care of any outdoor home ownership responsibilities.  I enjoy spending some time with the pups, and often smile at their excitement of getting out of the house.  I wrote this short poem after one of these walks:

The Nose Knows – Part 1 (see Post #314 for a second version)

I’m just a dog,
Looking for a spot.
This Fire Hydrant,
Deserves a shot.
.
Using my nose,
To guide me there.
And when I find it,
I’m willing to share.
.
What’s that smell?
It’s near-by.
I think I’ll give,
This patch a try.
.
I think I’ve found,
What I’m looking for.
Could it be bottled?
Sold in a pet store?
.
At every sweet spot,
Is where I should be.
A smell connoisseur,
Like four- legged me.
.
A quick inhale,
And I’m so high.
A smell this good,
makes a puppy cry.
.
And afterwards,
I’ll leave my mark.
Please bring me back,
To this Dog Park.

.

I guess you’ll just,
Never understand.
Why this dark stain,
Smells so grand.
.
Maybe you would,
Find this odor fine.
If you just had,
A nose like mine.

.

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