Maggie in the Woods

by Maggie Mae Mushko

A border collie, age 4 years and 11 months

Mommy finally took me for a walk at the farm! It's been a while since I had a good run. (Mommy walks; I run. That's what border collies do.) Daddy finally mowed the trails so she could walk. And I could run.

The first thing I did when Mommy parked the truck was find my little orange football that squeaks. It was under a lot of stuff in the back of the truck, but I found it.

I love that little orange football. Because it is football season, I forced Mommy to throw it over and over for me. You can barely see it in my mouth in the picture above. Finally she got tired, so I picked the trail I wanted to take.

 I sniffed around to make sure everything was OK. You can't be too careful.

Mommy thought these trees were pretty, but I didn't see any squirrels in them, so they didn't interest me.

The woods are getting pretty now, and there aren't any ticks. Partway down the trail, I stopped because I saw something in the woods.

It was a little buck and I chased him for a while, but I came back about the tenth time Mommy yelled for me. All that running made me get too hot, so I cooled off in the creek.

I love the creek. I love anything that has water in it.

Then we continued our walk. This trail leads to another creek crossing:

I smelled something interesting, so I had to stop and investigate.

I dug for a while, but I didn't find anything.

I didn't see anything interesting in the trees, either.

I looked through the nearby field but didn't find anything worth chasing.

Back in the woods, I sniffed a few interesting smells, but Mommy didn't give me time to investigate. She got on Daddy's four-wheeler and rode back up the hill.

I had to stop what I was sniffing to herd that four-wheeler back to the truck. I'm not used to Mommy moving that fast.

Of course, she wasn't as fast as a border collie, but I'd never tell her that.

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