I attended my first (zoom) meeting of the Idaho Writers League and I am excited to be a part of this writing community. I am constantly surprised by how many writers there are in Idaho and in my city. It’s great to be able to learn from other people going through the same struggles and victories you are experiencing.
Tonight’s meeting was on constructive criticism – how to give and receive critiques. It was interesting and well done, so I’m looking forward to our meeting next month. Also, I met some members from my area of the state and I’m sure we’ll be getting together in the near future.
Over the last few weeks I have received quite a few notices of people liking my blog and following Robinson Write Now. Thank you! I love to see those little flags on my Word Press app. Since this is an author’s blog about writing, I haven’t decided how I feel about the fact most of the new followers are connected to dogs and the posts they like are those on my dog, Titan! Maybe I should start a dog blog, although it looks like there are many out there.
Getting those likes I realize I have not written about Titan for a while or his new buddy, Chief, my son’s new dog. Titan has left puppyhood and has grown into a wonderful dog. We know this because Chief is the wild puppy that we had almost forgotten. Chief is a black lab/husky cross and at 7 months is as tall – and maybe as strong – as Titan. They romp in the backyard one chasing the other for a while and then switching roles. Both are males, so they seem to vie for dominance, but in a playful manner. Everyone once in while, Titan will tell Chief to knock it off, and then we see who is the leader. As hard as they play, I know Titan likes it. My son tends to come over on a Sunday afternoon. When Titan thinks it’s time for Chief to visit, he glues his nose to the living room window that gives him a great view of the street. When they don’t visit, Titan will go to the window, turn back and look at me like “Where are they?”, and then return to the window.
I usually have a blanket over my legs when I’m writing in my chair, and he loves to lie down on the edge. So cute, until I can’t move his 90 lbs to get up out of the chair. I found an old comforter and gave it to him and he seems to really like it, especially after a visit with Chief.
Titan is showing his age, now 4. He has some white coming in under his chin and in the corners of his eyes. He doesn’t always move as fast as he once did, unless, of course, it’s time to go for a walk. At that time, he’s even jumping on you like a puppy, prancing and whining so much you think he is just going to explode if he doesn’t get to go right that very minute. I’m not walking Titan by myself this winter, after he pulled me off my feet last year and I ended up not just dislocating my shoulder, but chipping the ball of the shoulder. I will, however, walk with Titan and my husband.
This weekend we walked about 2 miles down a country road surrounded by potato and wheat fields. (I do live in Idaho!) The weather was unusually wonderful for mid-January, but we did have some freezing fog/rain. The sidewalk was a skating rink. At one point in the neighborhood, my husband let Titan pull him, his back foot acting as a rudder, the front, gliding on the ice. Titan loved it, judging by the increase in his speed. His nose was to the ground, so he wasn’t really paying attention to us. There are no sidewalks on the rural road; the farm fields come right up to the pavement. Titan was so busy pouncing and digging for mice, it was hard to get him to walk.
I’ve never seen a dog pounce like he does and I swear he’s part coyote. When he was a puppy, he would run and do a sort of front-leg leap. He only does that now if there is great excitement going on, but he still does the pounce. He gets his weight on his back legs, goes up in the air and lands on his front legs. On our walk he also did the Polar Bear pounce to break through the snow. Titan loves winter!
I hope the season brings you happiness
Enjoy the read
TC Robinson
Robinson Write Now 