Today's Cloud

Nearly a year ago I had to tear down the garden fence (draining the foundation) and a replacement is still not up. So when I'm outside with Monster I tether him to a long line - which is far from optimal.

Yeah, I keep getting tangled up for one thing!

Today I spent a couple of hours outside with Monster tied up with me. Suddenly Monster alerted to something behind a corner, and before I could move to see what was bothering him off he went. Turns out a man had come to warn us they were shutting off the water for the day (some problem a few houses down, I don't know)... I've measured the line so I know Monster can't reach the line marking the future fence, and this seems to work as a mental barrier keeping people on the other side even when there's nothing physically stopping them. This guy was fortunately no exception, as he was sort of confusedly standing on the other side of the (nonexistent) fence looking at a raving Monster. Still, I had no idea he was there before Monster had already tried to confront him and that's just not OK. Not because I think there was necessarily any real danger, but because I should simply be more responsible. Turns out this guy was fairly taken with Monster, and actually wanted to pet him! That was nice, and I did allow a short greeting, but unfortunately Monster had been frustrated too long by trying to reach the man and being held back by the tether and was too wound up - he couldn't keep his front paws on the ground to save his life, and he was far too intense. Pity. If I had paid better attention and managed the encounter better from the start it could have been a lot nicer for everyone involved...

I just wanted to say hi...

And being the special brand of stupid that I am, I learned absolutely nothing from this experience. Case in point: half an hour later I'm in the exact same spot with no line of sight to the front yard when Monster again alerts to intruders. A group of Jehovah's Witnesses had come to save us... The less said about that, the better. Let's just say there may be more than one savior working for them some days. Still, everyone's fine and some days that's all I'm asking for.

Awww, where're you going?! Come back - and give me some more of those delicious pamphlets!

I have got to get the fence back up soon.