Ever since he was a pup, Murph’s loved chasing things. When we lived in Florida, he loved nothing better than being let loose through the sliding glass doors to chase the squirrels in the backyard. On walks, he took joy in leaping through the bushes after lizards.
When we moved to Nashville we chose a house without either a fenced-in backyard or any trees for squirrels to call home. (After our experiences with the hurricanes in 2004, we’ve been leery of big trees living within striking range of our dwelling. As for the fenced yard, we walk Murph anyway –even when we did have a fence–and he doesn’t much like spending time out back sans us anyway, so…. We figured in the scope of things no big deal.)
However, Murph still found things to chase here. We live in a fairly rural area so there’s a lot of wildlife, like bunnies, skunks, and even deer. We regularly spot bunnies on our walks, and Murph will tug and strain on his leash desperate to pull us with him after them.
But if we’re sitting in our own backyard (or front yard as the case is most afternoons when we take a break to check the mail), there’s another critter Murph’s found delight in chasing after: bumble bees. (Or “bumbles” as I call them and Murph’s come to know them.)
In Florida, flies and plain old bees used to send him into a snapping, spinning, frenzied pursuit. (Something about the buzzing gets him going. And it’s funny to watch him jump, run, stop, swing his head around all over trying to get a line on where the noise is coming from, then jump and snap again when he finds them. It’s like some kind of crazy, spastic dog dance.) But here, he seeks out the big fat, fuzzy bumbles that call our garden home.
The Routine
1. I check the mail; Murph inspects the flower bed near the front of the house. If he spots a bumble, the chase begins.
2. I look through the mail; Murph inspects the bushes and flower bed on the front lawn. Repeats above procedure regarding bumble chasing.
3. I read letters or shop catalogs on the front step; Murph rolls around in the grass.
4. I try to coax Murph inside if (a) it’s cold, (b) I’m on deadline, or (c) we’ve been out there a ridiculously long time and I know I need to get back to work; Murph makes one last bumble check and then comes inside.
He has been stung before, but not by a bumble. When we first moved here I took him to a dog park and he chased a regular honey bee, caught it, and got stung. Judging from the slobbering and smacking he did, it hurt. But luckily he didn’t have any adverse affects.
Didn’t stop him from chasing buzzing things, though. He doesn’t pay as much attention to honey bees or flies anymore, but if he spots a bumble, watch out! The rumble is on!
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