Entry #351
June 13, 2014
Hello Everyone, it’s me, Wimsey coming to you from
Manhattan’s Upper West Side where the weather gods are wreaking havoc with what
used to be known as spring. It’s been mostly chilly and humid which means that
I have to listen to my human Maria and her friend Elizabeth complain about
being both cold AND being sweaty. Then every now and then it just gets hot. Or
very rainy. One never knows what to expect next. Rather like life with a Hound.
As many of you know, I am being abandoned for nine days.
Elizabeth is going to Europe which means that my primary human, Maria, will
have to take full care of me. There is some compensation in that she is taking
a few days off next week to devote herself to the effort full time and I am
also to have a visit from one of my favorite humans, Ilonka who is married to
Paul who is the founder of my brewery, Baying Hound Ale Works. 
She will be bringing along a friend to add to
my entourage hoping to distract me from the fact that one of my humans had the
temerity to leave me. And better yet, we
will all be crammed into my tiny apartment which means that not only can’t you
run, you can’t hide either. Not from the drool, the hair, the stink and my tush
on your lap. I only hope that Ilonka is still friends with her friend after a
couple of days with me (and nights, during which I excel at running, farting
and snoring all at the same time).
So all this because Elizabeth has been asked to temporarily
join the 1% in Tuscany for a few days. I still can’t believe that she would
rather do this than be part of the 0% who have the privilege of not being listened
to by me. This has also induced her to
leave me alone during the day and engage in a flurry of shopping so she can
wear clothes that don’t smell and aren’t covered In drool stains or worse (I
managed to smear my butt along her pink t- shirt this week in the process of
settling myself in her lap. But pink and brown go, right?). I am sure that she will have many fun stories
when she returns, as everyone is supposed to drink these medicinal waters whose
main effect is apparently to make you run to the bathroom. So next time I grab
something revolting on the street that has similar properties I will claim that
it was for medicinal purposes!
Anyway, in spite of the crazy weather I did manage to take
my humans out for a 3-hour frolic in the park on Sunday. Although mainly this
consisted of me resting in shady bowers while my humans stood around and gave
their sunscreen a workout while watching me. But since the weather has been largely cool
and cloudy I have been out and about and my humans have been spared my annual
metamorphosis into Wimsey the Vampire Hound in which I run from shady spot to
shady spot to avoid the direct sunlight. Summer would be great if it were not
for the weather.
Good Things About
Summer
People carry plastic water bottles which I am very good
at “obtaining”
People eat outside which means that there is much clean up
work for a tidy Hound like myself
People eat outside which means there is much cadging
opportunity for a charming Hound like myself
Outdoor cafes
Gelato stands
Tourists in town to admire me
The exciting absence of a lot of scent-and-cold-nose
impeding clothing
But another good thing about summer is finally getting to go
out in my yard. Last Saturday I spend the afternoon watching Maria try to dismantle
and remove at least some of the junk left by the previous tenant of the
adjacent apartment. Then Elizabeth tried
to use a pair of pruning shears which was only marginally more useful than me
trying to use a pair of pruning shears (New Yorker not being especially well
known for their gardening skills). When
she started cutting things this led to the Great Debate about which pieces of
vegetation were actually plants and which were weeds-- but really, if you can’t
tell the difference, does it really matter? As long as they don’t remove the
ones that I like to eat.
When all of this proved too taxing to supervise I took a nap
not on my kuranda bed. Maria keeps
hopefully repositioning it around the yard under the theory that if only she
found the right spot I would use it. This
is kind of like thinking that if only she told me to sit often enough I would
do it. But as a reward for all of our labors we rewarded ourselves with the
first Saturday wine and pizza night of the year. I ate quite a bit—cut up and
hand fed to me the way I like it naturally. Apparently when you drool on a
piece, it’s yours. And as happens every
year, plans are being made to try to barbecue—Maria bought all the gear several
years ago but has yet to get up the courage to use it. Barbecuing is right up
there with gardening, driving and pumping gas in my humans’ arsenal of skills. They can take comfort in the fact that I will
be on hand to deal with any unsuccessful experiments. 
Sorry for the short post this week but before I go I want to
observe that New York is full of odd things (like giant, baying bloodhounds)
and here is a statue of a giant, non-baying raven. Why? Because the building
behind me used to be a farmhouse owned by Edgar Alan Poe’s parents and he wrote
“The Raven” there. Things have changed a bit. Sadly, I am not allowed to pee on
this raven which is disappointing since I’ve never peed on a raven before and I
believe that expanding one’s horizons is important for personal growth.
And speaking of new experiences, Elizabeth showed Maria the clothing
that she bought and Maria looked on in horror as a pair of white trousers
appeared. One person’s white trousers are another person’s canvas. Will
Elizabeth ever be able to wear these trousers?
Quoth The Wimsey, “Nevermore”
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