Kimi thinks daddy was playing a wonderful new game with her and being the Sheltie she is, she is always ready and willing to play with someone. There was one new 'toy' brought into the picture that she had never seen before, however being the tiger at heart that she is, she showed no fear and quickly moved in to conquer this object as well. As soon as daddy walked into the yard pushing the brand new wheelbarrow Kimi sprang into action. Was this some new evil she had to chase away or just a toy to be chased? Whichever she might have first thought it was, Kimi quickly decided this was friend not foe and the fun began. When she heard the gate open, Kimi looked up to see who dared to enter her yard. As she spotted the wheelbarrow you could see her eyes light up and the smile begin to form on her delicate little face.

Kimi jumped to her feet and bounded her way over to this thing, She didn't even take the time to smell it first, she just jumped right in to yipping at it and dancing back and forth in front of daddy as he tired to manuver this thing without running over her. I had to laugh as I watched this 'play' unfold. Here was daddy trying to dodge to the left and then to the right, all the while shifring his head trying to keep our daring little Kimi in view, shouting "Kim stop it". Then there was Kimi, jumping from left to right, feet barely touching the ground as she did her best to keep the wheelbarrow from moving forward. Boy was that herding instinct ever present in Kimi that night! For each time daddy shouted at her to stop Kimi looked up and yipped back at him. Her huge smile could not have gotten any bigger!

Once dad had finally made it around to the spot where he wanted to lay this sod, Kimi stepped back a bit to watch and see what was going to happen next. To her surprise and wonderment daddy flopped this huge roll of dirt and grass right at her feet! OH BOY!! MUD!!!!! Kimi jumped and yipped with excitement, her tag wagging furiously, then she pounced it! Grabbing a mouth full of mud and roots she growled as fiercely as she could and tried to tear a piece from it. If there was any evil hidden in this roll of grass Kimi would destroy it before daddy could plant it and let it grow or spread!!

Again I listened as dad shouted "Kimi stop it", and watched as he too had to try not to laugh at her antics. As he unrolled this piece Kimi backed up with it, using her front feet to help unroll it. To the untrained eye it might appear as if she were merely trying to dig thru it, but knowing Kimi as I do, I know she was just trying to help unroll it. As she did with every piece that came out of that wheelbarrow. As daddy finished with the bigger stuff, out came the smaller pieces for him to 'fit' inbetween the gaps to cover all the ground. HEY! These pieces were Kimi size! Just perfect for her to pick up in her mouth and run with, which she did! Now, I ask you to picture this; a grown man in summer shorts and work boots, sweating and muddy, chasing a half-pint sized puppy thru the yard as she is carrying a piece of muddy sod between her teeth. Do you think if daddy chases her down with this in her mouth she is going to willing give up the game and give the 'game piece' back to him? NOT! Kimi simply did her best to shout "YIP!" (which sounded a lot like "Yumph!") with this muddy thing in her mouth and kept going. The chase continued until, rounding a corner, Kimi turned her head to look over her shoulder to see where daddy was and tripped over her own two front feet. Which by the way were no longer white, but mud colored. Daddy grabbed the piece, told Kimi she was a spoiled brat and went back to work. And I must confess mommy didn't help matters much because all she could do was laugh!

Kimi knew the game was far from over, at least in her book, and when daddy wheeled this new toy back to the gate, Kimi quickly jumped to her mud-sodden feet and gave chase, yipping happily as she ran. Back in front she went, leaping from side to side as daddy did his best to keep from running over her. Okay...mommy took heart and stepped in to remove the pesty little Kimi before she could get hurt. Guess what? Dadday said to mommy, "Oh just leave her, we are having fun." Huh? I thought she was a brat and spoiled to boot? Guess daddy can't resit her charming grins either.

I did have to hold Kimi back as he left the yard though for Kimi is not allowed out of the yard without a leash just yet, and she was as determined as ever that this 'thing' would NOT escape her wrath. She lay in wait in front of the gate, her little nose sticking under it so she could 'smell' when they were returning. One could tell, when they approached, not by the sight of daddy, but by the excited wiggle and dance Kimi performed every time she smelled their return. Was it daddy she smelled, or the muddy sod? Maybe both as daddy was wearing a lot of the soggy dirt from the sod by then.

This game continued in much the same manner with every wheelbarrow load daddy laid down in the yard that night. With the exception of one added twist. It soon became time to pack the sod down into the dirt, and this job was left up to the kids. Kimi figures she is just one of the kids, so she literally jumped right in to help. The kids were to run up and down the sod, packing it down well with their feet. Sure there is probably a better way to pack this down, one that goes easier on the new sod, but surely not one that is more fun for the kids. Kimi gave chase to every foot that pounded its way across the newly laid grass, adding her tiny weight and mini feet to packing it down well. I guess she understood that her weight wasn't doing as much good on it's own, for every few feet Kimi would jump into the air as high as she could and land with a thump on all four feet. Surely gravity would add weight to her size, thus packing it down tighter! And of course, Kimi can't ever seem to jump, leap, or hop without adding her 'two cents worth' as well, so with every acrobatic twist she made she shouted "YIP!". The kids listened to Kimi's yipping and laughed along with her until one finally understood what Kimi was shouting with each jump,leap and hop she made. Sure, to you it would have sounded like "YIP!"...but to those of us who have learned the Kimi language of life, it was clearly "MUD!"

Finally after over an hour of this play, it was time for baths. For everyone including our tired, worn out little Kimi who had as much mud on her by then as did the sod. Even her tired tongue, once showing pink as it hung frrom her tired little lips, was now a muddy brown. Like a child picking strawberries, Kimi had as much mud IN her as she did On her I am sure.

After watching all this play and seeing how much fun Kimi can extract even from mud, I have to say this. Extract your own fun in all you do and don't take life so seriously. You may find out that landing on your face in the mud isn't as bad as you thought it would be!

walk in beauty
Kristi & Kimi