An Autumn Romp In The North Field

I was having a lazy autumn afternoon and decided to take the dogs for a romp across and around the north field. It was hayed a month ago but the grass hadn't grown much since then. There were no cattle in the field, not even any cow pies to worry about.

Seamus was obese and slow not too long ago, but his dramatic weight loss has helped him reclaim the exuberance and energy of youth. He ran and frolicked like a gigantic puppy:

Of course all the dogs had to make numerous stops to sniff interesting smells and sometimes, to roll in something unseen but probably stinky:

We reached the fence line and turned west, continuing along the fence and trees:

I thought that perhaps I should have waited until the trees turned brilliant colors, but decided that this was the time for a fun doggy romp. Autumn color was late here this year while trees just a few miles away were turning red and gold:

It was all great fun for the dogs:

Another stop to smell the landscape. They read the smells as if they were a newspaper, informing them of which wild animal did what where:

We turned back toward the house and barn:

We hadn't gone far but it had been enough to curb some of the extreme exuberance with which they'd begun our walk:

The barn and house were just ahead:

Little Jack was smiling gleefully and I recalled how recently he was a wild, problematic inmate of the local shelter, a dog they feared could never be successfully placed. I love to take those sorts of dogs and help to change their lives for the better:

I called them all to heel when we neared the dirt road. They were not very obedient, but I at least got them to stay reasonably close to me while we crossed the road and passed by the chickens in the yard. Jack hasn't yet been trained to heel but he seems to pick up the general idea by watching the other dogs. None of them will win any obedience trials in the near future, but we had fun: