Monday, March 23, 2009


The Best of Friends

It was an wayward baseball, launched, no doubt, from the bat of a too-eager Little Leaguer, up high over the fence and out into the wild world where it rolled and it rolled till it came to a stop on a bed of lenten roses in the garden of an elderly neighbor. And there it lay, unnoticed and undisturbed, till the sunny afternoon last week when Edward came by, nonchalantly prancing along in the midst of his lunchtime walk. Pulling up short, he sniffed the air, looked down to his left, and spied the ball. An unexpected treasure ... the very best kind! Gingerly, he picked it up and carried it with him, all the way back to his own drive, up the stairs, through the kitchen and out the back door, with Apple on his heels. What a treat! What a find! The two friends could not wait to see what this round leather thing could do!

Edward rolled it to Apple, she rolled it back. He batted it with his polar bear paws across the lawn in true Beckham fashion. She impishly stole it and ran teasingly over the stone wall and through the hydrangea border. He bent low by the climbing rose, patiently waiting to pounce when she emerged from the other side of the birdbath. And pounce he did, igniting a rolling, tumbling festival that continued all over the garden till they both became so tickled with themselves there was nothing left but to run full out, cutting figure eights all through the trees. When they couldn’t run a minute more, they flopped, out of breath and grinning as only the best of friends can grin on a sunny day after playing with a baseball for the very first time. I watched them from the window, laughing, and wondered what dogless people do in the middle of the afternoon for entertainment.

Painting above: Best of Friends by Abel Hold


Best of Friends in the Flesh

35 comments:

  1. Cats on a freak out are pretty entertaining. But those without animals... I don't quite know how we used to amuse ourselves.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is so sweet! It was nice pretending to be standing right next to you looking out the window at two best friends playing! Hmm... that is a good question what do dogless people do in the afternoon, maybe watch their neighbor's dogs playing?! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. i think these 2 best friends have a bit of spring fever just like the rest of us!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. EEEeeekkkkkKKK! Sometimes those possums get mad and hiss! At one point we had an exchange student living with us who was from Manaus, Brasil and she had spent her life playing and enjoying life in the Amazon region (truly, she swam with piranhas, played with the toucans, rode wild horses, etc). Isabelle loved all creatures great and small. It just so happened that we were on a family picnic and she spotted a 'possum. Well, she hadn't seen one before and thought this cute little thing would want to be her friend. As she walked over to the critter, the animal went crazy and the hissing sent us all running for cover!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Edward and Apple are such a wonderful pair!

    I have a big ole' fluffy cat that provides me great companionship and never fails to make me smile.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The exuberance of happy animals - either one's own or friends', is one of the simplest and most satisfying pleasures in life!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dogless people don't do much in the afternoon -- they're dogless! (Perhaps I should amend to say "petless" -- some people are owned by cats rather than having dogs.

    We always wonder what is wrong with a person who doesn't have a pet!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great story and that picture,there are no words! Can I put it on my blog side bar?
    Carol

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a gorgeous pair of friends. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sounds like your dogs had a very good time. Dogless people like I in the afternoon give their brush a good workout, or scheme what their next painting will be:) I guess my mind entertains me -haha, mostly.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Aren't they the cutest pair! What an unexpected treasure for dear Edward! It's great to be back! Thanks for your warm welcome Pamela!
    Hugs,
    Kalianne

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lovely...baseball's are so much nicer than possums:)
    And for entertainmant in my house and garden there is always Miss Moussie..

    ReplyDelete
  13. They read your lovely words.That made me smile on a down day,thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  14. They are just adorable...I thought Apple was little? Remind me what they are again..

    ReplyDelete
  15. LOL what a wonderful description of the rolypolyness of dog play. What a lot of fun they had.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Watching nimals and small children beats TV hands down.
    What a wonderful time they had together, and you too watching. I love your photo of bothe of them so contentedly companion sitting.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What do poor dogless people
    do at all times of the day ?
    we wonder ??

    Missy D thinks that the lovely painting provided for her viewing pleasure on today's post "must" certainly be a portrait of she and her long distance beau - the handsome Edward of Georgia. xo from les Gang

    Edgar Sawtelle ? terribly curious

    ReplyDelete
  18. i can never imagine 'me' without a dog in my life.i have always had one, from my very earliest memories.

    clearly, there is a difference between those of us with, and those of us without.

    i love my baby (dog) soooo much.
    i get so much joy,lovie smooches, cuddles, and laughs from my little 'josephine' ( joey)

    i adored this story.
    i could 'see' all of it.

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  19. We have been far from home for weeks, down in central Florida, introducing our Sarah to the joys of a dog park to compensate for her lack of freedom here. My time online has been restricted to library visits, and I haven't had time to visit all my favorite blogs but finally got back to Edward and have put a link to your site on mine. From one dog-loving Pamela to another, Happy spring!

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a delightful little story - I am sure Tess would be exactly the same if she found a ball. Sometimes she loses hers for a day or two, then comes across it and plays with it as though she has never seen it before. What a lovely pair of dogs and such pals.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello P,E & A,

    I'll tell you what dogless people do in the middle of the afternoon. They come over to The House of Edward and read your captivating stories!

    ReplyDelete
  22. such a wonderful story! our very own Coco leaves us with aching sides most every day & to think of life without him now would be unforgivable.

    ReplyDelete
  23. what fun they're having, lovely descriptions!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Dogless people (like me) read glorious tales about the joys of dog ownership for fun, Pamela!

    Thank you for bringing a smile to my face. :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I cannot imagine my life without my dogs. Who would love me unconditionally and cheer me? I just spoke with a woman today- almost 80 and she had just adopted her first dog! She is wildly in love!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Dogless people? They have my sympathy.....a house with a dog is definitely a 'no boredom' zone.

    Adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Great story and picture! We dogless people are not without entertainment, however. I have had many moments of laughter caused by the cats in our family down through the years.

    ReplyDelete
  28. My dog and my neighbor's dog are best of chums. They visit each other throughout the day and bring their owners so much joy, We are so proud of our pride pooches. They put on quite the show.
    Sniffing, romping, running and smiling.

    ReplyDelete
  29. What a lovely game they had, and they look soooo happy with themselves :)

    Chickens can be pretty entertaining, especially if you give them long spaghetti. Cue, the spaghetti relay race :)

    Kim x

    ReplyDelete
  30. I melt with love for these two.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Wonderful - how lovely to hear of the sheer joy of Edward and Apple at play:) My cats can be quite entertaining at times although as they get older they are becoming more sedate, they still occasionally have their 'madcap' moments:)

    ReplyDelete
  32. My mind is brimming with thoughts of roly poly doggy friends cavorting on a lush green afternoon. I know this game well. My two race round and round with tails tucked in and tongues flying. A sight to behold.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Wonderful photos with the story. I had dogs until recently, but have some delightful lovebirds and a pair of Senegals who have their bird antics. The male Senegal, Richard, will say 'hello' when he thinks I have forgotten he would like his peanut or almond sooner rather than later.

    I will get another dog after I move from my current residence.

    ReplyDelete

I love to read your comments! Each and every one! Though I'm always reading your comments, I may not respond in the comment section. If you want to write me directly, you may do so at pamela@pamelaterry.net. Thank you for reading!