thankful

We have so incredibly much to be thankful for! Yesterday Ron and I (and Kazan) went canoeing in Frontenac Park. Glorious. Our favourite island was unoccupied, so we were able to let Kazan roam safely at will. After a brief exploration of the island, he spent most of the afternoon doing this - standing perfectly still, watching fish, trying to figure out how to catch one. In her book "The Culture Clash", Jean Donaldson writes that the most defining characteristic of dogs is that they are "social predators" - and yesterday we witnessed that fact, as Kazan spent hours not moving a muscle - just standing, watching, waiting, completely and utterly absorbed in the movement of fish in the water. And as if we needed more evidence of Kazan's predatory nature, at the end of the day, as we were driving out of the park, we stopped to watch two porcupines at the side of the road. Kazan's window was partially open. In the blink of an eye, he was through it! A flurry of activity ensued, and somehow, miraculously, Ron was able to catch Kazan and get him back into the car, uninjured and with no souvenirs of his encounter! Now that we know Kazan is capable of spontaneously leaping through a partially-open car window, we have learned an extremely important lesson!!! We are so thankful for the beauty - and safe ending - of a perfect day!