Samson and Bailey are about as opposite as two dogs can get.
Bailey is big; Samson is small. Bailey is brilliant; Samson is more ‘simple-minded’.
Bailey is rambunctious; Samson is all gentleness. Bailey is well trained while
Samson is well behaved. Bailey is hyperactive; Samson is the dictionary
definition of relaxed.
Since our two dogs are so different, they have an entirely
different set of needs. Since Bailey is our more high maintenance dog who
requires an hour of exercise per day, she’s been getting a lot of one on one
attention lately; getting to go for jogs and hikes while Samson is often left
behind.
I’ve been feeling mighty guilty over this disparity so on Sunday
Jonathan and I decided to spend some one on one time with our baby boy. I had heard that Crathes Castle Estate had a
few forests trails that were about 4-5 miles long, so that’s where we decided to
explore.
At the beginning of the walk, Samson was so excited and pulling on the
lead so bad that I’m sure he didn’t appreciate how this walk was different than
any other. However, shortly into the walk, we started walking parallel to the
Dee River, which distracted this water dog enough to slow down and smell the
rabbit poop.
He insisted that he get in for a swim, and since I was still
feeling guilty, I obliged him. After about 3 miles of scenery such as this:
we
decided to take a breather on one of the many park benches strewn along the
trail.
Towards the end of the hike, we crossed a bridge over a fish ladder that
helps salmon get upstream and I had to closely supervise Sam to make sure he
didn’t jump in after them.
We also came across an old cemetery complete with
Celtic crosses and that elusive thing known in Scotland as sunlight.
The drive to Crathes from Aberdeen only took us 30
minutes, and the paths were well marked and scenic, so we’ll definitely be
making a return trip soon. On our drive back to Aberdeen, Samson napped in the
car while Jonathan and I stopped to take a look around ‘The Mains of Drum
Garden Center’ in Drumoak.
Garden Centers in Scotland are vastly different than
what you would think of in the States. Yes, they have garden supplies, but they
also sell clothes, furniture, gifts, food, etc and also have nice cafes located
inside. If you’re ever in Scotland and pass by one of these hidden gems, I
suggest you stop in for a look around.
I had a basket full of goodies when
Jonathan’s hungry monster appeared, and he insisted that he couldn’t
wait to be served at the restaurant and needed a snack NOW. Such is the nature
of the hungry monster. I had to abandon my basket and take him directly to the car where I had my secret cookie stash. Oh well, it just gives me another excuse to go back
soon.
Since Jon was still hungry when we got home, I made him a peanut butter
sandwich with the last of our JIF Natural Jar (sniff, sniff). Since I needed to
clean out the peanut butter jar before it could be recycled, I decided to cap
of Samson’s perfect day by letting him lick it clean.
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