The dogs, Storm and Rigsy, have a significant role when Todd is out hunting. Storm retrieves the ducks, and Rigsy points and flushes the upland birds. Because they go out hunting all fall and winter, Todd spends the summer keeping them fit and able to do the job. This means conditioning – lots of it.
Living in coastal BC means we are never far away from the water. Our community is surrounded by two arms of the Fraser River, and the Georgia Straight (a major body of water that leads to the Pacific Ocean). One of our favorite places to walk the dogs is out in Boundary Bay. When the tide is out, the sand stretches on forever. The dogs run, and run, and run. Every now and then, we find treasures uncovered by the receding waters. Other times, we find research artifacts, science experiments or lost belongings.
Several times now we have found bright orange cards placed in the ocean by the Washinton State Department of Agriculture, as part of a program labelled ’Spartina Research’. It seems they are trying to understand how invasive marine plants spread in the waters off of BC and Washington, and there is a number on the card to call and report where you found it.
Once, when he was out by himself, Todd found a kite surfing board. It looked brand new, and had contact info attached to it. Todd called the number and ended up speaking to a very happy man who had lost the board the week before while out kite surfing in strong winds. Todd was able to get the board back to him, and the man ’thanked’ him with a case of beer. Now, THAT’S what I call a good reward!
Then, just recently, Todd found a bottle half buried in the sand. Inside was a letter written by a Boy Scout Troop located up the Sunshine Coast, which is a long way from Boundary Bay. There was a request to send an e-mail off to the troop and let them know where the bottle had been found – all as a part of their science experiment to study the tidal waters. Todd then threw the bottle back into the ocean. This took several tries as Storm kept bringing the bottle back to Todd!
So, besides keeping us and the dogs healthy, walking out in the tidal flats keeps up with small surprises.
