Approx 12 and 13 August, 2010

We are both tired but we are both, it seems, eager, to be calm and not pick a fight. My resolution from last night (see previous post) is not quite as unshakable as it was, not least, because I am tired. I resolve that my resolution still stands – but that I shall wait a little bit before announcing it – I really can’t be doing with a shouting match this morning.

I had woken when Johnny left for work – it’s not like I was sleeping soundly anyway. I and the dogs went outside. True enough, F was asleep in the car. I smoked some cigarettes and wrote the last post – long-hand as I had not brought my computer – on purpose. I wondered if Johnny had noticed F in the car on his way out.

I would have preferred to have gone and taken the dogs for a walk but the gates are operated by remote control and I cannot leave. I would have preferred not to have been there when F woke but I can’t do anything about that. F awakens and seems OK. We don’t mention last night.

As the day wears on, I am less inclined to drive a few hours back to Milan. And, anyway, F seems almost normal – unlike the raging monster of yesterday.

A, when she wakes, makes us coffee and gives us a key to a small side gate so we can get out with the dogs in future.

We take the dogs out for a walk but it is later than we would like.

The next day, we get up early (again) but, this time, we can get out and we take to dogs out on the normal walk. We go to one of the ‘free’ beaches and see what Dino and Rufus make of it this time. There is almost no one around. Rufus hangs back from the surf coming in. Dino, on the other hand, wants to paddle. F decides to take off his shorts and wade in. Dino follows.

The waves are not big but they break into white surf as they near the beach. Dino, following F, jumps the first couple of waves. F goes deeper still. Dino jumps again only this time, unfortunately, the water on the other side of the wave is much deeper and Dino sinks.

Actually, ‘sinks’ gives the wrong impression. The jump that he took and the subsequent head-long thrust into the water looks exactly like he meant to do a dive. And like someone taking a dive into water, he plunged head-first into the water, scrabbling to resurface a few seconds later.

It was one of the funniest things I have seen. F just loved it.  He now had a diving dog!!  It didn’t seem to worry Dino overly much but, still, he came out of the water. Then, of course, he needed to dry out. Normally, if on grass, he will rub himself on the grass; if at home on the carpet – here? Well, on the sand, of course! He looked really funny but we had to stop him. Thank goodness there was no one else on the beach!

In the following few days, F expanded on the single dive he did to the fact that he ‘saw him dive three times’. I say nothing since it does no harm. We wished we had a video camera and resolve that, next time, we will. However, I’m not convinced the ‘diving Dino’ will be around, next time!