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Sometimes the simplest things turn out the best.

We were riding through the Valley this summer when we decided we should probably eat something. It was one of those days — we’d had brunch because we slept late, had a couple of cups of coffee along the way and, although it was getting to be time to eat, we really weren’t all that hungry. Plus it was hot, so we didn’t really feel much like eating. Then again, I knew Jake, our beloved dog with the time-to-feed-me internal alarm clock, was going to be wanting his supper. He’s always ready to eat, but especially around 5:30 p.m.

We were also looking for a Petro-Can station. I won’t go into the details, but let’s just say Steve is pretty fussy about what kind of gas he puts in his bike. My bike doesn’t have a huge gas tank, so I needed to fill up before we crossed back toward the South Shore.

Steve concluded there must be a Petro-Can near Greenwood. Turns out he was right (yes dear, I said you were right). But, more importantly, when we went looking for the gas station, we discovered Stronach Park. It’s a small public park just off Highway 1 as you turn toward Greenwood and it is absolutely lovely. It has a big parking area with lots of shade. Then you pass through a little gate and there’s this huge grassy bank with benches and picnic tables along a large duck pond, complete with a duck house and two fountains spouting water into the air.

So we grabbed a couple of sandwiches and cold drinks after filling the bikes, then settled in for a picnic. I had Jake’s food with me having learned a long time ago to always be prepared to feed our boy dog. It’s just so much easier sometimes to feed him, than to try to survive those pleading dark eyes if he decides he’s being hard done by in some way.

We all filled our tummies, then enjoyed the park. Steve took Jake (or did Jake take Steve?) on a short walk along a nature trail behind the park, then Jake and I strolled along the edge of the pond looking at the ducks.

It was a lovely way to spend an hour, relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. Stronach Park, at least for us, was a hidden gem.

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Jake is crazy about garden hoses … and when I say crazy, I mean he goes insane when he sees one.

It’s something that has always amused me, but I’d never really thought much about it until recently. When we were in P.E.I. in August, we visited a motorcycle shop outside Charlottetown. Jake was the best of dog. We asked if he was allowed inside and he was, so we took turns carrying him around. (That really means I carried him, except that Steve held him while I looked at a rack of t-shirts for a few minutes.)

We were probably inside for 20 or 30 minutes and Jake was so good. He just sat in my arms and looked around the store, and, of course, made nice with the people who worked there. That’s why I was so surprised when we walked outside and, all of a sudden, he started to jump around in my arms. When I put him down, he kept pulling on his leash. I couldn’t figure out what was going on until I looked in the backyard of the shop and saw a man washing a truck with a pressure washer. Then it made sense. To Jake it was a garden hose spraying water. He had no idea it would break his ribs if he actually got at it.

I don’t understand what the big attraction is, or maybe it’s less of an attraction and more of an obsession, but from the time he was a puppy, Jake has gone nuts whenever he’s seen a garden hose in action. It’s okay as long as the hose is wound up. Most the time, he’ll even ignore it if it’s stretched out quietly. But turn on the water and he goes ballistic.

He barks and bounces around. He chases the hose. He chases the water coming out of the hose. He’ll race frantically around in circles barking like mad if you spray the water that way. Believe me, it is quite a commotion.

What makes it even odder is that Jake almost never barks. If someone knocks on the door or rings the doorbell, he sounds like a guard dog (I’m not kidding. He has a big, deep bark when he wants to.) Or when I don’t feed him his dinner fast enough, he sits at my feet and barks at me. That’s a high-pitched noise, almost a yap. Believe me, it gets your attention (sort of like nails on a chalkboard).

Steve was washing my car one night (isn’t he wonderful) and had taken Jake outside with him. I wondered what the neighbours thought. The dog they never hear was suddenly making a racket. They must have wondered what was happening in our normally peaceful yard. I hope they realized it was just our Cairn going crazy for a garden hose.

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Jake just had a really busy weekend.

It started Friday night with his birthday celebration. Before you start to think that Steve and I have really lost our minds, no we didn’t have a party, we didn’t even do anything very special (not even party hats this year), but it doesn’t take a whole lot to make our boy happy.

We had steak for dinner (which made Steve happy too) and gave Jake his own small share. We followed that up later in the evening with birthday Timbits. (The candles are just for the photo. Believe me when I tell you Jake did not know their significance, he simply knew we were messing with his Timbits and that was slowing the procedure of getting them to his mouth and tummy — check out the expression on his face.)

Saturday was our bike club’s annual toy run from Mahone Bay to Lunenburg to Bridgewater. Of course, RoadDog went along for the ride and to see all his “people.” The weather was good and it was a great day. We raised nearly $1,000 for the Salvation Army Christmas program, along with gathering boxes of donated toys and needed school supplies. Jake had a great time meeting all the bikers. There were even a couple of other dogs along for the ride.

To any of you RoadDog fans who came along for the ride, a big thank-you for coming out to support our cause.

Sunday was mostly a day of rest and running errands. After spending most of his day sleeping, Jake was the first one to the door to head over to The Happy Cooker in Blockhouse where our bike club gathers on Sunday evenings. I gave him his usual share of my ice cream — four “spoonfuls” — two spoons, using both ends of the spoon. Then Steve came out with a tiny scoop of vanilla in a bowl for our boy. Needless to say, he ate that too and had a very satisfied look on his face when it was gone. After begging the bottom tips of a couple of cones, all in all Jake had a great evening.

It seems to me it ended with another Timbit after we got home. Oh well, it’s not every weekend that our boy has a birthday.

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Can you believe it’s September already? Where did the summer go?

This is always such a busy month for us and we always start it off with a weekend in Digby at the Wharf Rat Rally. As always, we had a fantastic weekend — so many bikes and riders all gathered together to have a good time — what’s not to like? Jake, as always, was such a trooper. It can get crazy hectic with so much going on and so many people moving around, but our RoadDog just stays close and does his thing looking around at everything and everyone.

We spent a lot of time carrying him around downtown Digby on Saturday. For some crazy reason, Jake feels an overwhelming need to lead when he walks. That’s not so bad when there’s just us or even a small group, but when he has to try to get in front of everyone on the sidewalk it gets a little bizarre. They estimated at one point that there were 60,000 people in Digby on Saturday afternoon. (I have no idea who comes up with these numbers or how they do it, but I know there were a lot more people and a lot more bikes than on Saturday last year.) So when Jake decided to make his way to the front of the pack, we would have had to get around at least several thousand people. It was just easier to carry him, although that led to a lot of people stopping us to say hi to him. Sometimes we really do just feel like supporting actors in his life, but that’s not so bad really.

By the time we had our traditional barbecue at our motel on Sunday evening, Jake was pretty exhausted. He helped us gather wood for the bonfire in the afternoon, running around on the beach, but once the fire started he just curled up on the sand and went to sleep. He is one tired RoadDog.

Now we’re busy gearing up for our bike club’s annual toy run on Saturday. The run is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of what size or model of bike you ride, so please, if you’re interested, come and join us. We’ll be gathering in Mahone Bay across from the three churches between noon and 1 p.m. From there, we’ll head through Maders Cove to Lunenburg, turn right at the monument, go through Riverport and then on through Dayspring and Bridgewater, ending at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

It’s a great event that raises money and donations of toys and school supplies for the Salvation Army to distribute. If you don’t ride, but want to support the event, you can drop off donations at the parking lot in Mahone Bay by 1 p.m. or at the thrift store between 2 and 3 p.m. You’ll recognize club members — we wear bright yellow jackets and t-shirts — and, of course, you’ll recognize RoadDog. Jake will be there too doing his part to help the kids.

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