Underground Dog Park

Despite the fact that dogs are not technically allowed on our main beach area or on the patio/deck area, our beach is being transformed into a virtual dog park in the mornings.  Today, there were 6 dogs.  All the dogs are generally social and there a few to no problems usually.   All the owners are responsible people who pick up after their dogs.  Yet as I write this, in the back of my mind I wonder, "Am I publicizing this for some people in the neighborhood to read who will surely scrutinize?"  Fame has not yet reached "A Year on the Beach" so I'll roll the dice for now.

Jackson was the last dog to leave the beach this morning but still didn't want to go...

Cheers....Two New Friends

Yesterday was the annual Huntington Lighthouse Music Festival and with the lighthouse just off our beach, we have great seats for the show.   The morning was gorgeous and Jackson and I walked as volunteers shuttled the band's and their equipment out to the lighthouse.  We arrived a bit late and missed Ramses so Jackson began staring at me as if to say "Uh, where are all the dogs?"  Every once in a while, when there are no  dogs at the beach, he will look at me and let out a pathetic cry, "You slept too long and now we missed my friends!" This always cracks me up because its really hard to be sympathetic when I know he lives an utterly spoiled dogs life. Boo-hoo.  He is on the beach, off a leash; he can swim, run, sniff and because there are no dogs there all of these normally exciting dog activities are just not enough for him.  Has he heard of puppy mills and animal shelters?  So, he wandered around looking bored and disappointed for awhile while I watched the activity unfold out at the lighthouse.

Then, just as Jackson had lost all hope in life, up walks Mookie and Cooper.  A Golden Retriever and a Yellow Lab who, as it turns out, just moved into the neighborhood. Eureka! Jackson is a big, 100 lb baby.  He has not a shred of aggression in him.  He will back down from any confrontation - guaranteed.  Alpha dog=not Jackson.  So, on his home turf, he cautiously, gingerly but amicably approached.  Cooper and Mookie were nice in return and the rest is history as they say.

Jackson's new friends are from Brooklyn and it showed when they got to the water.  The ran in as if they had just spent a long time in the desert.  They all swam and frolicked in the sand and poor Jackson's dog-less morning ended like most others do - exhausted, covered in sand and salt water and hungry for breakfast.

Mookie, Cooper & Spoiled Dog

Setting up on the lighthouse

The Storm That Wasn't

 The morning after and a delicate breeze and a few raindrops were all that Hurricane Earl managed to muster up before rumbling out to sea for good.  It was the return of Milly that was the story this morning.  Milly is a rescue dog from the South that can keep up with lightening-fast Ramses and despite being half Jackson's weight, can wrestle him to the ground like he's a wimpy chihuahua.  She has not been to the beach all summer and Jackson was thrilled to see her again. He thoroughly enjoyed every minute he spent pinned on his back.  He even got dunked while wrestling in the water.

The beach...no hurricane damage!

Milly, Ramses & Jackson

Waiting for Earl...

The first few raindrops began to fall a minute ago as Hurricane Earl approaches the North Shore of Long Island.  Jackson & I took our beach walk in the proverbial "calm before the storm".  The forecast seems to change minute to minute but it seems, at least for now, that we will only get a little rain and wind before the storm heads North and East leaving us with sunny weather for Labor Day Weekend.  Still, two hulking yachts have taken up temporary residence in the Huntington Bay.  I suppose they're en route to somewhere and taking refuge in calm waters until the storm passes.  The larger one (probably between 100-120 feet) is too far to get a good shot of but the smaller one (guessing about 80 feet) is parked right outside my back door since yesterday afternoon.

Fishing

Marc, my boyfriend, is a fisherman.  Earlier this summer, he started taking Jackson with him for quick fishing trips down to the beach in the evening - just for a half hour or so.  Pardon the pun, but the dog was instantly hooked.  He patiently stands next to him in the water waiting for a fish and when he catches one he cautiously smells them, maybe paws at it before it goes back into the water. 


So today I laughed when I saw him in the middle of playing with Sandy (Golden Retriever), Ramses (his best friend, Greyhound) and Holly (mutt with a crush on Jackson) stop in his tracks and run straight to the water when he heard fish jumping in the water.  He stood in a couple of inches of water and just watched them for a few minutes before returning to his buds.  Daddy would be so proud. 

The Fisherman

Jackson & Sandy

Mornings With Jackson

My dog, Jackson (aka Wubee), turned 2 last week.  Surprised at how quickly that happened, I decided to start this blog as a way to document my special mornings with my "Wubee".  Not too long ago, I wrote an article for my local newspaper, The Wincoman, about the first year we spent "on the beach".  I missed a lot in that first year by not writing this sooner but the article will give you the highlights and we'll take it from there...

A Year on The Beach
By Krishtia Lindgren

Just about every day of the past year and a half begins the same.  I rise in the morning and head to Wincoma beach with my loyal companion, Jackson, in tow.  Jackson is a big, brown, barking alarm clock who sees to it that we never miss our first appointment of the day.  Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays Jackson from the swift completion of his appointed rounds.  He’s a tried and true Certified Beach Dog.   Now I’ve always been a beach girl but never this devout.  I’ve created a monster though and there’s no turning back now.   And while this is undoubtedly a fabulous dogs life to have, to my surprise, its benefitted me as well. Never before have I seen the beauty of snow fall on the bay under a storm laden January sky.  Or the Osprey’s return in March to painstakingly re-build their nest. Schools of bunker chased out of the water by feeding bluefish in July.  The heat of the day begin to fill the thick August air.  Leaves in their October prime of vibrant fall colors casting rust and golden shadows over a tranquil harbor. Fog so thick the lighthouse is only apparent from its sounding horn. 

Now granted there are many mornings where leaving the warmth of my bed made me question the logic in creating this routine...for a dog no less! But once suited up in the appropriate foul weather gear, it became something of value for me too.  It gives me time to reflect, absorb nature, breathe.  There were mornings I’d leave the beach to board a plane for meetings in Boston or Chicago but despite the days stresses I carried my early morning walk in Wincoma in the back of my mind.  The serene still beauty of a morning on the beach is intoxicating.  Seagulls, ducks, cormorants, swans seeking out their breakfast.  The bay men leaving for their days work (there is one who brazenly sings opera at full volume as he drives his boat).   Such simple beauty. Upon the shore I’ve found countless pieces of sea glass and shells which are strewn throughout my home, someone’s mysteriously discarded purse, even a message in a bottle.  Jackson’s made dog friends, I’ve made people friends.  Yes, it took a dog to get me to be able to appreciate all of this.  He’s reconnected me with nature and one of my first loves, the beach.  A place of effortless magnificence.  And for that I thank him (even on cold February mornings).