The First Stick

From our old house in Sudden Valley, it was about 5 minutes walk up to Sudden Valley Drive. From there, it was about 2-3 minutes more up hill and around a corner to a little dead end street. No big deal, right?Well, it wasn't, at least until I figured out that what looked like a road that hadn't been finished (there, behind the dead end sign) was actually a paved walking trail. We snuck up, afraid that we were on private property (meaning, I was afraid), and went down the trail. A whole new area! Trails! More streets! No traffic!

We walked that route for some time before I notice one of the road side markers was different from the others, and more time still before I bent my head under the low hanging branches to check out why. There we found some older wooden steps. We tried them…they led to a "secret" pathway along a creek.
Oz was in Oz heaven. Exploring things, but also, water! She plunged in to the little creek, splashing around, biting the water, etc. I watched for a while, but honestly, I got a little bored. I picked up a stick and started waving it around…and all of a sudden Oz was crouching and growling.

"Jesus!" I said. I dropped the stick.
Oz picked it up, shook it back and forth to break its neck, and started biting and tearing it. She took it into the water, the better to kill it. She put a paw on the body of the stick, and tore her head sideways, as if ripping the head of the stick clear off. Then she let the pieces drop to spin in idle circles in the creek.

She slapped her paws on the water and barked. What's that Lassie? Timmy's in trouble? Screw Timmy! I want the stick! It was the first time I had seen Oz be so demanding, so aggressive, so mock violent. I checked to make sure I understood. I picked up another stick, but before I could ask "You want this?" she had already clamped down on it and started gnawing. Hell, yes, I want that.
Gnar!