Another Day, Another Chestnut

You would think—and I certainly hoped—that I’d have something different to talk about today. But, alas, here we are again: raking chestnuts. For the third day in a row. Yes, you read that correctly. It's unbelievable how much chaos those chestnut trees can create on our lawn. Every square meter has to be meticulously raked, and I’ve lost count of how many wheelbarrows full of chestnuts and twigs I’ve hauled off to the compost heap. To be honest, I’m starting to lose motivation, so I wasn’t exactly eager to get started this morning. First, I needed to take my time waking up with a cup of tea and my computer. If I don’t do that, my day starts completely wrong.

Once I was done with that, I figured I might as well take care of the dishes and vacuum the house while I was at it. These household chores keep coming back, and honestly, they’ll never be a big hobby of mine. But, like many things in life, they just come with the territory.

A New Painting Project

After getting all that done, I checked the clock and saw that I still had some time to work on the painting of a dog—surprise, surprise—that I’ve been working on. This time, though, it's not a shepherd, not even one of our dogs. No, this time I’m painting a picture for my partner’s brother. A few weeks ago, we had coffee together, and they brought their little dog along. I snapped a few photos and immediately decided to paint the little guy as a surprise for them.

When I started painting, time just flew by, and an intense hour later, I checked the clock again and realized I really had to hurry up. My big furry friend was already pacing, and I rushed a bit when I saw the time. Not that Skipper couldn’t hold it in any longer—he easily could—but I like to walk him during a specific time window to avoid running into the mailman. Skipper can be reactive in many situations, and while I can handle most of them just fine, I really don’t want to encounter the mailman with him.

Skipper and the Postman

So, I quickly put on his leash, and off we went, stretching our legs together in the fresh air. The sun was out so we decided to make it a nice, leisurely walk. We had some deep "conversations" along the way, and after about an hour and a half, we returned home, tired but satisfied. Since the weather was still so nice, I enjoyed my well-deserved cup of tea outside with Skipper. Well, I should say, I drank tea, while Skipper mainly looked offended that there was once again only a bowl of water for him. I seriously think he would have liked some tea too, but I don’t think that’s such a good idea for him. Luckily, he enjoyed being outside and, more importantly, just being together.

Finding a Safe Solution for Skipper

By now, it was already afternoon, and if I wanted to tackle the chestnut chaos, it was time to get moving. The only thing that bothered me was the thought of Skipper having to stay behind the gate for the third day in a row while I worked out front alone. Last year, he still had the company of Myla and Lana during these chestnut-raking moments, but unfortunately, those two ladies are no longer with us, so now Skipper has to stay alone behind the gate. It just feels different, and while I know this is mostly my feeling… still, a dog is a pack animal and loves company.

Now, I have to admit, I also prefer having him around, but I know my dog... he can be quite reactive, and that’s not exactly ideal when he suddenly decides that one cyclist or walker has come too close. So I had to come up with a way for him to be with me without scaring the living daylights out of an unsuspecting passerby.

The idea that came to me was simple. Skipper has a military harness for the car. What if I just put that on him, and his collar? Then I could attach his leash to both the collar and the harness. There's a sturdy wooden post right by our mailbox. There’s a small gap between the mailbox and the post where I could loop the leash through. This way, he wouldn’t be able to reach the street, so passersby wouldn’t need to be scared, and he wouldn’t be able to put himself in danger by running out into traffic or something. This way, he could learn to be outside with me without any danger, and he could still see what I was doing and be part of it. And, most importantly, he wouldn’t suddenly decide that a fun outing without me was a good idea. Although I don’t think he’d actually do that, I prefer to play it safe.

Chestnut Chaos: Day Three

Once I got him all "dressed," we were ready. He would be able to stay with me safely. And honestly, Skipper is always grateful, but now he was so happy to be allowed to stay out front with me, it was adorable to see. At first, he watched in amazement as I raked the chestnuts off the grass, but of course, that didn’t last long. Pretty soon, he found a better way to spend his time: inspecting the grass. Every leaf was thoroughly examined, and every scent was carefully analyzed. I swear, if he could write, he’d probably write a scientific paper on it.

The Love-Hate Relationship with Chestnut Trees

About an hour and a half later, my back started protesting. Not that Skipper cared. He was completely focused on his priorities, you know, studying the grass down to the millimeter—seeing how it looked, figuring out how it tasted, all that jazz. But for me, it was time to put the rake down and accept that tomorrow would bring yet another day of chestnut collecting. My back has its limits, and I don’t want to risk not being able to walk for a week or shuffling around the house like an old lady. So, reluctantly but wisely, I decided to save the last bit of work for tomorrow. And then, hopefully, tomorrow will be the last day of raking chestnuts for the week.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love those chestnut trees. I really do. They provide shade in the summer, look beautiful in every season, and make me feel like I’m in a forest when I look outside. But that one month a year when they drop their fruit en masse onto my lawn? Yeah, we could do with a little break from that. Maybe they could go on vacation elsewhere during that period?

Reflecting on a Productive Day

But for now, I’m happy that Skipper and I managed to have a bit of quality time during the chestnut raking. He watched contentedly as I worked, and I’m pretty proud of myself for finding a way to include him without him causing havoc in the neighborhood. And now, as I’m writing this, he’s peacefully napping next to me, blissfully unaware that we’ll be starting all over again tomorrow. After tomorrow, I hope it’s the end of the "Plop, plop, plop" sound.

Life with nature, with chestnut trees, and with Skipper... it certainly keeps me busy!