More out and about in Lille

Bailey is loving the off-leash walking at the Citadel and she's doing real well with it, sticking close and/or coming when I call. Shaking the little container of duck treats works even better than me calling her, it always gets her to come running to me.

This fallen tree is about four feet off the ground, but she jumps up easily.

A pair of mallards on one of the canals around the Citadel.

One of the things she really likes about being off leash is being able to go to the water's edge.

She doesn't like to get wet so she won't go in, thankfully.

We encounter a lot of dogs on our walks who are wet and muddy.

I selfishly hope her aversion to getting wet continues.

It was dark by the time we finished our walk Monday evening.

My phone camera does a good job in low light because it was darker than it appears in this picture.

Tuesday morning on the same stump.

Monday evening was one of our best walks ever. We found no one at the big field although we made three passes by that area. However, walking the trails and pathways we encountered four different dogs who made excellent playmates. She got in some good runs with each of them, so much so that with the fourth dog I really didn't think she would play much, just because she was tired. I was wrong. That one was a young, male Malinois and the two of them took to playing immediately. The male dog was wearing a gentle leader, which I've rarely seen here, and was on a long line. The non-English speaking owner instantly dropped the long line and we just let the two dogs run. They ran, they wrestled, they ran some more. I don't think he spoke any more English than I do French, maybe even less, but he did manage to ask if Bailey was capable of having babies. I think he was looking for a breeding partner for his dog. With a combination of hand signals, headshakes, and an emphatic "no" I let him know that that wasn't going to happen. I do hope we run into them again, however, because they were perfectly matched in size, temperament, and play styles.

Bailey and I had our usual morning walk on Wednesday but then she had nap time while Clay and I went off to tour another historic building in Lille. The Palais Rameau was built as a monument to horticulture and was home to the local horticultural society for many years. It is built in a cruciform shape, much like a church, but it was basically a big green house or conservatory. It is currently occupied by a local university that has built internal rooms or pods without altering the exterior. In fact they have restored the exterior and the alterations they have done inside are completely removable if, at some point, someone wants to restore the building to its original form. It was an interesting tour.

The main building is an impressive structure, but this separate building (above and below), the "gardener's cottage" gave me historical occupational envy. I would have loved to work and live here. 

As always, FUCK TRUMP, FUCK ICE, FUCK ANYONE WHO VOTED FOR HIM, AND THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO ENABLE HIM, THAT MEANS EVERY ELECTED REPUBLICAN!