Just don't say squirrel.

So my mom and dad live on a busy street. Which has always been pretty busy, but lately has turned into an expressway. It's sort of frightening, and very loud, but like brave soldiers we perservere. So along we go, my mom in a back brace, and 5 dogs between us, walking down the expressway with traffic flying by in both directions. My mom is more interested in making sure we do not use the "S" word (that would be SQUIRREL) which gets Matilda really going. Forget traffic danger, there are squirrels about.

A lot of the traffic has to do with the high school. We couldn't even walk down the street to the high school (the "dog park", security guards and high school officials and local police not withstanding), because it has gotten too frightening with the buses and SUV's that come winging it up the road. So we walked roundabout through the alleys and other streets to take the dogs down to the track to walk. Along with the hordes of high school students in gym clothes who were in various states of walking, jogging and sauntering around the track. We kind of didn't blend real good.

Yesterday's walk involved dragging a toddler along and by the end of it, literally dragging/carrying a toddler along who was a lot more interested in sitting in the street or on a rock or in the dirt than actually walking. My dad is actually really good at reasoning with said toddler, who I was perfectly happy to just drag along, screaming. Which is maybe not the best method. Five dogs and one toddler and one grandpa with a replaced knee...and then every so often, a squirrel.