NANO ZEN

No sooner that I put the winter sheets on the bed, guess who decides to settle into a warm comfy spot - Baka. Good thing he had a bath the day before, but now he’s as white as the duvet cover. I wonder if he’d be visible without the blue pillows.

My previous bichon, Cotton, was really hard to spot in the snow at night. All one could see was three black spots for his eyes and nose. Guess the same would be true of Baka against the white duvet.

People reading my posts and haiku might wonder after some of the names or words mentioned. I like to borrow from mythology and folklore, as the various gods, goddesses, heroes, villains, and creatures often lend so much more colour and personality to a story or poetic image. So I thought I might provide a brief run down of the cast of characters I’ve mentioned recently:

• Baka: My white fluffy little dog; a bichon frise. Word from Japanese means fool or idiot, though I meant it, when I named him, in the context of clown, bouffon, or jester. And Baka’s friendly, affectionate, and often amusing personality has developed along those lines.
• Cotton: my previous bichon frise I had from just after graduation from U(W) in 1990 to his passing in early 2005. Still in my memories.
• Eos: Greek goddess of the dawn.
• fée: French for fairy folk.
• Helios: Greek god of the sun.
• Selene: Greek goddess of the moon.
• Tatty - A online friend from Norway. Witty, fun, free spirited, chatty friend, who likes dark beer and light bruises.
• Thor - Norse god of thunder.
• Unclr - An excellent photographer from Norway and friend of Tatty.

I often write of dawn, dusk, scenery, and storms as I find them interesting times of change often mixed with beauty, colour, scents, sounds, turbulence, and emotion. They act on the senses and the mind in infinite ways and every day nature offers a new painting to begin and end the day. It also happens to be times of the day that Baka and I go for walks and the places we go when I might reflect on the world around me.

I like to go out running and unlike some people (who claim they went running or have no sweat glands or are simply not human at all), I tend to come back sweating profusely. If I walk around a bit to cool down, I’ll sweat even more as my body expels excess salt, minerals, moisture, heat, and gasses and generally makes a small contribution to global warming.

On those really hot and humid summer mornings, I can end up soaked head to toe, such that my running shoes will go squish squish squish as though I’d been running in the rain. Those are the days that you leave a trail of warm saline from the door all the way to the bathroom, fridge, or laundry, which ever comes first.

Now Baka just loves this. From the moment I’m in the door, I’m besieged by a fluffy little white dog intent on giving me a tongue bath. First the legs, then arms as I bend down to remove my squishy shoes. His little tail wagging furiously as though this were better than play time or long walks.

I hate to deprive him of his small pleasures, so I’ll sit or lie down on the floor and let him enjoy his moment licking my legs, arms, and face. It is not like I have much use for the sweat anyway. It’s not like I’m going to scrape it off and put in jar to use as lard or soup bouillon. And having Baka show his affections and interest in the by-products of my physical exertions allows me further time to cool down and can actually be quite relaxing, though it tends to tickle when he gets to the ears.

By “Thinking Cool” I’m not talking about the iPhone. Nice piece of kit, but I won’t abandon the SFR service I’ve been happy with for 12 years just to get one; switching to Orange France just ain’t worth it.

In my apartment, all I have in my bedroom to keep cool during summer nights is a squeaky ceiling fan (Casablanca fans take note). So last night I sat in bed with my laptop and watched Mystery, Alaska. Nice chilly underdog hockey movie. Just the sort of thing to remind a Canadian of home, beautiful vistas (and no, not the Windows shite), lots of snow, and hockey.

Of course I couldn’t keep the laptop in my lap; throws too much heat, when the idea is to think cool thoughts. Though it would make for a good bed warmer in winter, Baka does a good job of that year round. Soon as I open the bed and start to get ready, Baka jumps up and finds a place in the centre nuzzled against the pillows. Of course he gives me a disgruntled look as soon as I slide him over a tad so that we can both comfortably sit and watch.