Yes, we dogs are quite as capable as you humans of finding that deep wellspring of memories that bring us comfort and the joy of recognition. For me, this was much needed on yet another day when, even from here in Dog Heaven, the pall of gloom that has settled across the planet seemed to deepen and darken almost by the moment.
Anyway, keeping an eye on my former Master, as is my wont, I found him sitting alone on the terrace of his South of France villa, a rapt expression on his face as he again immersed himself in that heart-stopping view. It all came back to me. Filling the foreground were the asymmetrical white marble flagstones on which I use to love to lie in the warm Spring sunshine. Above them rose the low wall, draped in an entanglement of ivy that bounded the terrace edge, the whole punctuated by the deep green of the statuesque cypresses creating the frame of the view.
And what a view it was, I mean is. Below, through he ever-waving fronds of the towering pair of eucalyptus trees, sparkled the azure Mediterranean, empty as I zoomed in on the view today, but remembered for its summer days as a deep blue quilt, randomly splashed with the white sails and churning wakes of the many maritime craft.
This great sweep of water, the Bay of Cannes, ended in the pale green reflection of the hillsides opposite, dwarfed in turn by the surreal white wall of the still snow-clad Alps soaring heavenwards.
If a dog could shed tears of joy, inspired by the sheer beauty of nature’s magic, my eyes would be damp right now. As I watched, my Master drew a hand across his brow. Was he just shading his eyes from the sun’s rays, or had the nostalgia got to him too.
“Easy ends the day, eh, Robert?” he used to remark, strolling to the kitchen for a sundown gin and tonic.
Easy comes the night too, I thought as I pulled focus on the scene and saw the darkness making its daily approach from the East.
“Time for bed,” said Zebedee. Now, there’s nostalgia for you!
