今朝は珍しく長年の友達に次々と会えた日でした。四中草地に着くと、シュナウザーのトムと柴犬のカリー君。もう十分遊んでオヤツもたっぷりもらって帰るところだったので、タイガの顔を見ても何の反応もなし。
It was quite a morning, running into familiar faces one after another. When we arrived at the field just in front of the Central Park, we met Tom (Schnauzer) and Curry (Shiba Inu). They had already had lots of exercise followed by treats, and were ready to go home.
飼い主よりもワンコのほうが帰る気持ち満々。
They were so exhausted and ready to go home more than their owners.
タイガにとっては空振りでしたが、めげずにズンズン歩いていきます。
What a pity for Taiga. However, she was eager to move ahead.
カリンの木を背景にポーズ。
Posing on the boulder in front of a quince tree.
裏年がない果樹なのか、毎年鈴なりです。完熟で落ちているのをよく見かけますが、匂いは良いけど食用には用途の少ない果実なのが残念。
The quince trees in the park do not seem to have alternate year fruit setting - they are such reliable and prolific producers. Pity there is little use for the fruits, apart from making jam (never tried it myself).道を渡って築山のふもとで会ったのはラブラドゥードルのアルバス（右）と妹（左）（名前の響きがトルコ風でよく忘れる）。アルバスは毎夕方、今は工事中の草地で群れで遊んでいた数年間の馴染みです。妹のほうは草地が無くなってからの知り合いなのに、アルバスに負けずに大歓迎してくれます。
When we came to another field, we met two Labradoodles, Albas (right) and his younger sister (left). Albas is a long-time friend, since the days when there was a large field where we met every evening - since then, the field has been under construction for about 5 years. His sister arrived after the pack was dissolved. And yet, she is just as enthusiastic in meeting Taiga as Albas.
大興奮だったのを、何とか座って落ち着かせました。妹の頭の毛がすごいことになっています。
They were too excited, so we tried to calm them down. The little sister's hairstyle is quite something.
一旦は落ち着いてもタイガに近付きたくて、にじり寄ってきました。
After calming down a little, they started crawling towards Taiga.
築山に上ると、日本スピッツのアンジーちゃんがいました。最後に会ったのは半年以上前です。現在13歳だそうで、何だか急激に自己防衛的になった印象です。犬は年をとるにつれ、自分の弱さをカバーするために警戒心を強めることが良くあります。タイガが近づくと、唸りはしなかったけど固まって挨拶を避けていました。
There was a small mound nearby and we went up, where we met Angie, a 13-year old Japanese Spitz. It was more than 6 months ago when we last met. Angie seems to have become more defensive than ever with age. When Taiga got closer, she did not growl but kept avoiding her. She almost looked frozen.
でも、草地で遊んだ数年間も、デリケートなアンジーは他の子たちとワンプロはしていなかったので、この流れは自然に思えます。
She has always been delicate and never participated in rough playing with other pack members in the days of the evening meet. So, her current behaviour seemed natural.橋を渡って中央公園の広場を歩いていると通りがかった甲斐犬のヒナとセナ。ヒナとタイガはもう最初から大興奮。
We crossed the river and entered the Central Park, when we saw Hina and Sena. Hina and Taiga were delighted.
ただしセナは草地の群れが解散した後に迎えられた子なので、タイガを見ても単なるよそ者のひとり、という捉え方をしているようです。
However, Sena did not participate in the excitement. She joined Hina's family after the evening pack was dissolved. As a result, she seems to regard Taiga just as one of the boring outsiders.
あくびまでして退屈でしょうがない様子。
She made no effort to hide her boredom and even yawned.
