Tuesday I had to run over to Forde's Greenhouse and Nursery (www.fordenursery.com) to talk to Bruce Forde concerning the sudden die-off of many evergreens in the area. (Story to follow on that topic in a few days.) Of course, Sam came with me, but his increased activity level is proving more challenging.
Every time I set him down to take photos, he was off in a flash darting down the pathways going who knows where. Thankfully, everyone at Forde's dotes on him, and doesn't seem to be bothered by this wild child. When we were looking at a damaged spruce near the main area, I set Sam in the big sandbox they have for kids. When he spit out his pacifier in the sand, one of the gals grabbed it and took it in to rinse it off before handing it back to him. They're a great bunch. Then, when one of their customers arrived with their border collie, Sam crawled... actually more like fell... out of the sandbox to get to her. Dogs and cats trump just about everything in his book.
In reality, taking him to interviews hasn't been a problem. I'm very grateful just about everybody is tolerant, if not happy, to have him along, and I think the exposure will be a positive experience for him to learn to interact with others.
Our first interview was when he was a month old with Marcia Bundi at Bundi Greenhouses here in Great Falls. Sam sat on the counter in his carrier while she and I talked for an hour. Now we go over, and he's hanging all over their dog and cat or running down the aisles going after them! It's pretty hard to believe it's been a year since that first interview with him at their place, and it's remarkable to ponder the changes that have happened in a relatively short amount of time. And there's more fun on the horizon.
