Went for a nice snowshoe with friends over lunch hour today. While waiting for everyone I looked over to see Zeke sampling the wind. I think that's what he was doing, one can never know for sure. The odd part was watching his nose. Dog's can slightly steer their nose in different directions. Slight being the key word here since we're talking a half inch or less. What kind of feature is that? Can they really distinguish the direction of a smell by shifting nostrils? Maybe it's not shifting the nose, but shutting down one nostril in preference of the other? Still, what utility can that be? Is it like closing one eye to try a narrow focus? Despite my disbelief Zeke stood there for a couple of minutes with head slightly tilted skyward, nose a-wriggling. He does the same thing in the car, sniffing one vent, then excitedly moving over to the next one in the hopes of narrowing down the scent.
Zeke's probably thinking to himself:
Look at that poor man. Totally oblivious to the rich tapestry of smell washing over him. Unable to trace and appreciate the fine tendrils of odors, the river of history wafting by. What a strange and isolated life.
It's that or: Cool, smells like dog pee!
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