Hello darkness, my old friend

It is the last day of August and yet I’m writing about the encroaching Darkness.

Over the last 3.5 months we have been very lucky to not really have any Darkness here in Oslo. It was more sort of a Dawn or Dusk light, or Twilight if you will, throughout the Summer.

On Saturday night my kids joined me for the night time dog walk with our Border Collie, Minttu. Once we were in the woods my son admitted to me that he was a little scared as it was so dark.

Until he mentioned it I hadn’t really noticed how dark it actually was. But as I struggled to pick out the tree roots and boulders on the path, I had to agree with him that it was maybe a little too dark to not have taken a headtorch with us.

I tried to sell the concept of the Darkness as a form of Adventure to my children.

However they were suddenly more concerned with the fact that we might get attacked by a pack of wolves. I assured them that wolves were not found in these woods where we were walking.

I went on to explain that wolves generally are cautious of humans and that Minttu would both alert us to their oncoming presence and also protect us were we to bump into any.

I was then asked if I would be able to beat a wolf in a fight. Daddy might have told a bit of a lie in his answer so as to not create further panic.

A further chat just now with AI reveals that were Minttu and I to team up against a lone wolf we might actually have a chance of winning.

I was later informed by my kids that wolves fear headtorches and so if we take them with us in future we will be safe.

The crucial lesson from these ramblings for any parents is to take a headtorch with you on your evening walks to avoid being interrogated.

Doggies: Balto, Leopold, Sara, Isak and Haraka