We never can quite come to an agreement, them and I, about whether we're smellin' or walkin'.....

They sniff their way around the forty foot old growth pine to the pond.

Sign says: "Pond for the Use of Newport Cove Residents Only".

Cute, winding, hilly, little path - willows and oaks canopy it overhead - paved around a pond with an island in the middle, a big fish fountain spewing water, cascading down over the rocky formation to big brass letters proclaiming Newport Cove.

Another sign ten feet down the path: "No recreational use of Pond. No fishing. No Ice skating. No swimming. No wading."

Another sign ten feet more down the path: "No rock throwing. No feeding ducks or geese. No fishing. Dogs must be leashed and kept off the grass."

I tug them out of a sniff by the signpost. They squat in unison -- ears back in the classic posture, heads down, front feet dug in -- for twenty seconds before being convinced.

Kid rides a skateboard down the winding path in front of us - eschewing earbuds, letting his music blare from his iPhone - past another sign warning: “No bikes or skateboards on path. Violators will be reported and fined.”

One contemplates dried geese poop - after trying to nip the skateboarder as he puts his foot on the ground to create speed for the upgrade - while the other strains across the grass to water's edge, towards the teenager taking a selfie of the large bass he just unbelievably pulled from the pond - I contemplate just how lucky the residents of Newport Cove are to have such a beautiful pond they can never use for anything.

A tug leads up the winding grade the skateboarder earlier traversed, and across the street to the mostly empty strip mall where a group of teenagers sit on a curb vaping in front of the Chinese takeout, a sign in the window proclaiming "No Loitering" - all heads down staring at their phones, none speaking or acknowledging our presence until Bobo raises his leg on the nearest statue, causing a sudden, frenzied, cursing scurry, eliciting all manner of yapping and snarling.

Apparently some signs are made to be ignored.