The day was balmy, a good day for a walk with the dog. Now that I'm home, since Nick and one of his friends left the screen door open, the fresh wet smell is still around me. Our crocuses are up. Nick and I planted them six years ago, and though the squirrels found many of them plus the tulips that had been here when we moved in, there are a few still blooming. The boys are on a quest outside in the late dusk, shooting bad guys, and the dog is lolling about, mud drying on his flanks. It smells like spring.
I keep hearing other dog lover's talk about how they don't walk their dogs much in our wet winter weather. Do the dogs know that they don't need a walk on those days? If I didn't take Teddy out because of a few days of rain, he'd chew my house down. I might help him. If it's raining and cold, I layer up and throw my long red raincoat over everything. With all the layers and my gear in my pockets, I can stand still and look like a red tent, but I stay warm and dry. Mike gave this coat to me for my birthday a few years back. He told me he could have chosen green, but got the red one instead. He said it would be easier to find me in the woods if I got lost. I told him that a satellite could see me from space in that red rain jacket. I wear it anyway. It has a good hood and deep pockets, covers me to the knees, and keeps me dry as I walk all over our valley.
We all just came back inside after a 'reconnaissance.' After dinner, the boys decided that Mike and I needed to go outside with them to shoot bad guys since they thought they'd heard a coyote howl after they tried howling. I came outside with them and heard something too, but I'm not positive it was a coyote. To be honest, it sounded more like a kid in his back yard, answering their call. The three of us ended up howling at the moon and were hardly quiet enough in between to hear if anyone answered us. By the time we had shot into the dark and run around the house a few times, the boys got spooked and lost their determination. Suddenly, they hustled back inside.
Here's what I saw. Nick, Jack, and I am terrible at staying unseen in the shadows. Mike was the only one with that gift. I was warm and dry in just a light jacket. A half moon rose up over the ridge on the North side of the house. I wondered if I should pretend it was the enemy and shoot. The boys looked into the shadows, listening for animals rustling in the sword ferns and ivy. They wanted me out front just in case. I wanted to be behind them so as not to get hit by a pellet. Air soft guns aren't all that soft when they hit the back of your neck. Later, I stood on the lower lawn under the Douglas Fir trees where I could see Orion hunting toward the West in a clearing. Clouds moved in quickly after that and left a corona around the moon, green, yellow and orange in the rainbow around it. It was pretty and bright enough to put us all into moon shadow.
Then the song popped into my head. "I'm being followed by a moon shadow." Poor Cat Stevens, just couldn't handle the wonder we all had in that song. I wish he hadn't had to leave it all and change his name, but better that than losing himself altogether the way some musicians did. I was reluctant to come inside when the boys heard something else moving behind the garage where we'd shown Jack the bear trail. They moved pretty quickly. I ambled along behind. The lovely night disappears in the sounds and lights inside.
Thank you for listening, jb
I keep hearing other dog lover's talk about how they don't walk their dogs much in our wet winter weather. Do the dogs know that they don't need a walk on those days? If I didn't take Teddy out because of a few days of rain, he'd chew my house down. I might help him. If it's raining and cold, I layer up and throw my long red raincoat over everything. With all the layers and my gear in my pockets, I can stand still and look like a red tent, but I stay warm and dry. Mike gave this coat to me for my birthday a few years back. He told me he could have chosen green, but got the red one instead. He said it would be easier to find me in the woods if I got lost. I told him that a satellite could see me from space in that red rain jacket. I wear it anyway. It has a good hood and deep pockets, covers me to the knees, and keeps me dry as I walk all over our valley.
We all just came back inside after a 'reconnaissance.' After dinner, the boys decided that Mike and I needed to go outside with them to shoot bad guys since they thought they'd heard a coyote howl after they tried howling. I came outside with them and heard something too, but I'm not positive it was a coyote. To be honest, it sounded more like a kid in his back yard, answering their call. The three of us ended up howling at the moon and were hardly quiet enough in between to hear if anyone answered us. By the time we had shot into the dark and run around the house a few times, the boys got spooked and lost their determination. Suddenly, they hustled back inside.
Here's what I saw. Nick, Jack, and I am terrible at staying unseen in the shadows. Mike was the only one with that gift. I was warm and dry in just a light jacket. A half moon rose up over the ridge on the North side of the house. I wondered if I should pretend it was the enemy and shoot. The boys looked into the shadows, listening for animals rustling in the sword ferns and ivy. They wanted me out front just in case. I wanted to be behind them so as not to get hit by a pellet. Air soft guns aren't all that soft when they hit the back of your neck. Later, I stood on the lower lawn under the Douglas Fir trees where I could see Orion hunting toward the West in a clearing. Clouds moved in quickly after that and left a corona around the moon, green, yellow and orange in the rainbow around it. It was pretty and bright enough to put us all into moon shadow.
Then the song popped into my head. "I'm being followed by a moon shadow." Poor Cat Stevens, just couldn't handle the wonder we all had in that song. I wish he hadn't had to leave it all and change his name, but better that than losing himself altogether the way some musicians did. I was reluctant to come inside when the boys heard something else moving behind the garage where we'd shown Jack the bear trail. They moved pretty quickly. I ambled along behind. The lovely night disappears in the sounds and lights inside.
Thank you for listening, jb
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