The natural world, life, and dogs.
Without music, life would be a mistake.Friedrich Nietzsche Music is the background to our lives. What music we listen to, sing to, dance to – or create – changes with us as we grow and evolve, from infancy to the day we die. It expresses our innermost emotions, gives wings to our desires, and memorializes… Continue reading Music
When I was about eight years old, my family got a puppy, a beagle-mix we named Trinket. Oh, I loved that girl. While she wasn’t the first dog in my life, Trinket was the first dog who grew up with me, a part of my life from age eight until I left home at eighteen.… Continue reading Swimming in Circles
Yesterday I enjoyed one of those times in nature that leave me awestruck, enthralled, fully engaged, and grateful. Everything was perfect: the weather, the snow, and the company (my dogs). We started early in the morning, running up, up, up the mountain on freshly-groomed trail, the rising sun breaking over and through the tops of… Continue reading Into the Woods in Winter
Snug Hugs I still remember my father’s wonderful rib-cage-crushing hugs. Slow squeezes that started easy and just kept snuggling down. Oh, how I miss them. He knew how to make sure I knew how much I was loved and cherished, all in a single hug. A hug is like a boomerang - you get it… Continue reading Hugs
kerfuffle (noun): a commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views. We had a kerfuffle here in the wee hours, 3:00 am, two days ago (Wednesday, January 22nd). Something woke Conall. He let out of low growl from his post on the floor beside my bed. That woke me. Conall stood, took a couple… Continue reading Plea to Universe: Enough Skunks, Already!
Your life can change in an instant. You may not immediately realize the breadth of the change or the full range of its implications, but you’ll always remember when the change happened. Mine changed one morning on a beautiful mountain trail. It was August 2003. I fell. Hard. And as a result, my brain no… Continue reading A Quart Low: Life with a Hidden Disability
A bit at a loss for words lately. As a placeholder, here are more fences and gates, in winter. A short break in a series of recent snow storms leaving 2.5 feet of new snow on the ground. The birds have flown south for the winter. January 11, 2020. Because of snow, many gates are… Continue reading Fences IV
My last post was about snow and how one's attitude about snow can make all the difference when living where snow happens. That post - and being snowbound at home most of the day today after a dump of about nine inches of new snow overnight - got me reminiscing about an encounter that happened… Continue reading Snowbound: Stumbling Upon a Lawyer in the Woods
Whether considered blessing or curse simply depends on your outlook. I regularly share photos of my outdoors adventures on my personal Facebook page. Most photos feature one or both of my dogs while we’re on a run or walk in the forest, through all of the changing seasons. Recently, after posting photos from a run… Continue reading Snow!
Not long ago I was reading James Herriot’s Dog Stories, about his country veterinary practice in England. Herriot is best known for his book, All Creatures Great and Small. His stories of rural life during the era around WWII and the quirky clients he served, both human and animal, are charming and humorous. Those clients… Continue reading Practicing Law in a Bygone Era: Life Lessons Learned from Clients
