WALKING THE DOG

(If you are looking for info about the Stearns Mill Pond weed pull this weekend, go to the June 9th entry.  Thanks for taking an interest!  Hope to see you there.)

Having to go out and walk the dog several times a day, is truly a blessing. Probably only those of us walking dogs along this road have seen this beautiful lady slipper.

Why do I say that?  As any dog owner knows, we spend a lot of time staring at the side of the road while the dog sniffs. We also look at the side of the road to make sure there's no poison ivy where the dog is going.  Want to know where the poison ivy is?  Ask a dog walker.

What other daily pursuit has you out walking in every kind of weather, good and bad. Hmmm, yes, even during the hurricane.  That one wasn't so much fun.  "Okay Blake, we're gonna run to the end of the driveway, then turn around and walk back.  So, do you thing--FAST!". 

Yesterday morning I saw a deer in the fingers of dawn.  Last night I heard a bird that I didn't recognize and had never heard before. It almost sounded like a screech owl but not quite. I wonder if it is an immature, fledgling screech owl trying out its voice?  A couple days ago Linda & I saw a little bit of down, or fluff of some sort, on the hole where the screech was seen earlier this spring. Perhaps they did have a nest there and the chicks have fledged.

Last week in one of the rainstorms, I put on my rain jacket, rain pants and my hat and took Blake for a walk. It actually was quite lovely to be out in the rain. A runner was coming down the hill toward me and I said to her, "People who don't get wet, don't know what they are missing."  She replied, "You got that right!"