One spring morning when Asha was about six months old, we walked up what my friend Lynn calls Butt Hill (because you feel the climb in your butt).* When we reached the top, Asha lay down in the vernal pond to drink some water. I felt a pang of envy although I had no desire […]
Unexpected purple delight
On our morning walk Asha runs down to a stream and I search for a stick to throw her. Instead I find small purple flowers in the grass. They look like a cluster of buds about to bloom. I spend a few minutes examining them and looking around for more. As we continue on our […]
The way becomes clear
This morning Asha and I walked to the bridge over gentle waters. It was sunny and a pleasant 28°. No biting wind. I was in no hurry so instead of returning the way we came, we took a longer route home on a different trail. We first explored this trail in the early spring. I […]
Approach, retreat, bark
One overcast morning I was walking along a trail deep in thought – perhaps about how snow pants make such a difference on cold days like this one – when, up ahead, Asha did a double take and barked. It took me a few seconds to locate what had startled her – a dark mass […]
Bridge over gentle waters
On one of my let’s-see-where-this-trail-goes walks with Asha, we rounded a bend and came to a clearing of sorts with a wooden bridge over a burbling stream. The bridge invites me to pause, to stop. I drop a stick into the deep section of the stream. Asha waits for it to drift close enough that […]
