Good Dog, Gracie

Today, I read a cartoon by an artist called Bird Born about adopting a dog from an animal shelter. The story reminds me of Gracie who, like the adopted dog is a bit ill-mannered but also very joyful and lively.

She is becoming less ill-mannered in our daily walk but no less joyful. Today, when I had to sit to remove a sharp nut shell from my shoe, she consented to sit and take in the view, then to lie down and wait. She has learned this new skill as well as this command "s-l-o-w s-l-o-w s-l-o-w" when we walk on wet wooden bridges, slick and slippery with grunge.

Feeling Good in a Time of Bad Feelings: An Informal Guide to Self-therapy

I

Go for a walk. Alone. With someone. Or with a companionable dog. Even in rain and fog and cold temperatures.

II

Read the news less. Look at beautiful things more. Art. 500px photos. Instagram. Anything. Even street signs.

III

Do something I love. Experiment.

IV

Speak to strangers.

V

Speak to known folks. Give compliments. "What a beautiful Short-haired Pointer!"

VI

Share what matters.

SOMETHING TO TAKE MY PLACE The Art of Lonnie Holley from John Reynolds & Lee Donaldson on Vimeo.

Sometimes a Sunless Day Is Actually Pretty Good When It Begins Like This

Sewanee winter: fog, mist, drizzle, rain, drizzle, mist, fog.

Caution on the wet stones down into Abbo's Alley, where the snowdrops blossom, followed by one slip on the first wood bridge (good Gracie turned towards me, ran back, licked my face, waited while I stood), rain at the fish pond, a sit on the porch of the gardeners' shed, a tramp across South Carolina, mist again, slow trek up the hill past the theater, dorm, and archaeological dig where Rebel's Rest used to be, down University and across to the cornerstone walk-through, where Gracie was singularly unimpressed, and finally back home.

One hour in dampness, with good company, gladly dry inside my frayed Camden Town flea find (a 12-pound wool coat).

Life is good.

A New-ish Pleasure

Because a friend is laid up, I have discovered the pleasures of walking her dog Gracie. I have walked her several times recently and today offered to walk her every day, an offer I hope might be accepted. 

I like walking behind Gracie, feeling the lead loosen every few feet or so, watching her sniff and sniff (sometimes open-mouthed) along a stone or branch or tiny stem and leave her own territorial mark, admiring the way she throws her nose and face into a pile of leaves to root around for something living that she never (thankfully) produces or rummages upwards. 

Her pleasure is mine. 

I borrowed her today while her human's human ran an errand, and I got the better of the bargain.

Gracie wants to be an archaeologist when she grows up, a desire she proved in front of the site of Rebel's Rest, which burned several years ago. She should consider an apprenticeship under the direction of the University archaeologist, who, with students and community volunteers, has been digging up the grounds where the structure once stood. Whether digging for gold or mole, I cannot say, as Gracie produced neither valuable nor vermin.

Saved!

review/return 3 papers

purchase 3 pairs of shoes, one cucumber, one bag of chocolate chips

send/receive multiple text messages/emails

read The New York Times/Facebook/blogs/recommended things

drive 54 miles

walk

photograph (84), upload to Lightroom, adjust/upload 3 snaps

notice one Widow Skimmer/Green Darner, several Blue Dashers/Ebony Jewelwings/Eastern Bluebirds/crows/Redwing Blackbirds, 1 Great Blue Heron, 2 adult/3 young Canada Geese, 1 fox

visit SOUL (where flowers once cleansed spirits)

 

Looking Up

Finally, a sunny afternoon, and a decent walk in the woods, from Lake Cheston to Clara's Point and back.

Almost an hour of slow walking and stopping and snapping, encountering only two other people -- young men from the College, running along the trail at the rim of the plateau.

I stepped aside to let them pass, said, "Beautiful afternoon, isn't it?"

One answered, "Yes!"

And the other, just as he passed me, added, "Five stars!" and held out and up the fingers of his right hand.

It's easy to forget that the sun does sometimes shine here in winter, and that sometimes even the students seem to enjoy it, and nature, as much as I.