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Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Beautiful Morning, Best Dog, Wonderful Life


The other day I told the Artist I was going to do an online search for “best dog” to see if it turned up Sarah. Kidding, of course. Every dog deserves to be thought the best dog in some human’s life, right? But Sarah outdid herself on this morning.

 

I was sitting outdoors with my first cup of coffee, talking by phone with my son, Sarah companionably nearby. A monarch drifted past. It was a lovely, peaceful summer morning. Suddenly Sarah stood up, gazing alertly at something in the distance. She started trotting off, then broke into a lope. 

 

The animal I saw emerging from the weeds was too big and slow to be a rabbit. Oh, please, let it not be a skunk! No, duller in color….

 

I yelled, “Stop! Stop! Leave it!” She stopped. “Leave it! Come! Come!” A bit reluctantly but without any fuss, she came back to me -- as the porcupine waddled down toward the little, hidden-away, no-name stream. Porcupine! I had successfully called her off a porcupine! No need for an emergency trip to the vet and anaesthetic and a horrid quill-pulling session. Well, I’ve called her off deer more than once, and she’s always come back. What a good dog! No, a great dog! The best!

 



Later, on our way to one of the quiet back roads where Sarah and I go for morning walks before beginning our bookstore day, we passed a neighbor’s farm and saw him and a helper hurrying a new crop of Holstein feeder cattle out of the barn. Love to see those big, young ones in the open air! Stopped and watched a while, taking a couple photos to share with a ranching friend out in Arizona, and then continued a couple miles more to park by the side of the road and have a good dog walk. I walked, anyway. Sarah trotted, stopping frequently to sniff. I would love to know what she knows about who’s been there before us!

 

Time before my bank errand in Northport for a stop at Adelade’s roadside stand for a couple of Lori’s homemade scones and then another stop across from the playground by the marina to photograph the gorgeous summer morning, sun blindingly bright on the water.



 

Best of all, at the post office, a wonderful surprise waited! A letter from Copper Canyon Press and two copies of Jim Harrison’s Collected Ghazals, the first in “The Heart’s Work” series that is bringing all Jim’s poetry back into print. I am happy, happy, happy and can’t wait for the Artist to arrive (I’ve already turned his gallery lights on) so I can share with him all the glories of this glorious Wednesday morning. Not all days begin so auspiciously, but this is one for the memory book.

 



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such a lovely view into your life, Pam! Thank you for posting!

P. J. Grath said...

Thank you for reading about my happy morning. :)