Call of the Wild

I have done more outdoor walking THIS January than in the past 5 Januaries combined.  I am not a fan of the cold and have been known to go to extremes to stay warm and INSIDE during the coldest months of the year.  However, this year finds me taking multiple walk,of varying lengths, each day.  I have been rewarded with a renewed appreciation of the beauty of the outdoors–even in this frigid month.   Today as it snowed–I wandered down a path into the woods and marveled at the lacy pattern of bare tree branches laden with snow.  When the wind blew, snow fell–not in flakes, but in large chunks from the tree branches, making soft plopping sounds as they landed. And this past Saturday morning I was outside at just the right moment when the sun woke and warmed the area birds–inspiring them to warble their morning greetings to each other and to whomever was lucky enough to be within earshot.

The reason for this turn of events can be summed up in four words:  we got a dog.  In other words, I wore down my husband consistent resistance to a dog, as it was completely apparent to me that our new-to-us country-ish home would not be complete without a canine fuzzy companion.  I discovered (who knew?) that you can shop for a rescue doggie online; there are dozens and dozens of furry friends to chose from.

We eventually met and adopted with Cleo:  a husky mix who is about 1 year old.  She has tons of energy and loves to run.  When that girl gets off leash–she can fly!   Even chasing her around the house, I have absolutely zero chance of catching her – let alone when she has wide open spaces.  For now, we keep her leashed, until and unless she is better behaved about returning to us when we call.  (Yes, we are signed up for dog/human classes).

We welcomed Cleo into our household with varying degrees of enthusiasm.  At the low end on the enthusiasm spectrum is our cat, Pandi; who was very expressive about her displeasure about the dog.  At this point, she tolerates Cleo pretty well; but she simply will NOT go into the den–which now contains the dog kennel.  That is a shame, because my husband misses his cuddly feline companion when he is watching TV on the couch.

In my case–it took Cleo to get me off the couch and into the woods.

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