Finding light in a lifeless canopy overhead

The things we find when we look up
London, ON
February 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The dog and I have been staring at snow-covered trees again. More precisely, I’ve been staring at the snow-covered trees while she’s been sticking her head into every drift within her reach.

This is her third winter, so you’d think the magic would have worn off by now. That, like human children who evolve into adults, a few more times through the seasonal gauntlet would erode the newness of it all somewhat.

But dogs, thankfully, don’t seem to work like humans, and for them every walk, every moment at the end of the leash, is something to be explored. And held onto. Well, as much as a dog can hold onto a moment.

So that’s what we do. She follows her nose close to the ground, sniffing everything within reach in search of, well, I don’t really know. But it’s baked into her DNA, so she happily pursues it. Meanwhile I’m looking up and around in a never-ending quest to maintain adequate separation from cars, other dogs, and skunks, and pretty much anything that moves.

We come across some lovely sights along the way, which she blissfully ignores while I pause to take them in. It’s a gift, you see. Because if we didn’t have her, I’d probably never see this, at this time, in this way. I wouldn’t have these opportunities, morning, night, day after day, to get out and take it in.

As she shakes the snow from her snout one last time before we head in, she has no idea how thankful I am to have her. I’m already looking forward to our next adventure, and I’m pretty sure she is, too.

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