Report From PIA – January 26
One reason I love having a dog, is that dogs are always completely and totally present. When you’re putting down the bowl of chow, a dog doesn’t think about the time you forgot to feed him. When you go out, he’s not thinking about how long you’re staying out or where you’re going to go. A dog joyously eats his meal or follows you outside, and takes pleasure in being out in that moment.
Today, The Dog and I took a long walk around Poison Ivy Acres. I brought my camera and was taking photos as we made our way from the lakeside woodland up to the road. The Dog was looking for sticks and snow, but my eye was caught by signs of spring. The buds on the Stewardia were silver and swollen, and up near the road, daffodils were poking out of the ground.
As I focused on the season to come and relished every small indication that winter will soon be gone, The Dog was savoring what remained of the last snowfall. He found every small snow bank and rolled on it. He rubbed his face in the cold white stuff, and took as many bites of it as he could.
The joy that I felt at seeing precursors of spring was matched by The Dog’s delight in the remains of winter. We were both outdoors today, and fully present, taking pleasure in two different seasons.
Sometimes our ability to enjoy where we are is merely a matter of what we focus on.
The Dog finds a strip of snow and starts to roll...
he takes a bite and rubs his snoot in it...
and then lays on top of the snow, with ice in his whiskers. Bliss.
I, on the other hand, am looking at daffodil sprouts...
and Stewardia buds. Bliss.
