Walking the dogs at 3:30 am again, but this morning the moon is a bit higher in the sky, and much brighter than yesterday. My walk was in the moon-shadows of the pines along our driveway, but from there I could see the entire eastern end of Lawson Valley all lit up with the moonlight. It was bright enough to see some colors; the hills were distinctly brown and green, and the native grasses on our hillside that have gone to seed were waving their reddish-beige heads in the gentle morning breeze. A little desert scent wafted in on that breeze; not much compared with a month ago, but still enough for anyone who knows the chaparral to recognize.
The dogs, as usual, couldn't care less about the beauty around us. As I got near our gate, all four were nose-down, intent on absorbing the essence of some night-time visitor. But then a surprise! A rabbit suddenly bolted from about 4 feet away – and of course all four dogs immediately lunged after it just as hard as they could. This overwhelmed my ability to hold them back, as the force vectors on the leashes were all pointed the same exact direction – across the bottom of our yard. So off we went, four dogs followed by an ancient software engineer, trying my best to stop them, or at least slow down their breakneck pace.
Somehow I managed to stay upright. The rabbit disappeared under our fence about 150 feet from our driveway, and the dogs stopped. They seemed surprised that I was still behind them, and I was a bit surprised myself. They resumed their random walking, the force vectors on my leash hand once again largely canceled out, and I was able to drag the four dogs back toward the house and my morning tea...
