This morning's walk was glorious... A sharp scent of sage was in the air, a consequence, I think, of our rains a couple days ago. The ground is damp, and new growth is springing up all around. The moon was high in the sky, just over Orion's head. It's brightess washed out all but the brightest stars. Jupiter hung over the western horizon. I couldn't make out the Milky Way at all; the sky was just too bright. The moonlight was more than bright enough to walk confidently by. It cast sharp shadows; the pine tree shadows I walked through were particualrly lovely, reminding me of the shadows cast by lights on the Christmas tree.
The dogs, of course, know none of this. The three field spaniels were agog over the smells exposed by the soils dampness. They ran to and fro, in random directions but with huge energy. This morning they found nothing to focus on. They were like canine vacuum cleaners, zooming around sucking in all the joyous odors. They were clearly very happy dogs. Race, on the other hand, noticed none of this. All he had eyes for was his pine cone. As usual, he repeatedly laid it in my path so that I would walk over it and kick it. This is how he gets his joy: chasing a kicked pine cone. He runs it down, snags it in his jaws, then lifts his head high in sheer joy as he scampers about for 30 seconds or so of victory laps that take him all over the yard. Then he comes back and lays his pine cone down again.
Another morning out in the chaparral...
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