The dogs and I were out for a walk at 3:15 am. A two-thirds moon hung in the clear southern sky, brightly lighting everything around us – no flashlight needed this morning. The moonlight washed out most of the stars, but a bright planet was low in the northeast, and I could make out most of Ursa major (the Big Dipper). Won't be long now before I start seeing Orion in the morning...
The dogs behaved normally until we were about halfway down our driveway. Just as I detected a funny scent, all four dogs went on full alert and started straining at the leash, trying to pull me down the hill (and damned near succeeding!). They had spotted a skunk, smack in the middle of our driveway, about 20 feet away. The skunk looked mildly perturbed, held his ground for a minute, then slowly ambled down the hill toward our gate. As soon as he left our yard, the dogs all acted like someone had flipped a switch – they went straight back to their normal behavior, as though the skunk had never existed. Dogs surely do live in the moment...
This Friday Debbie and I leave on a vacation to the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. We're just about fully prepared; all we have to do is pack and take off. We have broadband Internet access at all the places we're staying, so with any luck at all I'll be able to post daily, including photographs...
