It's the favorite moment of my day.
I tell Kharma "time to go on a business trip" just before bedtime. I open the back door and step outside as I remind her "do your business".
She heads out into the darkness of our backyard and I can barely see her just a few yards away as she begins her doggy-search for the ideal patch of grass, the one with the perfect scent and just the right feel to it.
I look up. Stars. Orion is westward now and I've been watching him gradually travel toward the Sierra crest every night for many months. The Bear is incredibly clear as he points out the Pole Star. There is a breath of wind that gently stirs the new leaves and washes over my upturned face. I'm on Kharma time so there's no hurry.
Night after night on the back doorstep and the sky always has a tale to tell. The freshness of the air always reminds me that life is filled with beauty if I just stop to look around. I'm in the moment--not shivering with cold, not huddling to get out the wind, not avoiding the snowflakes--just enjoying, just being.
I think back a year. I was dogless and bereft. We'd been looking for almost four months and still had not seen the right pup. Now we are close to our one year anniversary with our perfect girly-girl. It's thanks to her that I have these nightly moments to cherish.
Kharma is just a pale ghost as she moves around the yard. Occasionally she will stretch and roll on the lawn luxuriously as if she too cannot get enough of the night. Finally she will trot toward me and we go in.
It's a good way to end the day.
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