Trips Down the Same Path

Spending time in nature offers the best meditative remedy. Peacefulness. Calm. Contrast. Light. Color. Warmth. The daily changes of the fall often produce these effects, even on trips down the same path.

I recently spent a week in Keene, NH, taking care of Wrigley, the chocolate lab belonging to my aunt and uncle. With the sweetest canine soul of any other I have known, he trustingly led me to this path. The path was dirt and rock, somewhat sedimentary, but upon reaching the top, he had led me to a path in the woods. The path that he and his papa walk every day.

There are no fishing holes along this path, but I am certain that Wrigley would want to swim in them if we had happened upon one. Wrigs is a swimmer - throw a peanut butter cookie in the water and before a fish can call it bait, "Snatch!" Wrigs gets there first!

Along this path, the prevalent mud puddles found their way into our path on many more occasions than one, forcing us to dodge and maneuver them as we whisked by. The colors - multiple hues of yellows and oranges from leaves that had fallen from the protective trees along this route - are indescribable. Adjacent to this path, you can see one or two of the fairways of Keene Country Club, a golf course that I played a few times in my 20s. The walks that Wrigs and I took down this path were reminiscent of weekends I would spend in New Hampshire as a child.

The smell of wood stoves or fireplaces. That smoky smell that permeates my soul, conjuring up my own dreams of living in a home with a wood fireplace, a huge kitchen with a Viking stove, and many dinner parties with laughter and love. I've been called a dreamer, but this is my reality. A simple week of walking the same path with Wrigley brought me back to some of the basic ideals that I have always held true to my heart.

Now all we need is a fishing hole...for my soon to be Viszla to swim in!