THIS MOMENT WILL NOT REPEAT

Today I needed to DO a bit of MAINE prep.  I needed to get a NEW and bigger camel back as I plan on doing some hiking and biking up in north country.  The camel back that I have with me here doesn't have enough room to stash a windbreaker or sweater.  The nearby TARGET has day packs on sale so I decided to be a good American and go spend some greenbacks and help boost the nation's economy.  I picked up my sneakers which were by the front door and my best friend's little dog did a mini "perk up".  "Does this mean I get to go for a ride?"  Sorry, no.  I promised him that later in the day we would DO something really GRRREAT.  What is it with dog's pathetic eyes that can instill such guilt in human beings?  It doesn't matter the breed.  They all can DO it.

I got home within the hour with the NEW camel back.  I filled it with water to make sure that it didn't leak and went back over to the front door and picked up my hiking boots. What an eruption of dog elation.  YEY !!!! WE'RE GOING TO THE STATE PARK !!!! WE'RE GOING HIKING, WE'RE GOING HIKING. YEY !!!!  I swear Sr. Benjito is a mini-human in a little tiny fur coat.  He knows the difference between my sneakers and my boots.  And he loves getting out into nature with me.  I couldn't bear to tell him that this was the last hike for him for awhile.  Auntie P is heading to moose country.

At the park an older couple stopped and asked me, "Is that one of those shiatsus?"  You mean shih tzu.  No it is a bijon.  And shiatsu is a form of Asian bodywork. They thanked me for teaching them something NEW then asked, "Miss, is this the way to the lodge."  MISS?  I thought, Oh what a wonderful couple.

The dog and I did the big loop today and I so needed it.  Being stuck inside with rain for days was making me feel stuck.  At half way around the park I stopped at one of the dog's favorite spots, a pond where he can cool off and get his little chicken legs wet.  YES, he was gloriously exercising his wild dog self, the side that all creatures have and the side that most humans ignore. I sat on a bench by the water and pulled out one of my NEW used $.99 paperbacks and started to read.  Smiling from ear to ear I said to myself, "I really needed to read this introduction.  I too am a storyteller.  And ALL I REALLY NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN."

 

On the last half of the hike by the farm house the path had several dragon flies darting about and stopping to rest on the warm stones in the sun.  I tried to get some photos but with the dog they didn't sit still very long.  I had been noticing that there were three different kinds, two blues and a brown and at that moment I looked down and found that I had picked up a hitch hiker, a beautiful green dragonfly.  He was just sitting on my shirt sleeve as if to say, "NOW, pay attention to NOW, this moment will not repeat."  And then he flew away.

So, enjoy your weekend,  DO something NEW and SAVOR it.  The weekend will not repeat.

I will check in from Maine in between moments of exercising my wild MUSE self.  The first stop is Kittery then northward to milk some GOATS.