The thermometer read 10 degrees at 7:00 this morning, our usual walking time, and the wind was howling. I didn’t think we would walk at all, but James kept sitting at the door, ready to go, bumping against it slightly, as he does, so the door latch rattles. He knows this will get my attention. By 8:30, the thermometer read 20 degrees and the wind had lessened, so we prepared to go. I wore my full-length down coat and my leather, down filled snowmobile mitts. Off we went, dressed like this, I stayed warm, and James, all charged-up, forged ahead of me.
I knew this wouldn’t be a shortened walk. James really isn’t happy with me when I need to cut the walk short due to an early meeting – or in this case, frigid weather. He gets back at me by refusing to move once I turn him around. He simply won’t budge. And, he knows I can’t carry him home. It’s a very slow trip home when this happens. He’s perfectly content once we have walked all the way past the Strawbale Cafe to the stream ahead. There he sniffs around in the field where in the summer corn was raised. It’s at this point, too, that we often meet other neighbors out walking, some with dogs, others alone. James loves it when I stand chatting with friends. He lies down for a rest. Today, we met no one else out walking. Not surprising to me!
Content to reach his destination, he complied on the return walk home by trotting happily along by my side. Once more, he stopped to check on the barn cats who by now have become quite friendly toward him. They seem to sense that he is a friendly boy, just interested in looking at them. They now come as close as 10 feet in front of us. James stares at them, they at him. Each motionless. Fun to watch. Then on we go!
No photo of today’s walk. With my hands bundled in the leather, down-filled snowmobile mitts, I looked like a boxer ready for the ring. Hard to take a photo with my hands like that. The photo above is where James heads after his morning walk. There he lies, in front of the fire for most of the day.