sky lake earth: My Life has Gone to the Dogs

Bill Plotkin - Nature and Soul

“A genuine elder possesses a good deal of wildness, perhaps more than any adult, adolescent or child. Our human wildness is our spontaneity, our untamed vitality, our innocent presence, our resistance to oppression, and our rule-transcending vivacity and self-reliance that social convention can never contain. We are designed to grow deeper into that wildness as we mature, not to recede from it. When we live soulcentrically, immersed in a lifelong dance with the mysteries of nature and psyche, our wildness flourishes. A wild elderhood is not a cantankerous old age or a devil-may-care attitude, nor is it stubbornness or dreamy detachment. Rather, the wildness of elderhood is a spunky exuberance in unmediated, ecstatic communion with the great mysteries of life—the birds, fishes, tress, mammals, the stars and galaxies, and the dream of the Earth” ~Bill Plotkin

Friday, November 3, 2017

My Life has Gone to the Dogs

Dakota

Finnigan

I live with two dogs, both Labrador Retrievers, one black, the other brown. And like kids, they each have their own personality. And probably again like kids, they each need to run off their energy every day so that they don’t get into too much trouble. It is this running off of energy that transports me daily out into the yard, onto a hiking trail or over to the lake, just so that I can tire them out and have peace in my life. Dakota, the brown one goes by the name Brownie, Girlie and at one time Sama. At seven years of age she is the more relaxed of the two, sleeping much of the day away when in the house and no longer jumps up when greeting visitors, but can really give Finnigan, our other dog who is not quite a year and a half, a run for his money when playing outside.

Finnigan, also known as Blackie, Finn, Boy or Finny is my son’s dog and is the one that keeps us all on our toes. Having non-stop energy allows him to be ready at the window to bark at any passerby – be it dog, person, car or the wind. Yes, the wind. Sometimes the sound of it alarms him to the point that he thinks something must be out there. Finn also uses his “voice” to let us know when he needs to go out, wants to eat what you are eating, wants you to come sit on the couch so he can cuddle with you, and to let you know when he is bored. Talkative Finn drove us crazy for many of the first few months of his life given that his vocabulary is quite extensive and he uses a combination of sounds to get his point across. That is until we put in an invisible fence and gave him and Dakota free rein outdoors to run off their energy. The motto for this is “a tired dog is a happy dog.” And a happy owner too.

This need for getting your dog to run off energy is the best thing about having a dog because it requires you get outside many times a day yourself, even when you don’t feel like it, just to keep an eye on them or take them out onto a trail. Every morning I start my day by heading out onto the back deck and sitting on the stairs as I let the two pups go about their business. The beauty in this is that I find myself having a bit of time to observe the landscape around me. It may be cloud formations, the trees changing color and dropping their leaves, the chewed up grass now turned dirt where the dogs have run or a new hole dug in the yard by the dogs of course. The dog damage doesn’t distract me so much from the sense of peace I feel as my yard is wooded and rustic for the most part. Before too long the dogs are playing chase and burning off tons of energy and I know it won’t be long until the two of them are sacked out on the couch, quiet for a few hours at least. Later in the afternoon we will tackle another stint in the yard or head off to a trail or the lake.

Scouring the backyard for a good place to dig a hole

Some of our favorite trails to visit can be found at Petoskey State Park or Offield Family Nature Preserve mainly because they are not too far from our house. We especially enjoy these places November thru April when things are quiet and not many people are around. Our favorite dog beaches can be found at Zoll Street Park in Harbor Springs and Wilderness State Park. Well, it looks like it is time to stop these ramblings of mine. Finn is up from his nap and back on his feet, standing at the window while barking at a pickup truck driving by. Obviously in need of something to do. Where should we head off to today?