Getting walked by the dog.
The dog has been out walking me lately in the August sun in Indiana. It’s actually quite pleasant to be outside now. For the whole of July and the early part of August we experienced a bit of a heatwave. I barely ventured further than putting my nose out the door to see if my Netflix DVD had arrived. I started walking the dog early in August to get some exercise for myself. The dog has become a greater fan of the experience than me and has become adept at begging me to take him for a walk. I will be at the computer doing my thing when a large dog snout pushes up under my mouse hand and I find myself no longer moving a mouse, but patting a dog. He then proceeds to vocalize his desire for my attention with a sort of howling whine that’s impossible to ignore.
After I have endured a few of these moments I eventually succumb to his demands and admit that its probably a good idea for me to get some exercise too. He rushes out to the door and sits wagging his tail madly with his chin up in the air and his ears pinned back waiting for me to attach the leash. When we finally get outside, he begins to forcibly drag me out to the road. I probably should fight this and drag him back to ‘heel’ at my side, but honestly my pace is a little too slow for him and I think he much prefers a bit of a free leash so he can trot around.
While I was getting walked by the dog today, I started thinking about the change of season approaching and what differences I had noted. It occurred to me that I had not seen any lightning bugs in the evening. This was a realization that was a little disappointing because they’ve always been a cherished memory of Indiana in July for me. July was by chance the time I always visited. I can only imagine Indiana as a hot humid summery place at the moment. That’s going to be changing soon though. The Fall is approaching. My wife tells me that its her favourite time of the year and that the colors are magnificent as the leaves change and fall from the trees.
I’ll be looking forward to those changes. What comes after the Fall is something I am not so sure about. It’s been 30+ years since I’ve seen snow. I spent most of that time living in a sub-tropical climate on the east coast of Australia. The local Hoosiers speak to me of the winter in foreboding terms.
They say,
“Are you ready for the Winter?” , in tones that make me feel that a great joke is about to played on me.
So soon the leaves will begin to change color, later on they will fall. Then I will be staring out over a landscape of bare branches, with trees mimicking death, as my first Indiana winter approaches. It’s foreboding has already reached my Summer!
