Some days are for oblivion...

Nothing short of the weatherman announcing that temperatures would be dropping back into the teens tomorrow would have budged me today...as it was, one has to enjoy the weather while they can. Today the dogs were in the same sort of subdued mood as I was, sniffing carefully along the trail as though totally engrossed in the details. A pair of robins were fluttering through the trees.

The trail was mostly clear of the last remnants of snow and green leaves poked up in numerous places looking a little frostbitten in the slightly nippy air.

I stopped mesmerized by a sound that for a moment I couldn't place, only to realize it was the sound of a different sort of wind rustling in the tree tops, sounding very much like a chorus of whispers. I have heard the wind in a million different voices but this one had an edginess to it.

There was just an odd sort of feeling in the forest and the dogs stayed unusually close and I never did determine the cause of our unease.

As beautiful as the sunshine was, there was a chill in the air again and I regretted many times having left my gloves behind and spent less time snapping pictures and more time warming my hands...which brought Domino running back many times to see if I had perhaps found a treat in my pockets.

I sometimes think when I am engrossed in a particular season in the forest that I have memorized every detail. Things indeed are familiar but I forget the actual experience.

Charm stopped to sniff the chewed off ends of all the tender branches along the trail. When she noticed me watching her she wagged her tail. It seems a long time ago we left words behind when on walks and smiles have become the only communication.

Today the climb seemed harder than usual, the cold wind becoming stronger as we climbed.

Lone seagulls passed by overhead and a crow flew low through the trees and just the soft rustle of the wind and the jingle of dog tags could be heard.

I have never stopped to think about how the loudest sound in the forest is usually the dog tags. I think I listen for it so unconsciously, tracking the dogs through the brush and trees while I am shooting.

We've just always been in a quiet sync, and perhaps today there seemed to be one jingle missing...or perhaps one jingle that just lingered out of earshot. Some days I still miss Ripley following in my footsteps. New bonds form and grow and life winds on.

It's been almost a year since Domino arrived from New York. I am not sure at what point exactly that he really began to believe he was home for good...but these days he is always by my side. It still awes me that these dogs go through so much and are still so sound mentally. And what a tremendous bond Charm and Domino have with each other.

From rowdy playtime through the most touching tenderness...I don't think I could have found two dogs better suited for each other.

There have been years when the forest was a place to escape, and times when it was a place to think, and times when it was a place to just be alone. I think today it was an affirmation of the rightness of choices made, paths chosen and destinations arrived at.

It's all about a person, a camera, some dogs and a forest.

As simple as that is, its been the most profound of things.

There are times we don't even see the drama in our lives until it is gone and you stop and listen for a moment and all you can hear is the jingle of dog tags.

Maybe in some ways that is what we all seek, in different ways...a place of stillness and quiet within ourselves.

It may be a lot of things to a lot of people, but to me, it is the jingle that makes me smile.