Moments of Grace

At a safe watering stop on our walk.

It’s been a heck of a week, more weighted than most, and I hope everyone is hanging in there. To take a recess from the news cycle, I’m sharing simple but marvelous experiences we have had these past two mornings in the forest.

Samwise is, by nature, a hunter. His nose is often on the ground as we walk through the forest. When Emily first came to us, she hunted birds with little success. Knowing she could not catch them, she simply rushed after them in fields, ponds, and rivers.

It took time, and Sam picked it up earlier than Emi, but I taught them the importance of respect and being gentle. Once the lessons were learned, we began having the most extraordinary wildlife experiences, including close interactions without strife or stress.

I admire my friends for their willingness to change, grow, and, perhaps, even understand.

We have never done any formal training. I’m not much of a sit, stay, rollover, give me your paw kind of guy. But there has been …