Wild Geese

Some Mary Oliver...and a new adventure

It was 48 degrees when we entered the forest this morning. Shorts, gloves, hooded fleece top, socks, and hiking shoes. There was a crisp autumn bite in the air. Should have worn a hat.

Samwise picked up the scent of a bear early on and put his pink nose to the task. Emily so wanted to keep up with his zig-zagging, but was held back by her leash. In his frantic tracing back and forth, Sam spooked a family of grouse, which frightened him equally.

He jumped back with a start! Mother and father rustled off in opposite directions with a rousing commotion, leaving a youngster behind crying out. The wail sliced into my heart, and I apologized.

We hurried away, with Samwise’s pink snout back to the ground. That prodigious probiscus led us to a grove of crab apple trees where the bear had feasted, and left a large pile of scat.

In the past, Emily would have sampled it, but thankfully she’s left her shit-eating ways behind. Ah, if only all of us could move on from our bad habits.