’tis true. we had snow. (i remember many a halloween that featured a snowsuit on top of my halloween costume. oh, the memories.)

well, we had snow. most of it melted already.

it was pretty! but i have decided it can wait to return until thanksgiving.

atlas agrees. whole-heartedly.

hello, you.

it’s fall!

i like fall.

we have been tromping through the woods, on and off the trails.

i am smelling all the smells and chasing all the things.

i wish you could join me!

your friend, atlas

on september 21st, 2003, a six month old weimaraner came home with me. i named him atlas.

on september 21st, 2014, atlas and i celebrated our 11 year weimiversary by hiking in the porcupine mountains wilderness state park with my sister helen (atlas’s second favorite person).

it was the perfect way to spend the day. the fall colors were glorious.

and even after 11 years, atlas is still the best. puppy. ever. i will love him to the moon and back forever.

lake of the clouds: a lake that is often very aptly named.

atlas says: this is what i think of all this photo-taking.

we saw this field on the way there so stopped on the way back for some pictures. the reminder in my iphone said, “stop one mile after lake xxx sign, open field with color”. fortunately, we still found it.

i still can’t believe all the color! all the glorious magnificent resplendent abundant color.

while on a trail run this summer, i captured the trails and my thoughts with my iphone. my intention at the time was to transcribe the audio and share it with the photos.

as it happened, many of the things i wanted to share this spring-summer fell by the wayside. i enjoyed caring for my grandparents’ house and yard, and for my parents’ garden whenever they were away, so my summer was more physical than usual and i spent very little time at my computer.

today, while on another trail run, i took photos of the trails in autumn. they reminded me of that intention.

i am sharing my summer thoughts & photos here, now, as they were originally captured. because when i spoke into my iphone, i was speaking to you. because the trails of the keweenaw are beautiful, in each & every season.

 
(in case you don’t like audio, the essence of my thoughts is this: trail running is my moving meditation.)

mandy is a 15 month old service dog we met at the lake. she took a great liking to atlas and chased him around & around & around.

(she and her brother were having so much fun in the water that i thought atlas might follow them in. nope. he looked at them bemusedly and then turned away.)

atlas stayed with my parents while i was in rhode island.

the last time i left him with my parents, they taught him to sleep through the night. (i was beyond grateful.) this time, they taught him to eat his kibble without the addition of gravy.

it is clear there is a weak link in our relationship, and that weak link is me.

he’s just so cute!

atlas says: i will drink from the lake, but i will not swim in it. just because i am now willing to let my belly touch the water does not mean that i have changed my mind about this. i am resolved.

elizabeth says: on monday, a kind stranger held atlas’s leash while i swam. she said that when i went under, he had a very furrowed brow. he did not, however, seem inclined to come in after me. still, i remain hopeful.

a wordless weimaraner wednesday.

on sunday, my sister and i went out for lunch with my grandparents and my brother + sister-in-law + nephew. atlas came too. it was a cool day and he likes car rides so we brought him along to nap in the car and eat my leftover ribs.

on the way home, i turned around to look at atlas. he was lying on the seat with his head up and his eyes mostly closed, as if he was trying to stay awake but couldn’t.

“look at atlas,” i told my sister. “he’s so cute with his eyes closed!”

she turned around and looked at him.

“i think he’s closed his eyes before,” she said.

“well, yes, but now he’s doing it in your car!”

she giggled. “i feel like after 11 years, the newness of things would wear off, but with you and atlas, it never does.”

i am always trying to decide on the silliest way i’ve ever ended the phrase “he’s so cute when he ..” today, i think the winner is either this or “he’s so cute when he breathes.”

the sun came out, and i had thoughts in my head, so i took the pup to the trail by the lake. he wandered while i wrote.

everything around me was full of light & color & life.

blue & yellow wildflowers were nestled near tree trunks and in open meadows.

purple & white lilacs swayed back and forth in the wind.

the water was deep blue in color, the grasses and leaves bright green. the sunlight sparkled on the water while the waves lapped at the shore.

a flock of canadian geese took to flight as atlas drew near.

i don’t know why, but it made me think about money and how sometimes, when you don’t have much, you think that having more would change everything. i realized that, in truth, those tiny moments of joy + beauty would be exactly the same.

no matter what is going on in my life, i want to notice + appreciate them.