It is good that today my heart is filled with love and today, by the river, I was thinking about the people most precious to me.
Laurie-dog was with me at the edge of the Bow River and he barely made it down the regular pathway to our sitting spot. Again, I remembered so many times when he would come down and play tag with the Magpies. I imagined that he thought he was a Magpie as well. It was so funny to watch.
Another game he played in his youth was a wild and strenuous charge through the wild rose bushes to capture a male pheasant as he kited from the top of the ridge. Inevitably I would have to remove fine thorns from the pads of his feet, but the game never changed.
We used to play hide and seek with him in the tall grass. James or Cayley or Erin would call for him and then nip down low in the grass. He would find them and then come bounding back to me as I would call his name enthusiastically. Back-and-forth he would go, full of energy and happiness.
Today, as I sat with him at the bottom of the ridge, I knew that this would be his last full loop with me. I am going to have to take him for summer walks along the ridge….but not down to the river. He was straining in his hips and struggled to make his way back up to the top. I felt as though we cried together…knowing full-well that time passes and history changes us. It was a difficult time, but we captured some ‘magical’ pictures along the way.