Cooper the black lab is a dog I care for on a fairly regular basis. He is a bit strong for his owners to walk but he and I connect and we have great walks together. We walk through town on the main streets and back alleys. I love walking with him as he really is trained well as long as he understands what is expected of him. He walks on a loose leash with me and we power walk on a loop that takes us through every socio/economic level there is on our travels. We pass by homes that were built in the 1800’s and a historic black neighborhood that archeologists are currently trying to determine if it is the oldest incorporated area to be settled by freed slaves. There is so much history around here. Fredrick Douglass was born near by as was Harriet Tubman. I never knew in while Cooper and I were walking all the history we were passing. I knew about some of the churches and a few of the older homes but had no idea of the boundaries of the area nor the history. The old railroad line is now a rails to trails path. I find it all interesting.
Cooper is a great dog to have during a storm. I was staying at his home when a large thunderstorm hit. Cooper had his nose pressed against the window watching the lighting hit all around and the wind blow the leaves in the tree. His buddy Kelly-a yellow lab was scared silly and shook like a leaf. Cooper is a dog I have connected with on a soul level. I connected with the two Golden Retrievers I had also but not so much the Jack Russell’s I had. Jack Russell’s are great for farms though. I had my two when I was working on a horse farm. Cooper watches my every move and wants to succeed and have fun too. I love him. I hope to have another dog some day but for now I satisfy my animal craving with my pet sitting.
On an entirely different note have you seen the moon? It has been full the last two nights and beautiful! I love it. I am always looking up and am happy to be able to share my love of the sky with some close friends. Most people though never take the time to look at the clouds, a sunset, a sunrise, the stars, the planets, meteors or comets. I am so happy a good friend sends me pictures he takes of sunsets, the moon and clouds. He is one of the few people who truly knows how much I love it. Though we don’t see each other much it is nice to exchange photos of clouds and sunsets. He gets much better moonshots than I do. And I would be remiss if I did not mention Neil Armstrong’s passing. His family’s request in remembrance was that when you see the full moon to wink at it in memory of Neil Armstrong. I thought that was a rather sweet thing. I hope you enjoy your weekend. Do you have a soul animal? Look at the sky? Or wink at the moon? Let me know if you wish to share. I would love to hear. And Happy September!
becca's event horizon 
I love the moon in all of its stages…even the New Moon, which you can’t see. I love the evening sky when it starts its changeover from the purples and oranges to the darkness that slowly becomes the backdrop for the stars. Friends have lovingly accused me of being a vampire, for my love of the night, but I have just always loved it, from my earliest memory.
And now I have something else to engage me with the night…winking at the moon…another gift from Neil Armstrong. How lucky am I?
Love your posts. So real.
I’m so happy to know there are others who share my love of the night!
I’m glad you are enjoying the blog. I love hearing from you and am happy that you share your thoughts too.
Jack Russels are more difficult to connect with. Independent rascals they are. It is cool to wonder at the history walking. Here it is finding an old hand dug pond in the woods beside a path that was once a roadway. Finding patches of flowers not native that hint at a homestead that once stood there. Many places it is hard to imagine trying to farm these unlevel places. Your post reminds me how lucky I am to have shared my life with a woman that also enjoys looking up. A positive influence derived from that simple shared pleasure. Hope your weekend was a delight.
I had forgotten about patches of flowers planted in odd spots until you mentioned it. I wonder about the old farmhouses or dwellings that used to be there. Kind of like big hundred year old trees standing in the middle of an open field with nothing else around. What happened to the home?
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. You got me thinking about other ways to think of markers of history around us.
We were on vacation for a few days and have just gotten back when I read this post about the moon, and thoughout our whole stay we had a beautiful moon! On Friday night as we were driving over Trail Ridge Road (I think the highest road in the US) we were privileged to see the moon rising over the peaks, and it took my breath away, it was so beautiful! Meanwhile on Saturday we attended a John Denver Tribute concert in Estes Park, which started out with a gorgeous double rainbow and ended with the full moon again rising over the peaks. The concert was great but nature was the show stopper! I just love vacations!
Enjoy your posts, you get me thinking!
Thanks for your great response. I felt like I was in the car with you traveling the mountain passes. I have to share with you that the two singers I grew up listening to because they were my parents favorites were Ray Charles and John Denver. It brought me up short when you said you were at a tribute concert. What memories that sentence you wrote brought back for me. Thank you. I am glad you are always willing to share. And I bet that moon was something to see. It is so flat here where I live but pretty but oh to see it with the mountains Wow.
Becca, if you go to cowboybrad.com, this is Brad Fitch who does the Tributes to John Denver. He truly loves his music (and looks like him too!) and he is a wonderful musician. On a funny note, more than once my husband has been told he looks like John Denver! But also like Steve Irwin too! And I agree!
Anyway we are Brad Fitch groupies, we go to see him whenever we can, and he is such a nice guy! So check him out.
Did you ever see John Denver in concert. We were fortunate to see him just the summer before he died and he was great! His mom lived in our city so his memorial was held there. And we have visited the John Denver memorial in Aspen too, another beautiful spot.
Take care!
I have never heard of Brad Fitch but will check him out. I miss John Denver. That is pretty cool your husband resembles him.
I never was able to see John Denver in concert but have many fond family memories with his music playing in the background or going on long car rides singing his songs.
My family is also looking up – at the sky, the moon, the trees, the birds, airplanes, clouds…love it! I remember looking at a particularly beautiful sunset when I was riding home with a friend from camping and remarking on it. She said to me – “Your family is always looking at the sky”… She really didn’t get it. It’s in my blood – what beauty you miss when you’re not taking in nature in every way possible. This is what I will teach my granddaughter – among other things.
Thank you so much for “getting it” and the post. That makes me so happy. I love knowing there are other people out there who know what I feel.
Your grandchildren will be blessed to feel the love you have as you share the skies and outdoors with them.
Enjoy the skies. And thank you.