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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Strolling with Maggie

 
Having an old dog who still likes her walks is a challenge I've never dealt with before. Today was beautiful, with warm but crisp air. I was planning to do a longish walk at Nordhouse Dunes and leave Maggie home. However, she clearly wanted to be outside and go somewhere.

So, we changed destinations, and lengths, and speeds. We did a three-mile stroll on the North Country Trail. That's really about her limit, but I walked at her speed, which turned out to be almost exactly 1.5 miles an hour. That's about half my usual pace.

dog in trail

She's sprawled across my feet now, sound asleep. Everything seems to be suspended between summer and fall. The leaves haven't really turned colors yet, but they are dry and old. Ferns are undecided about what to wear, yellow? green? brown? Moss is ever a holdout for green.

ferns

While the forest floor fades to brown, tiny orange fingers wave, "We are here! Not everything is falling asleep."

fungus

The dog is snoring. What about tomorrow? Who knows. But for Maggie, today was good.

See Dear Old Maggie
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9 comments:

jeanlivingsimple said...

The woodland foliage has started to change here in North GA. Nice photos. Love Maggie. Bless her heart.
BTW...Thanks for your kind comment.

spinninglovelydays said...

Nice :)

Ann said...

Well I am sure that Maggie was very grateful for your change of plan. I've been seeing more and more signs of fall but it's transition does seem a bit slow

Karen and Gerard said...

Three miles sounds like a good walk for an old dog to me--go Maggie go!

Anonymous said...

Well done for slowing down to your lovely dog's pace. I enjoy walking but find walking slowly is often more tiring than a brisk speed.

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

A pleasant stroll on a beautiful autumn day with Maggie by your side sounds like the perfect way to pass a couple of hours. (Our cats are more interested in taking naps than in taking walks.)

Secondary Roads said...

Everyday my surroundings seem to be a bit more colorful. Some of the maple trees are mostly orange and red while others keep their green.

That looks like a great walk for you and Maggie. I'm sure you enjoyed it almost as much as she did.

john bain said...

Sadie and I walk at about the same pace these days. I am pleased Maggie is happy.

Sharkbytes said...

Hi Jean- I just hope you are feeling better.

Ivy!- so nice to hear from you

Ann- Maggie was very happy. I saw more splotches of color today.

Karen- I think she did real well to go that far.

sally- yes, I have trouble walking slowly.

Susan- some days I'm with the cats.

Chuck- it's a rare walk where I'm not happy!

John- It's always a good thing when your hiking buddy travels at the same pace.