My Reward

               My Old Yeller would not listen to reason this frosty morning.  She shot down every one of my excuses with her hopeful brown eyes.  “Let’s wait.  It’s too cold right now,” I’d say.  To which she would answer with a tail wag and a glance toward her collar.

               She sat at my feet while I was at the computer and then followed me upstairs to point out that my running shoes were still in the closet.  “Dude, the ground is still frozen.  Just think of your paws!” I pleaded with her.  “In a couple of hours the sun will warm everything up and your favorite drinking puddle won’t be covered in ice.”  She would not listen to a single word.  That is…until I grumbled, “Okay, okay…we can go for a walk…”

               At the sound of the W-word she leapt up and squealed a happy yip.  At these moments you would never guess that she is 13 years old.  We geared up, she in her collar and I in my layers and mittens, and headed out into the cold.  Thankfully I had managed to stall her long enough for the sun to peek over the hills and send some warm-ish long shadows onto our path.

    

           Our usual route takes us through the woods behind the school.  She bounded around in pure joy and that was reward enough for me.  But today she gave me a bonus.  I think she wanted to make sure I knew it was the right thing to get outside, because she leaped off the trail to bring my attention to a beautiful sight.  Just a few strides away, and at human eye-level, perched a bold and beautiful pileated woodpecker.  He wasn’t at all intimidated by our close proximity and continued to sit in his sun-spot to peck away at the tall stump.  The sun illuminated his scarlet crown and made the flying wood-chips shimmer like sparks from a sputtering roman candle.  We both stood silently for a few minutes to take in the sight.

               Once we stepped back, puffed out a sigh full of awe and continued our walk up the trail, my beloved pup gave me a shoulder bump and a smile and said, “You’re welcome!”