Skip to main content

My buddies

Photo by the owner

Sometimes it is the smallest things in life that bring the most joy. Today one of those things occurred that reminded me of that joy doesn’t have to come from money, trips, items, adventures, but a simple gesture.

Every day during the week, if it is not raining, I take a few walks around the cull-da-sac by my house. A two loop trek nets me about 1800+ steps and .9 miles.  I am trying to get 10,000 steps a day, and being outdoors is much better than trying to achieve my goal on a treadmill.

In early spring and late summer, a few kids at the turn of the cull-da-sac catch the school bus.  During those times it is light out and I begin my walks as the sun comes up.  I go later in the winter because of safety reasons (being dark).  About 7 months ago, I began taking a dog treat with me to give to a beautiful white Labrador named Bailey.  She would see me coming while her master was waiting for the bus and she would start shaking, her tail getting faster as I approached and soon the treat in my hand was in her mouth.  I would chat, get some loving from her (and give it back), then continue on my walk.

I never really paid attention, but as I walk now, long after the bus has gone, I make the turn and see Bailey starring out the window at me.  She does not bark, jump around or even move, but just stares at me as I pass by.  Like a fool, I will wave or hold up the treat to show her.  Since I do not see her in person, I quickly leave the treat in the newspaper box and continue on my way.

Today I saw her owner, and she told me, “Bailey gets excited to go to the mailbox and get her treat.  I appreciate you doing that.”  That put a big smile on my face.

Next door to Bailey’s house (you know the dog owns the houses we live in), lives Joey.  Joey is a white Australian Shepherd with almost white eyes (light blue technically).  Joey is a puppy and has all the traits and charm of a puppy.  I began today, leaving a treat in his newspaper box as well.

Yesterday was a rare sunny day.  As I approached the turn, I waved at Bailey and then spotted Joey, who was outside with his adult sister.  I walked through the yard where he growled, hid behind his sister, started walking toward me, then turned and hid again.  I squatted down, held out the treat, and he bolted toward me.  He grabbed the treat ran back to his sister who said “you didn’t even say thanks Joey”.  Joey gulped down the treat and then charged me again.  As he got close he tripped, rolled a few times and finally stopped on his back at my feet.  He jumped up, ran in between my legs about 5 times in two seconds, then he stopped for some love.  I gave him some.  He ran away, turned, darted back, again tripped, and this repeated a few times.  I said goodbye to him (this was pointless as he is deaf), said goodbye to his adult sister and headed on.  He followed me, so I snatched him up, walked him back to his sister and left.  Holding a small dog is easy, hold a small hyper and squirming dog is another thing.  His sister and I both grinned.

Today as I walked down the road I saw Joey standing in the window barking at me.  I have never seen a dog stand on its hind legs, but Joey was using the window to stand up so I would see him.  His lower legs were on the window seal and his upper legs stretched halfway up the length of the window.  His stance didn’t last long as he fell and disappeared from my sight.  In a fraction of a second he was back at the window, again repeating the previous act.  I shook my head, grinned and moved on.  His barking lessened as I walked out of sight.  This sight of him stayed fresh in my brain for hours.

This is such a small thing, but it brought pure joy to me.  All thoughts I had about my life, stress, and anxiety were gone for those moments.  I had two buddies that were and are looking out for me each day.  I bring joy to them with a simple act of providing a treat.  It makes my heart melt.  I now have the motivation to walk every day.  I cannot disappoint Bailey and Joey after all.  By the way, my dog Kota gets a treat as well when I go on my first walk of the day.  So I guess I should say I have 3 dogs looking forward to me exercising.

Until next time,

Tim (Kilmer)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Love to get your feedback on what you read!

Popular posts from this blog

Nova Scotia - Day 5

Day 5. September 29, 2022. Today would be a bit of a longer day of travel, but we saw sights that surprised me. I guess I now know why Nova Scotia means New Scotland. The morning began as normal, but this time packing up our stuff to head to the next location. We had a Merci chocolate bar, and our receipt was left for us by our host. Our first stop was breakfast. We heard about a place that served breakfast, so we backtracked to Portside Lounge and I had the best pumpkin spice French toast I have ever eaten. Marcie got the same but couldn’t finish her portion, so extra for me. Our first destination was Cape Forchu Light House . It is a lighthouse like no other. The light house sat high on a rocky hill and is at the bottom of Nova Scotia. I remember looking out at sea and thinking that if a boat went straight, it would not hit land until the Bahamas. There was a visitor center (closed) and walking paths around the place. There was even a pole with destination markers on it. Everywhere ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vedawoo - part 4

Photo by: Tim Bindner We continued our trip with multiple trip to Laramie, Wyoming, visiting an old prison and various restaurants. One trip took to a wonderful spot called Vedawoo. Vedawoo is hard to describe. It sounds simple when I describe it as large and sometimes massive rocks stacked up all over an area, but honestly, that is what it is. Some rocks are the size of basketballs, while others are the size of buildings stretching hundreds of feet in the air. Mark picked us up in the truck and we took the short drive to Larame, then past the town another 20 minutes, where we left the pavement and down a dusty road, the rock formations appeared all around us. The Native Americans named this place Vedawoo which translates to ‘Land of the Earthborn Spirits’. Pulling into one of the parking lots, I was in ah of the pink feldspar, white quartz, black specs and horneblende rocks towering into the sky. This place had a magic about it. We walked, explored, climbed a little and, of course, to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Halloween scare

Photo by: Tim Bindner Saturday morning, I headed out for a short hike at Mt. Saint Francis. My legs were recovering from the previous day’s walk around Cave Hill Cemetery, so I went somewhere close. I made the 4.02 hike, but learned some things along the way. It was still dark when I arrived in the parking lot. My car was the only one there, and I liked the thought of being completely alone. As I walked a familiar route down toward the lake, the 38 degree weather invigorated me. My lungs filled with the cool air and boosted my energy. As I got closer to the lake, I could see steam rising from the lake, and quickly captured this shot above. I again chose color to shoot today, due to the beautiful leaves that provided me with a perfect canvas upon which to shoot. Today I brought my older model Fuji XT-1 camera with my $25 vintage lens. I felt it was appropriate and hoped this older camera and lens would provide me a fresh look to one of my favorite trails. The trails weren’t...
Post a Comment
Read more