dogs – Black and White

errr

water world

dog on a wet dock — .

boots

Sophie walking across Maryland — Sophie had sensitive feet. Particularly she struggled with the rock salt we’d encounter in Providence. The boots in this case were to protect super flimsy tent floor…

ten years

basset warrenton hallway — My sister Gray Coale made her exit a decade ago. So much to do, so little time. Be busy.

Walking Lewes to Brighton, 2004

bill and Atlas

a boy and his dog — Bassets were my sisters passion. She was introduced to the hounds young and loved them forever. Everyone that loved Gray was partnered with/tethered to a hound. It was an unspoken rule. It was her wish. It was made to happen. No questions, no discussion. Oh what is that tricolor beast emerging from yon oyster shell? Miraculous ears and feet, flag and voice, bounding hound of joy.

My Heart Leaps Up
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.–Wm.Wordsworth

Matilda

fog seated in the snow

Seat of Ease

outhouse — There are things to be said for indoor plumbing.

quercus virginiana — Snow fall last night.

This dog’s idea of heaven on earth, walking in the mud and water looking for food.

Four hundred years ago a long leaf pine (pinus palustris) forest stretched from here to Texas.

Whiner

a boy and his dog — he was a good dog

Matilda

the bowl on Tilly’s right is designed to diminish the rate at which she eats.

Eva and Matilda

black dogs in the snow — Jackie, the Gadsden County Times front office manager, would shriek when my lab-mix, Line, looked her in the eye. “Get that yellow-eyed dog to quit looking at me.” Jackie would not enjoy Eva’s gaze…