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The Epiphany of the Lord
While on our daybreak walk this morning, Jinx and I watched two men setting up chairs under the tent at the newly-opened grave in the little country graveyard. The spotted menace seems to take a special interest in the craft of the sexton; I was grateful he didn’t leap onto the tarp covering the grave. This time. The wind was chilly and brisk but not unbearable…about 43F. The clouds moved like a flock of sheep across the sky, low and swift and wooly, and the tang of silage came to me when I turned into the wind. As I walked, watching Jinx gallop in one of the pastures, I engaged…
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Fall’s Beginning
Yesterday I turned a corner of sorts. I had to begin using a cane while on my walks with Jinx. I usually carry a stick or a bokken (wooden sword) in case we encounter any less-than-friendly creatures on our rambles. But age and arthritis and the changing weather seized up all my joints yesterday, and I moved slowly all through my day’s duties, and when the evening had come and it was time to go exploring with the spotted menace, I needed something to actually lean on. The cane was one I bought one day in an antique store. I wonder who the original owner was? I wonder if the…
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The Lees Of July
Scuffling down the gravel road, head bowed to the sun-sliver across the ridge as day passes into twilight and draws all the shadows along the grass, I watch Jinx crisscross the road ahead, back and forth. He looks back at me every few moments, then trots on, tail curved over his back, his eyes scanning for something to nuzzle or chase or perhaps nibble. My shoes disturb the dust, and it lifts in small puffs behind me, as if a tiny battery of unseen artillery has a fix on my pos and is about to fire for effect. The dust hangs in the humid air, unwilling to settle back to…