Things From The Thaw

Barley, a dog, surveys what little snow remains as the sun reasserts itself.

Walking Barley is generally enjoyable but it’s never precisely relaxing. Like many dogs who were rescued from stray, Barley is a relentlessly opportunistic omnivore. Even on a normal day, she will take her chances trying to snaffle up almost anything that she even suspects might be edible. Leaving aside some of the unmentionables she considers edible, her gut is also fairly delicate (probably as a consequence of her past opportunism), so both she and I will have a bad time later if I don’t keep a close eye on what she’s sniffing. This makes the thaw after a snowfall especially dicey, as winter peels back its extra layer and the invisible cushion of water vapor at ground level wafts up the odorants of all the cursed goodies being freshly revealed.