Noontime Tuesday. Getting hot. Deep, pale-blue, hazy sky behind sparse cumulus clouds floating soft, high and wispy over the western upland horizon. I park next to the greenhouse, walk to the back of the truck, drop the tailgate to free the eager dogs, Chubby and Lily, the latter’s tail anxiously thumping her porta-kennel’s east wall. […]

I celebrated my 39th wedding anniversary Saturday; plus  gundog Lily’s 14th birthday. That bitch never ceases to amaze me, still patrolling terrain, flat or steep, wet or dry, with that happy tail and youthful gait. She’s incredible. Nearing noon that day, having already grabbed everything needed for my daily ramble with the dogs, my wife […]