We woke today to a forecast of rainy drizzle. Never one of my favorite weather conditions, it was especially inconvenient on this day because we had promised our dogs much-needed exercise. Our car was in the shop all week, rendering us unable to take the puppas to the woods or the prairie, and neighborhood walks are mere placeholders for them. They love long walks with no traffic nearby, and the beagle lives for the scent of deer.

Having picked the car up from the mechanic too late yesterday to take them anywhere, we really felt we owed them a trip to the woods.

So after feeding all of the household critters while downing only a short portion of our morning coffee, the husband and I piled both dogs into the car and headed for the river path through the woods. There we saw geese, woodpeckers, cardinals, squirrels, and yes…plenty of deer. There’s no sound like the sound of Elwood on the trail of deer, and no frenzy like it, either. He darts to and from, tugging the leash and yelling. The sound that comes out of him is neither bay, nor howl, nor bark, but a unique mixture of the three, and it’s sheer joy for his people.

Tess, the maybe-a-year-old, maybe greyhound-cattle dog mix, is interested in the deer, but not frenzied. I think she cares more about the other dogs, all of whom she wants to be her friends. Alas, she didn’t get to play with any others this morning, but she still had a grand time leading and following her adoptive brother through the woods.

Back home, predictably, they collapsed together in a pile of legs and bellies and heads and fell fast asleep.

If that’s the only good thing that happens all day, it will be enough.