woods

Every morning at 8 A.M. our dog Toby gets off the couch and starts bugging me to go out. He's a creature of habit, and our habit, rain or shine, is to take a ritual morning walk.

"Into the wild," I always joke as I head out the side door. Our walk is "off-road" on a narrow trail. I guess it's a little less than a mile. Though not a trip into the Alaska back country or even the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River Corridor, our morning walk is often the wildest portion of a normal day. The weather is out of my control, the footing is a little uncertain, and turns in the trail are full of surprise and delight if I pay attention.