I Had To Put Molly To Bed

Just because she would not stop looking at me.
It is unnerving at times. She had been fed,
taken out to potty, petted and loved on,
given a treat, looked at and praised. But, she
would not stop looking at me. I was trying
to watch a movie, Beginners or something
like that. I was very focused but could see
her watching me watch the screen, could
feel her intensity when the scene shifted
to the father's death. She did not attempt
to paw at me, as she so often does to get
my attention. She just simply kept looking
at me. So, I paused the film, got the treat
bag out, told her what a good girl she was,
led her to the crate--which she very willingly
entered--and gave her some of those fancy
organic things for dogs. She seemed happy
enough at the moment. She is there still.
The movie is not over. I feel as if I relegated
her to child who cannot understand
the emotion, who does not need to view
the dymanics of relationships, who must
certainly, above all, be spared such pain.

No one will watch you more or as intensely as your dog. A book I read last year (Inside A Dog, I think), discussed this "watching." Unless Molly is eating, romping, sleeping, or going to the bathroom, she is watching me. She watches me: cook (of course, hoping I will drop a morsel), watch a movie, talk on the phone, read, dance, clean the house, cry, laugh, smoke a cigarette, put something together, eat. When I turn out the lights to go to sleep, there she is--watching me as I pull the covers up and try to get comfortable. Always watching with those big brown eyes.

“My experience reinforced my sense of dedication to use my art form of photography as an inspiration for others to work together to save nature’s places of spiritual sanctuary for future generations.” Clyde Butcher

Artist Statement“Wilderness, to me, is a spiritual necessity. When my son was killed by a drunk driver it was to the wilderness that I fled in hopes of regaining my serenity and equilibrium. The mysterious spiritual experience of being close to nature helped restore my soul. It was during that time, I discovered the intimate beauty of the environment.” Clyde Butcher

Looked All Around

for the recorder. It was after I heard the lone bird send out
a message of some sort. It would be easier to just talk
into the recorder. Just let my voice open up. Like the
unknown bird in the tree who just graced my evening.

I recommend this documentary by Margaret Brown: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0423853/