A Year of Gratitude – November 8, 2024

I found my gratitude in an afternoon stroll with Penny Lane today. I can’t imagine how many times we have walked this route. I also can’t fathom a guess for how many times I have found myself filled with gratitude with her leash in my hand.

Penny Lane and I have walked so many miles in our years together. I look forward to this time together, in nature. It’s such a gift to spend these moments with her walking and taking in the sights and sounds around us.

Today, there were songbirds chattering in the trees beside us. The sun was shining through the mostly bare trees, filtering through the tree trunks until it fell to the ground beneath us.

For some reason, this branch caught my eye as we walked past. It had bright green leaves and red berries on each branch. They were dancing in the breeze, bobbing up and down.

I stopped to watch them. Penny couldn’t understand the reason for my stop. She turned and looked at me, confused as to why I would pause when we had already made the turn to head back home. She wanted to get home to a drink of water, a well-deserved post walk treat, and a nap in the sunshine near her favorite window.

I couldn’t explain it to her.  She’s all business on our walks, covering the distance while scanning the route ahead (and sometimes behind) for interesting sights. She’s looking for other dogs, the rare outdoor cat that might want to make an introduction, or a bird making a darting pass through our path.

These berries weren’t of interest to her. So, after I managed to snap a photo, we continued on. We sped up our pace a little, making up for the lost time Penny had not co-signed. And in a few minutes, we were home, in our cozy house, for her to lap up a bit of fresh water, come to me for her post walk treat, and then retire to her bed in the front window of the farmhouse.

Every moment of our walk, and the return back home gave me a reason to be thankful just for being a part of it.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.