Am up in VT. Came here Wednesday night, straight from teaching my writing course in Hartford. It always occurs to me when I reach Trinity that I’m 1/3 of the way to VT and pointing in the right direction — so this time I continued on. According to my internet weather site it was supposed to rain all day Thursday and Friday in VT, but ever the cockeyed optimist, I didn’t believe it. So far it’s rained all day Thursday and Friday.
I brought Ricky along. Sort of a mini-road trip — I like to keep him sharp for the real thing. And I thought his writing in The Roof Rack Report might benefit from sitting in on my class But primarily, I brought him up here to go hiking with me. Over Columbus day weekend we hiked up Bromley Mountain together. The next weekend we hiked around Lake Mohegan in CT. This time I wanted to try the trail to Lye Brook falls, in Manchester, which I’d heard was a real nice one.
Now as I’ve admitted before, if you were to ask Ricky if he would
actually choose to go hiking, I doubt he’d say yes. That’s cause he doesn’t realize how much he likes it. Every time out, for the first 20 minutes or so, I have to tug him, against his will, like a pull-toy. But then, when he finally gets it through his thick-but-very-adorable skull that I’m not giving in, as I do on pretty much everything else, he trots along briskly. (Well, briskly may be too strong a word . .)
So if he doesn’t really love it, why do I subject my poor little beagle to all these hikes???
1. Blame it on Stella. That’s my mom, may she rest in peace. It’s a nice day. You should be outside. This is what she told my sister and me, all the time, when we were little. And all these years later, I still hear her, and I still listen. (My sister still hears her, too, but manages to ignore it.)
2. I like to make sure that every day my dog has an enriching experience. To me, hiking qualifies as an enriching experience.
3. I enjoy it when virtually every single hiker we come across says, “Awww, look at that face. That’s the cutest dog I’ve ever seen.”
4. He does look pretty damn cute when I call him for a treat, and he comes galloping along, ears-a-floppin’, his brown-black-white colors blending beautifully with the green-brown-yellow of the woods. Also, you should see him when he crosses narrow bridges over streams, all jaunty and proud (see photo, top right).
5. I like the concept of man and his dog, together enjoying the great outdoors.
6. Nobody else in my family will go with me.
LOOK FOR A NEW BEAGLE MAN POST EVERY THURSDAY. OR PRETTY CLOSE TO THURSDAY. COULD BE WEDNESDAY. OR FRIDAY. LET’S NOT GET TOO OBSESSIVE HERE . . . 
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