sore leg muscles and other thoughts....

wolfie and i have just returned from a longer walk than usual. it was because of the plaintive look she gave me this morning when i went outside to see her...and then the hyper-speed tail wagging once we got going. it is another wet, grey day. and i'm beginning to wonder if morning can be any other way. but, still, the walk was beautiful. we took a new trail that dead-ended and had to back track, then headed further into the woods and finally came out on the ridge. i love the ridge. at the trail head we met a handful of park workers--or should i say, Anu met a handful of park workers. i don't know what it is, but she is attracted to certain types of people. and she especially loves people that work in the park. but what she senses (i think) is their love of nature. she knows when she's with "her kind." and the thing is that anu is attracted to exactly the same kind of people that i am. the woods-walkers, the animal lovers, the bright-eyed people.

afterwards, we continued down the trail. when i walk this particular area i like to pretend that i am back home, in northern minnesota. maybe that's why it is my favorite trail in the first place. it feels like home. and as i walked i felt the muscles in my legs. it felt good. i could feel the lengthening and contracting as my legs lifted up and down in their forward motion. i am nowhere near "runner" status yet, but what i felt this morning was the inklings of strength. not just in my legs, but somewhere deeper, too. the best part...is that i feel myself returning.

and, my god, it feels wonderful.