Bully Sun

The sun is punching its way through today’s forecast of clouds and rain.  As luck would have it, I only had one class today which got out early.  Rain or shine, Inca and I enjoy our daily trips to the park just down the road. The month of rain and gloom brought the Callapooia river crashing up over its banks, triggering the city of Albany to close Bryant park to vehicles.  Instead it is now a dog playground.  Deep puddles have bridged to form mini ponds throughout the park, bringing waterfowl and nutria to swim alongside the swings that sway empty.  Now while nutria may be terrifying to four year old children, they are the cat’s meow if you’re a four year old dog.  In all honesty, they may terrify certain 29 year olds as well.  Regardless of the ROUS’s, Inca and I have full reign of the squishy grounds and it’s nice to allow her to dash to and fro without worry of speeding teenagers or errant golf Frisbees.

Usually Oregonians slog through the month of January with hoods pulled tight and their heads down from the streaming water.  But today there were children running around without coats, and people smiling and strolling down the sidewalks.  Others just sat with their heads tipped back soaking in the warmth.  Since our return from running a muck (emphasis on the muck part), Inca has not left the stream of sunshine that is pouring in the front window onto the rug. 

To my friends who are spending the next three hours of their life staring at radiographs in the dark, I am truly sorry.