Turning Off My Computer - In Praise of A Good Dog
And Things I've Been Into Lately
“Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?” ― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems
It's 5pm and my main dog, Ella, has padded up the stairs to my office and placed her chin on my knee. This is her signal to me that it's time to finish up whatever I am doing, to put down my guitar or push away from my computer. I rub her soft spaniel-ish ears and say, "In just a minute sweetie, almost done." She knows all my diversions and presses her chin with a little more force into my knee. I'm not sure how she is able to increase the weight of her head by at least five pounds in a matter of seconds. She looks at me with her big round wide-set eyes, lifting one eyebrow and then the other. It's time for our evening walk and she'll have none of my excuses I turn off my computer and get up from my chair. I call my emergency back up dog, Lily, who is always sleeping between me and the door to my office. She is a herding mix and somewhere in her deep DNA she feels responsible for all her people and the wellbeing of the herd, always placing herself between me and wherever the wolves might enter the room. And according the Lily, wolves are everywhere. They might be in the bathroom or the kitchen, they might be in your purse, that bit of Kleenex on the floor might just be a teeny tiny wolf in one of its many crafty disguises.
She follows Ella and I down the long stairs to the front door where I sit on the bottom step and put on my hiking shoes. She sits next to me, just in case there's a wolf in the toe of my boot. She's almost 15 years old which is pretty much Methuselah in dog years. She has advancing arthritis but getting out into the woods each day is the joy of her little herding dog life. They grow old so much faster than we do, it is a grief and gift in that it makes me want to be completely present, love a without holding back anything.
Ella who is pretty much the most laid back, affable dog I've ever known, is hopping up and down, springing on her fuzzy grinch-y haired paws, making what sounds like "Ahhhh ooooooo, Ahhhhhh oooooooooo" to let me know, that she knows, that I've finally gotten onboard the clue-bus. I put on my ball cap and open the door. I take a small backpack and pocket knife with me because the Chanterelle mushrooms are just beginning to come on. Because we are surrounded by many acres of wooded hills and deep ravines I don't need to put my dogs on a leash. Oh the joy of a dog totally being a dog, running down the path, joyously smelling everything and in such a way that tells me how little I know of the world.
I open the door and step out onto the wide wooden porch, Ella and Lily are scrabbling out behind me like cartoon characters with their backends overtaking their front feet trying to see who will make it down the stairs to the driveway first. I grab my favorite hiking poles, check if the bird feeders need filling, and follow Lily and Ella down to the trail head and into the golden hour, that time when the light starts streaming through the trees at an angle, when the wood thrush are winding up for their evening hootenanny. I hear a fish jump and splash in the pond below. I first hear and then see the last of the dinosaurs, a pileated woodpecker glide into the deep green canopy, a flash of red and then it’s gone.
Practice
Go outside on your front porch or the next time you are in a park. Be like a dog, experience the world joyously with ALL your senses.
Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and listen. What do you hear? What do you smell? What does the air feel like on your face, arms or feet? Stick out your tongue, does the air outside taste different than the air in the house or apartment? Now open your eyes, see the world with all your senses.
Write a three line Haiku about what happened when you took in the world with the joy of a dog and all your senses.
Question
Share your haiku, OR tell us a story when an animal spirit in your life (cat, dog, guinea pig, bird, horse, cow, etc)
Poetry
A poem about how my dog Ella senses when something is off or the coyotes are near. Sometimes I feel like Ella, sending out assurances of beauty and signals of alarm. We are here, undeterred, and fierce with love.
Woofing At The World
Occasionally,
For no reason I can discern,
My dog Ella will go into high alert.
She'll stand on the dock down by the pond
Or lean out into the woods behind our house
Or perch like the Lion King on the edge of our garage roof
(set into a hill so no need for a ladder)
and bark.
Bark deep and low
Resonantly and with gravitas,
Echoing off the hills and surrounding ridge tops.
She senses something is coming
Another dog,
A rangy coyote,
Or a drop in the barometric pressure
Signaling a storm is on the way.
Woofing at the World.
As if to say,
“I am here and I see you coming.”
“I am awake.”
“I am fierce with love.”
“You will not come over that hill
Undeterred.”
These are days when we must
Lift our noses to the wind,
Incline an ear and read the signs,
Paying close attention to shifts
In tempo or temperature.
It is time to call a truth a truth
A lie a lie.
To say, “I see the tear gas and unmarked cars.”
“I am awake.”
“I am fierce with love.”
And
“You will not come over that hill
Undeterred.”
Music Always Music
I’ve posted this song before, but it seemed appropriate for this post. The song is “My Dog” and it was recorded on my Until Now album and the video was created from images folks right here on Substack sent me.
Things I’ve Been Into Recently
A Writing Experience
Thank you to poet Ross Gay (Mondays Are Free on Substack) for recommending Joanna Penn Cooper’s online writing 30 Days of Flash Memoir Writing Class. For the past 6 weeks I’ve been part of an amazing writing cohort. We’ve been stretching our edges, exploring new writing challenges and supporting one another on the creative journey. Joanna’s class was beautifully created and facilitated.
If you are looking to explore writing your own story in new ways I highly recommend Joanna’s classes. Here’s a link to her her substack page where you can get more information about Joanna’s writing, her podcast (The Call), her classes and how she facilitates the creative process. I hope you check it out.
Books
I wanted to let you know that my friend and colleague, Judith Valente, has just released two lovely new books. A book of poetry called “How to Be a Contemplative: Poems and Brief Reflections. I wrote the foreword for this beautiful collection extraordinary poems. I hope you’ll check it out. This is from my foreword “(Judith) keeps giving us glimpses of an ever-present invisible grace always found just below the surface of daily visible things.” She also a book of reflections called The Italian Soul: How to Savor the Full Joys of Life about spending time in Italy and learning to live at a speed more aligned with our hearts and spirit. Here’s a link to Judith’s Website where you can link to either book.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
A beautiful story of how the power of four teenager’s friendship continues to resonate and effects lives 25 years later. It also is a beautiful portrait of how art connects us in deep and sometimes unexpected ways. I also loved his last book Anxious People.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea By TJ Klune
If you are looking for a book that leaves you feeling better about the world and the people who inhabit it, this is a sweet read about the importance of welcoming diversity in all its many and sometimes magical forms. It is the sequel to The House By The Cerulean Sea. I listened to it on audio book and the reader was soooooo fun. Definitely a fun read for a long drive.
Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair by Christian Wiman
A collection of essays and poetry that explore how we push back against despair in these times. Beautiful and really creative writing.
Music
The Tree of Forgiveness by John Prine
I’ve been revisiting albums this month that are full of flat out great songwriting. John Prine is always a masterclass on crafting a great song. This was the his last album before his tragic passing during the Covid pandemic. Summer’s End is a particular favorite on this album.
The Horses and the Hounds by James McMurtry
I’ve been revisiting this album recently. James crafts songs that are like mini novels. He tends to write from the viewpoint of gritty characters living on the tough side of town. I’m always inspired by how he creates with a few verses, a chorus and maybe a bridge an entire world.
Love and Revelation by Over The Rhine
I’ve been revisiting this album recently too. Beautiful songs and Lindford and Karen artistry is always heart opening. I love the song Betting on the Muse.
Wild and Clear and Blue by Im With Her
Ok, I already mentioned this album, but I’ve kind of had it on repeat. Ancient Light has captured my heart.
Currently Booking 2026/27 Seasons
If you are interested in bringing me to your community visit The Chaffee Management Group website and Jim Chaffee can answer all your questions —ok, maybe not every questions about the definitive meaning of life, but I think he’d give it his best try :-)
GRIFFIN
A black cat stares
I wake up
Food now in his dish
FYI - This happens every morning at dawn!
A four-line haiku. Please forgive me.
The deer sculpture
(My spirit animal)
Lifts its head and
Stares at me.
It was the final sunrise of the spirituality conference at the YMCA camp in Estes Park, high in the Rockies. On the day before, I had received my spirit animal: the deer.
On this final morning, I opened the curtain in my ground-floor room. In the courtyard, a few yards from my window I saw a sculpture of a deer, grazing.
I’d occupied that room for four days. I thought to myself, “How odd that I’ve never noticed that sculpture before.” Then the sculpture lifted its head and stared at me.