March Photo A Day 3: Darkness

"So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing."

~ T.S. Eliot

With vital young Micah leaping and bounding joyfully through these late days of Winter, our older dog Mabel's stillness seems to convey a deep message of seasons changing.  The earth rolls, the seasons turn, and she spends most of the day lying in her comfortable bed at the end of the couch, perhaps dreaming... perhaps just waiting for another Spring.

While Micah is wild and unpredictable in his youth and exuberance, Mabel is steadfast and quiet. Her eyes are clouded, and her ears not as keen as they used to be, but her sense of smell is still acute and the aromas of dinner often rouse her from her slumber.  She has developed a habit of whimpering to get a little treat, but more often, she just looks up, meaningfully, with her soulful dark eyes.  

I like to sit on the floor with her each afternoon, and brush her with the soft old scrub brush that she prefers to any dog brush we've tried.  I like to croon to her that she is a good girl, and a wonderful friend, and so very pretty... even though she probably can't hear a word that I am murmuring.   There is such patient acceptance in her little form as we sit on the floor, her small head resting on my lap, as we wait together for another season to come around.

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you peace.



More about the Photo A Day Challenge HERE.