A Dog Year

Reading non-fiction makes me feel more aware of things in my life. I just finished _A Dog Year_ by Jon Katz, which is a beautifully-written memoir of a year in the life of a dog owner, who goes from owning two labs to two border collies, losing the first two to old age, and gaining the second two at the encouragement of an insightful and persuasive breeder. It's really just great to read books about dogs from the perspective of a dog owner and lover, and since I've owned a lab and currently have a border collie, it seems even more poignant to my own life.

I started reading this morning, continued through my lunch of a quesadilla and a mocha frap at starbucks, and finished up just now in my bathing suit in the backyard, surrounded by my small canine harem. Walking back inside, I listened to the birds chirping in the nest that they've built in the beams of our back porch patio, and now I'm listening to the rhythm of the washing machine, almost as intently. I really have to convince myself to read more often - it keeps me so well-grounded.