I have been walking my dog along Max Patch Road for all of the years that I have lived here. Recently, just as I was figuring out Coco is deaf and blind and can’t do the same kind of walks we have done before, I finally realized he could not see or hear cars as he had always done. There aren’t many cars in our remote world out here, but my very last day of taking him out without a leash, before I completely understood the situation, I was very nervous getting him home from that walk, and had to signal to any cars to watch out for him because I couldn’t even call him back to me since he can’t hear.

One woman stopped to talk about him. I can’t quite remember how the conversation started, but suddenly it seemed as if we were old friends and I believe we both recognized the fact. She and her husband live just about a half a mile from me and moved here at almost exactly the same time I did six years ago. They had me for dinner tonight and lively conversation made several hours pass quickly.

I do believe there is an intricate and exquisite design behind everything that happens, and the times when it is seen are very comforting. This is especially so after something like what I wrote about yesterday – an inexplicable, sudden death by lightning. I needed to see again the strange and beautiful patterns of life emerging from what seems like its random chaos. I got a deep glimpse of that tonight. It helps. I do love the world.