We’ve been dog-sitting this week. I love having a dog around the house again. Misty is a very sweet dog. She is calm and rarely barks, though I’m try to get her to say “hello” when people visit. The best part of her visit is her nightly walk. Since there is no snow to shovel, it gives me (and Eliz) a little exercise. We don’t walk too far, just a little over a mile around our development. It gives Misty a chance to get out and do her business. If it is still light out when we go for a walk, I’ll even run with her for a little bit.
Tonight was not a pleasant evening for a walk. We waited until about 8:30pm to head out hoping the rain would be finished. It wasn’t. It wasn’t pouring, but it wasn’t a drizzle either. It was also pretty chilly. The wind chills were probably at or below freezing. The worst part was the glare off the rain soaked street and sidewalk. There were several times I had no idea where I was. I was concentrating on the next step or two and not my surroundings. At one point, early on, I was kind of worried. We were just about passed a house and I heard dogs barking inside. I thought we had already past the Norris’ house and there is no way that could be Sally or their other dog. When I looked around to get my bearings, I had no idea where I was. I knew I was still on our street, but it seemed so different. The corner, where there is a street light, seemed so far away. Misty stopped to sniff around and I was able to figure that we were about two-thirds of the way past the next house. The street light still seemed far down the street, though it was only just past one more house.
Fortunately, Misty sticks pretty much to the sidewalk. Since it was raining and a bit later, there weren’t any dogs out or wild life to distract her. After we turned the corner, the street light’s glow faded behind us. Again, all the houses looked the same. It was from the glare of their front lights, I figured. Once we crossed to the other side of the development, it was a little easier for me to see. We didn’t stay over there long. The rain and wind picked up and we (Eliz and I) decided to cut our walk short, to Misty’s disappointment.
On the way back, I tried to pay more attention to our location. Once we got to our street, I felt more comfortable. I even walked to the correct house (it is easy to spot, since one of our garage lights are out and our house is the only house on our side of the street where you see the garage before you pass the house.) Once we got back inside, I noticed my vision seemed worse than when we left. Maybe I strained them while out in the dark, rainy night. Who knows, ’cause I don’t. I’m kind of tired of it. In a little more than two weeks, maybe things will get better.