It was the first day of Fall, not just any day, a crisp cool morning and the first leaves started to fall from the heat that had fermented for the past few weeks. As I walked out to the front porch, all three dogs ran past my legs and out into the field. I smiled as I watched them bark and chase each other. My husband was pulling into the steep, red driveway on our small 7 acre farm. The long driveway crinkled as he drove down the red dirt road in the huge, black SUV.
I was a first for us, the SUV, we needed it to transport the dogs when they go to visit grandma's house. The dogs, however never really got used to the new car and stopped their merriment and all started to run at the car.
As he parked, the dogs ran over and jumped and barked and I couldn't help but smile. They loved him, he was a great man.
My husband was an army veteran and was always diligent. Living out here he started to relax after 3 years. He loved to build things and he had just finished a large green roofed barn across from our cabin. It was used for storage and our chickens greatly enjoyed the shady spot.
I stood on the porch and called the dogs off as James came over holding yellow bags of groceries. The dogs wiggled around as I went off the porch and made my way into the field to walk the dogs. They are cattle dogs, they follow their owners everywhere.
Dixie, a large black dog with tan socks and tan markings on her, started to run fast across the field of tall grass that ran along side the freshly mowed grass that was still wet from morning dew. Dixie started to sparkle as her fur captured the dew drops on her fur.
"Dixie!" I called as she ran to the beach in the back of the property.
I started to run and the other two dogs started to follow. Bullet was a 4 year old wild ball of fire, she was as wild as a wolf and funny as a kitten. She was a very fast dog and sprinted past me with no effort, but my last dog stayed at my side and didn't run past or drag behind. This was Chief, a 3 year old boy who had been with me through thick and thin. He was a white cattle dog with a black mask that looked like Dixie. He had black spots all over and his tiny nub of a tail was covered in a big black spot. He was a good boy and and smiled up at me as we ran together across the field to the beach.
