Well, on the full moon I decided since it was in the 40’s and the wind still we would go for a walk across the fields in the full moon. So, I put the collars and leashes on Trevor and lil Hallie and grabbed a flashlight, a phone and protection. Now, I take a phone just in case someone gets hurt, protection to protect us from either a pack of coyotes, rabid animals or what have you out there. The Flashlight so we can see, can check out movement in the fields and for our first round of protection. You see, if you shine it in the eyes of animals and make loud noises and they can’t see nothing but blinding light they will usually go the other way.
So, we step out into the night and head into the fields. We could smell the dampness in the air and smell the earth of the field as we walked across it. The rising full moon illuminated the field slightly and as we walked it became brighter and brighter until we could see almost across the field.
As we walked along in the cool night air Trevor began to make his twinkle toes power walk and we walked for a brisk pace for a few minutes as lil Hallie strutted haughtily across the field. We found the trail and began to go up it making wide passes around the mud holes and enjoyed the silence of the night and the silvery moonlight as we walked.
Suddenly I saw movement and pulled out my flashlight and turned it on and it hit flashing eyes as I saw several deer looking at us. I quickly shut off the light and stood still as the deer slowly turned and meandered further off across the field obviously not too concerned about us but making sure we were kept off at a safe distance.
We took off and wandered along the field enjoying the beautiful night and a few minutes later I saw something moving nearby. We stopped and it stopped obviously facing towards us but it was in the shadows so I turned on the flashlight and it stood up and I saw it was a raccoon. He sniffed and looked at us and went down on all fours and wandered off in his search for food.
As we walked along we could hear the neighborhood dogs talking. One dog would bark to the left and three would respond on the right and then several from behind us and then some in front of us and it quickly became obvious they were communicating and there was a method to their rotation of directions in responding. Lil Hallie was listening and went to join in and I softly told her no and she went back to concentrating on her walk.
As we walked I looked up at the twinkling stars, listened to the roaring silence that was broken by the dogs barking off in the distance, by occasional cars driving by way down on the road and by the occasional rustling along the field by animals moving about.
The soft glow of the moon increased and I noticed the white collars and leggings and paw on Trevor and Hallie glowing brightly in the moonlight. I could see the corn stubble and see the outline of the trees along the field.
We circled the field and headed home hearing an occasional animal running off in the darkness and as Trevor and Hallie walked along I smiled as they strutted along happily.
We finally made our way back home and as I looked back I saw the moonlit field glimmering and shimmering in the silvery light of the moon. What a beautiful night. What a beautiful walk!
Collies Of The Meadow 