Trust the Trail

Hello Friends! 

As July continues to sizzle, I hope you’re finding fun ways to stay cool. Personally, I’m a big fan of a cool creek. There’s just something about letting the current swirl around my paws that slows the whole world down. So I trotted down my tree-lined trail in search of a cool place to relax. I settled my belly in the current and before long, I was daydreaming about a few summertime adventures that taught me some valuable lessons along the trail.

As the current swirled around my paws, my mind wandered back to a day when staying dry seemed like the better plan. It was the first time I discovered I could balance on a fallen log. I’d spent weeks watching squirrels scamper across logs and branches. One thing I noticed was they never rushed into a crossing. If a branch looked too weak or a log didn’t seem steady, they simply turned around and found another way. I figured there was probably a good reason for that. So I thought, if a squirrel trusted a log enough to cross it, maybe I could too.

The tricky part wasn’t the balancing. It was deciding whether the log could be trusted. I gave it a careful nudge with my paw, leaned in to test my footing, and only when everything felt solid did I make my way across.

What a sweet memory that was. A whole new world opened up once I learned how to cross those natural bridges! As the current gently rocked me, another memory floated to the surface. I remembered the time my hooman suddenly became fascinated with mushroom hunting. Every few feet, she would crouch down with her camera to admire another funny-looking fungus. I watched from the trail until something inside me quietly whispered, not this one. Before I knew it, I scrambled down the hill and slid right into that little forest hat, sending it tumbling before her hooman hands could reach it.

Now, I’m no canine mushroom expert. I couldn’t tell you whether it was poisonous or perfectly harmless. I just know that in that moment, every whisker on my muzzle twitched, telling me I needed to interrupt. My hooman wasn’t exactly thrilled at first, but eventually we both had a good laugh about it. Looking back, it still makes me smile. What a hilarious hiking adventure that was! 

Unfortunately, not every hike is as humorous – like the time when I went out exploring and caught a scent of danger. A stranger was on the other side of the creek and was calling me toward him. Normally I am happy to make a new friend, but that day something just didn’t smell right. Something inside me whispered Beware. If you’d like to read the rest of that story, you can find in my Deer Me adventure.

All these memories makes me wonder…why do dogs trust those quiet warnings so easily while hoomans spend so much time talking themselves out of them? Maybe that’s why we stop to test a log before crossing it or why we suddenly change directions. Could it be that’s why, every once in a while, something deep inside tells us to paws before taking the next step? I think there’s wisdom tucked inside those quiet warnings. Canines don’t spend much time talking themselves into BAD ideas. 

So friends, as we splash our way through the rest of July, let’s pay attention to the quiet warnings around us. If you ever find yourself talking yourself into a decision instead of feeling at peace with it, maybe it’s time to stop and reassess. Give the log another nudge. Take another look. Listen to that quiet voice that’s been trying to get your attention all along.

The more trails I explore, the more I realize every squirrel, every log, every mushroom, and every muddy creek has been teaching me the same lesson: slow down. Pay attention. Trust yourself enough to notice the quiet warnings…then take the next step and trust the trail. 

Stay cool out there and I’ll bark atcha ya next month!

Your friend,

P.S. Be sure to follow my path on Facebook and Instagram and keep exploring. I’ll see you out on the trail. 🌞🐾