1. Morning walks. We finally figured out what the beavers had been working so hard on: a new dam. The mud had tiny beaver hand prints. It’s close enough to the trail that if it floods over, the rangers will most likely have to dismantle it. I realized one day how often we’ve been seeing the heron because Eric pointed one out and I didn’t even stop to take a picture. There’s been a real uptick in bear sightings but we haven’t run into any yet.

2. Rain. It’s storming right now and we’ve had the windows open and the whole house fan on for the past few hours instead of the a/c. We had a huge storm a few days ago that caused a lot of flooding because the rain came down so hard and fast. After such a dry, hot summer, rain seems like magic.

3. Bosco. Chloe’s little family got a new puppy and he’s adorable. He’s the same kind of dog as his big brother Pancho, who for his first three years was Ringo’s best friend. Once Pancho got too big, too grown up, Ringo decided they couldn’t be friends anymore and it was very sad for Chloe’ and I. Pancho weighs around 120+ pounds so Bosco is going to be a big boy too. Even though they are a lot of work and can bring a lot of chaos, there’s just something about a baby dog.

4. Yellow. The changing leaves and blooming rabbit brush as fall nears, the roses Eric bought me, the placemats at one of our favorite restaurants, peaches, and one of the colors in every kitchen counter love note Eric made me this week.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. Eric had lots of meetings and such this week and classes start next week and with one extra commitment this semester on top of everything else I won’t get to see him as much. Ringo’s wonky belly seems to have cleared up finally and he’s doing really well otherwise for an old man almost 13. I sure wish my anxiety would calm down about him being old, especially considering having an old dog was something I wanted, worked and wished for. I feel very lucky to have this “problem” and the resources to make this effort, the luxury to be able to focus so much of my effort and energy on calming the f*#k down.

Bonus joy: getting in the pool, sitting in the sauna, getting the laundry done before it gets too hot, texting with Chloe’ and Chris, getting to see Chloe’ and the dogs, the blueberry jam Ralf made, a warm shower, naps, watching “easy” TV (it’s really all I can handle right now), listening to podcasts, peaches, cheeseburgers, lemonade, grapefruit Bubly, onion buns, pickled red onions, asian cucumber salad with peanuts, cooking with Eric, taking a new class at the gym and seeing two gym friends there, having the whole pool to myself, being able to text my neighbors about dumb stuff, watching Eric trying to snoop on the new neighbors moving in across the street, a big glass of cold clean water, sleeping in, cleaning up the house a bit, all the cards people sent about Mom, having saved voicemails so I can still hear her voice (“Hi Jill. It’s Mom.”), poetry, knowing that Ringo trusts me, ibuprofen (see “taking a new class at the gym”), the massage chair, scheduling a massage at the gym and finding out the person I see there when I can’t get in to see my person took over the Monday and Wednesday morning yoga class and committing to start going again, patchouli, blooper reels, down pillows and blankets, reading in bed while Eric and Ringo sleep (which I’m going to go do right now).