An Evening Stroll

Since Sonya and I do most of our walking after I get home from work, and since it is winter, we walk in the dark. We live in a fairly quiet neighborhood where there are plenty of sidewalks. After dark we tend to have the sidewalks all to ourselves. Most people don't want to be out walking in the dark and cold, and I don't blame them. I am just not one of those people. I like the cold. I like bundling up and I like to see my breath and Sonya's as we walk along. She likes the snow and usually tries to avoid the puddles. She tries to pull me out into the middle of the street to avoid a puddle. I have tried to get her to pull me across the ice without falling, but I've had little success. Either she looks to see why I stopped walking, or I fall. It is always an adventure when we go out on our walks, but the cold weather makes for even more adventures. Not everyone employs the same tactics when it comes to shoveling sidewalks and driveways, and that means you really have to watch your step.
The other thing I like about our walks after dark is how our neighborhood looks all lit up. There are the blue glows from TV's and different colors created by lamps behind shades, curtains and blinds. There are motion-sensing flood lights that flicker on and off as we go by, and of course the orange glow of the street lights.
But the best part of walking after dark in the winter are the stars. I know in the winter we are farther from the sun, and so it feels as if we are closer to the stars. The cold air makes them look bright and clear, no haze or fuzzy glow. Just millions of sharp pinpoints of light all over the sky. And even though Sonya and I are walking alone we have so much company looking down from above.

A Little Bit About Sonya

My name is Denise and Sonya is my dog, my companion and my friend. She and I live together in a small house in New England and we go walking almost every day. At least every day that the weather and our schedules permit it. Sonya's schedule is not too complicated. She wakes up and goes out into her yard in the morning, then sleeps until lunch, when she goes out into the yard to chase the squirrels. Then it is another nap until I come home from work. Then we go for our walk, come home have dinner, have playtime, have treat time, relax in front of the tv and finally go to bed. Weekends she gets to spend more time in the yard, or playing in the house, and our walks tend to last for more than the hour we take on weekdays. And of course there is plenty of time napping. Its hard to beat a dog's life.
Sonya is a mutt, her large ears and huge fluffy tail are two of my favorite features. She is white with reddish-brown spots and big brown eyes. The great thing about telling people she is a mutt is that they will always come up with a breed that could be part of her. I can often tell what breeds people are partial to when they tell me what mix they think she could be. She probably does have some collie, spaniel and maybe golden retriever according to the vet. In truth she is more likely second generation mutt. And to me it doesn't matter. I wasn't looking for a specific breed when I found her. I just wanted a medium-sized, friendly, playful dog who would go walking with me every day. And she is just that.