Upon arriving at the beach yesterday Winston did two things:
1.) Urinated into the freshwater stream, upstream of the large pool where a number of children played.
2.) Ran and pooped in the ocean.
I was unaware he had done the later until it was too late. Turds bobbing in the surf make slippery targets for my poop bags, so we moved down the beach. Winston hates the ocean. It scares him. Little by little I coaxed him in, until he finally made the plunge and swam. Onlookers cheered.
Winston, my girlfriend and I had gone to the beach to clam. Evidently the recent super moon had resulted in historically low tides. The Siletz Bay was nearly drained at low tide, and we could walk out into the middle of the muddy bottom. I brought a shovel but didn't need it, we were able to pull clams out with our hands. Winston bull charged around the muddy flat excitedly, stopping to dig with us now and then. We quickly limited. There's a bucket soaking in my garage now that will soon become chowder.
On the way home we broke out of the cloudy Oregon Coast Range and into the Willamette Valley. The late sun lit up Mt. Hood like a beacon. It shined brighter than I had ever seen.
I think often about how to best live my life. I know it is short. I know I only get one shot. I struggle to find the balance between leisure and work, both of which make me happy in the right amounts. I am coming to believe as much as anything, the key to a happy life is finding pleasure in the little moments. My dog swimming in the ocean for the first time. My girlfriend's delight at digging out her first clams. Mt. Hood lit like a torch. Those small moments pepper every day, it's just up to us whether we choose to enjoy them.
1.) Urinated into the freshwater stream, upstream of the large pool where a number of children played.
2.) Ran and pooped in the ocean.
I was unaware he had done the later until it was too late. Turds bobbing in the surf make slippery targets for my poop bags, so we moved down the beach. Winston hates the ocean. It scares him. Little by little I coaxed him in, until he finally made the plunge and swam. Onlookers cheered.
Winston, my girlfriend and I had gone to the beach to clam. Evidently the recent super moon had resulted in historically low tides. The Siletz Bay was nearly drained at low tide, and we could walk out into the middle of the muddy bottom. I brought a shovel but didn't need it, we were able to pull clams out with our hands. Winston bull charged around the muddy flat excitedly, stopping to dig with us now and then. We quickly limited. There's a bucket soaking in my garage now that will soon become chowder.
On the way home we broke out of the cloudy Oregon Coast Range and into the Willamette Valley. The late sun lit up Mt. Hood like a beacon. It shined brighter than I had ever seen.
I think often about how to best live my life. I know it is short. I know I only get one shot. I struggle to find the balance between leisure and work, both of which make me happy in the right amounts. I am coming to believe as much as anything, the key to a happy life is finding pleasure in the little moments. My dog swimming in the ocean for the first time. My girlfriend's delight at digging out her first clams. Mt. Hood lit like a torch. Those small moments pepper every day, it's just up to us whether we choose to enjoy them.
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