Borderlands
Sunlight streams down on verdant hillsides after two days of cold rain. Respite. All of Mount Vernon flocks outside to lay claim to little patches of sunlight before the sky turns again. My dog looks at me with more than just pleading, actual urgency, in his big brown eyes. “Big park or campus?” I ask. I know the answer will be both. We are getting out of the house. It is decided. Herding dogs know how to care for the broken-hearted, the wandering, and the lonely. That’s all me. I need shepherding.
