All posts filed under: Remy Nation

Walks in the Woods

Published by

As I begin this post, the house is still and silent. It’s 5:40, dusk has turned to darkness outside, and everyone’s been napping for nearly two hours. Part of me is inclined to wake them, because an extra long nap might make it harder to fall asleep later, but we’re all in such a relaxed vacation mode, I highly doubt anyone will have trouble. I love this quiet. Through the dining room window,  the two boxwoods framing our front door glisten with white lights, while, around the corner, stands our Christmas tree on the porch, brilliantly lit from hundreds of bulbs, providing a beacon into the dark living room. Earlier today, we took an extra-long hike to ring in the New Year, and to celebrate the end of hunting season.  We kind of know that hunting starts sometime in October; after that, our grasp of the law gets even murkier. Crossbow hunting is allowed until the end of October, right? Slingshots and muskets through November…and rifles get the last hurrah until December hits…Or something like that. Jokes …

Remy supine

If These Eyes Could Talk

Published by

Several years ago, my friend Mike purchased a yellow labrador retriever that he named Buck. A few weeks after Buck moved in, Mike and I took him for a walk through Central Park one late afternoon. Being as adorable as lab puppies are, nearly everyone we encountered on our path stopped to say hello to puppy Buck, but Mike would have none of it. “Please don’t pet him,” he’d implore, his voice as firm as his grip on Buck’s lead. “He’s in training.” Each person, not the least of all, me, was taken aback and, well, sort of offended–if for no other reason than being made to feel embarrassed by some guy for merely wanting to act on an urge that any normal person would feel when presented with a cute puppy. But Mike was not that kind of person (believe me, I am familiar with that kind of person.) As we continued to walk, he explained that he was practicing the training moves he’d gleaned from “Smarter Than You Think,” a book whose philosophy …