Todd Duncan Tennyson
Well-known member
a couple weeks back
a dog took me on
he had no idea the nature of such an undertaking
the long days spent together
the hours in transit
the weather and extremes
we would endure
we left work early on thursday
we were overstaffed at the phone co
i volunteered to leave
i am no good at pretending to be busy
we took a long walk along the bottoms along the river and threw bumpers
worked on blind retrieves
walked together there right after we were sprung for early release
i asked,
“hey boy, you want to go on a really big adventure?”
“yes!”
his immediate and instinctive response
we drove home and loaded the sleeping bags and a cooler and about 5 boxes of shells.
my old side by side 20 ga
and some extra clothes
i called anya and said i’d be back in a few days
i told her not to worry, and that i would blast her a spot device
at sunrise and sunset each day
and around noon or so to boot
we left the west side of the cascades in a terrible driving rain
we drove and drove
and drove
up over mountain passes
and past places where the basques still work hundreds of sheep
with a solid dog and
& a whistle from their lips
little towns in places shut down
at about an hour after supper time.
the wind and shoveling had left a foot or so of snow along the sidewalks
i pulled over and let the boy water the snow
we’d picked up supplies
& gas back a ways in the town where my grandfather is buried
where my mother was raised
until she met and married my father in in 1957
although i never lived there in that little town
i have always been drawn to it
it felt good to be there again.
after the boy stretched his legs and made water
we continued on into the night
past canyons and turnoffs
warning signs indicating that there was no road crew
or any gas or supplies etc
the pavement ended and the climb began
i slipped it into 4wd
although tired
i knew i’d sleep better once we were in the place i had in the back of my mind
from a time long ago
finally
after about 11 hrs of driving
i bedded down in the back with kaden
we snoozed until the morning.
the wind howled and the rain and sleet came in waves off and on.
in the morning
there was a break and we set loose
steep hills and canyons
scree sloped with cactus enough for a dog to care
a dog that trips on his tongue
we tried to pin down the wind so that i could get the boy to quarter into it
it kept changing directions
then i lost my mitten
“damn it!”
i said
just for the heck of it
i gave kaden my other mitten to smell and said
“go find it, where is it”
about 10 minutes later i gave up
then kaden came up as i was resting
“i’ll be damned kaden
you found that mitten!”
i was pretty glad
gave kaden a treat
we rested there for a few minutes
we worked a couple of draws from stem to stern
no birds but tons of coyote poop
i wondered if there might be a correlation
every 25 yards
coyote poop
in all directions for ever ad infinitum
i figured that lack of bird poop and lots of coyote sign
meant that we were in a spot that had been hammered
so we walked back to the truck and had some grub
i let kaden relax and play with his ball
he rolled on it and made growls and snorts
really seemed to enjoy it
i never really was into tennis
fed and watered the boy
i took a photo to prove i didn’t just make up the entire story
he was recharged and ready to go
i told him to rest up for a few minutes
so he laid down on the box and enjoyed a bit of sun
i watched him happy
in the sun
young and strong and ready to go
he shined and glowed with power
the unstoppable energy of being young
i remembered how i used to run ol’ alex over the creases and folds
high up over the impossible hills out where we were
i pulled out his box
and decided that since this was a place that i spent so many great days with the old black dog
i should set what is left of his physical being
free in this place with his spirit
& years of happy memories
i put in 2 rounds in the old side by side
pulled the plug on the fancy box
filled with ashes
the inscription says:
“always remembered
alex
forever cherished”
i opened up the box and grabbed a couple of handfuls
the ashes of him
the sky was big and wild and free
the mountains carved deep by an ancient river
i knew he was right there with me
i threw the ashes up
and watched them flitter away
against the hills and canyons
where we learned it all
launched another handful
in a gesture of great respect
i took the shotgun to my shoulder
fired off a couple of rounds
and shouted
“good boy alex”
i walked back to the truck
kaden was there to greet me
wondering about the commotion
he said,
“are you ok man?”
i said
“yeah, i am a better man with you to back me up”
“well, then we should get going”
he replied.
we hiked canyons and coves
kaden kicked up a set
i wasn’t ready and felt pretty deflated.
i decided to use the chukar call after 5 minutes or so
to see if they would sound off across the canyons.
they did
to be continued………………………………………..
a dog took me on
he had no idea the nature of such an undertaking
the long days spent together
the hours in transit
the weather and extremes
we would endure
we left work early on thursday
we were overstaffed at the phone co
i volunteered to leave
i am no good at pretending to be busy
we took a long walk along the bottoms along the river and threw bumpers
worked on blind retrieves
walked together there right after we were sprung for early release
i asked,
“hey boy, you want to go on a really big adventure?”
“yes!”
his immediate and instinctive response
we drove home and loaded the sleeping bags and a cooler and about 5 boxes of shells.
my old side by side 20 ga
and some extra clothes
i called anya and said i’d be back in a few days
i told her not to worry, and that i would blast her a spot device
at sunrise and sunset each day
and around noon or so to boot
we left the west side of the cascades in a terrible driving rain
we drove and drove
and drove
up over mountain passes
and past places where the basques still work hundreds of sheep
with a solid dog and
& a whistle from their lips
little towns in places shut down
at about an hour after supper time.
the wind and shoveling had left a foot or so of snow along the sidewalks
i pulled over and let the boy water the snow
we’d picked up supplies
& gas back a ways in the town where my grandfather is buried
where my mother was raised
until she met and married my father in in 1957
although i never lived there in that little town
i have always been drawn to it
it felt good to be there again.
after the boy stretched his legs and made water
we continued on into the night
past canyons and turnoffs
warning signs indicating that there was no road crew
or any gas or supplies etc
the pavement ended and the climb began
i slipped it into 4wd
although tired
i knew i’d sleep better once we were in the place i had in the back of my mind
from a time long ago
finally
after about 11 hrs of driving
i bedded down in the back with kaden
we snoozed until the morning.
the wind howled and the rain and sleet came in waves off and on.
in the morning
there was a break and we set loose
steep hills and canyons
scree sloped with cactus enough for a dog to care
a dog that trips on his tongue
we tried to pin down the wind so that i could get the boy to quarter into it
it kept changing directions
then i lost my mitten
“damn it!”
i said
just for the heck of it
i gave kaden my other mitten to smell and said
“go find it, where is it”
about 10 minutes later i gave up
then kaden came up as i was resting
“i’ll be damned kaden
you found that mitten!”
i was pretty glad
gave kaden a treat
we rested there for a few minutes
we worked a couple of draws from stem to stern
no birds but tons of coyote poop
i wondered if there might be a correlation
every 25 yards
coyote poop
in all directions for ever ad infinitum
i figured that lack of bird poop and lots of coyote sign
meant that we were in a spot that had been hammered
so we walked back to the truck and had some grub
i let kaden relax and play with his ball
he rolled on it and made growls and snorts
really seemed to enjoy it
i never really was into tennis
fed and watered the boy
i took a photo to prove i didn’t just make up the entire story
he was recharged and ready to go
i told him to rest up for a few minutes
so he laid down on the box and enjoyed a bit of sun
i watched him happy
in the sun
young and strong and ready to go
he shined and glowed with power
the unstoppable energy of being young
i remembered how i used to run ol’ alex over the creases and folds
high up over the impossible hills out where we were
i pulled out his box
and decided that since this was a place that i spent so many great days with the old black dog
i should set what is left of his physical being
free in this place with his spirit
& years of happy memories
i put in 2 rounds in the old side by side
pulled the plug on the fancy box
filled with ashes
the inscription says:
“always remembered
alex
forever cherished”
i opened up the box and grabbed a couple of handfuls
the ashes of him
the sky was big and wild and free
the mountains carved deep by an ancient river
i knew he was right there with me
i threw the ashes up
and watched them flitter away
against the hills and canyons
where we learned it all
launched another handful
in a gesture of great respect
i took the shotgun to my shoulder
fired off a couple of rounds
and shouted
“good boy alex”
i walked back to the truck
kaden was there to greet me
wondering about the commotion
he said,
“are you ok man?”
i said
“yeah, i am a better man with you to back me up”
“well, then we should get going”
he replied.
we hiked canyons and coves
kaden kicked up a set
i wasn’t ready and felt pretty deflated.
i decided to use the chukar call after 5 minutes or so
to see if they would sound off across the canyons.
they did
to be continued………………………………………..
