This is Deputy Digby Pancake. If I had a word to describe this week, I would say pancake. But I would use that word for last week. And the week before that. And the week before that. That word is always appropriate as an adjective, although Girl Person says it is a noun. Well, not if you use “pancakey week” in a sentence. That’s that in a pancakey nutshell. See? I did it again.
When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
But on our hikes this week, it seems that we ran into a lot of signs that forced me to change my word of the week to “no trespassing”. Yes, that is two words. But since the grammar police aren’t here right now, and only the Sheriff, I get a pass. I obviously can write and I can read, but oftentimes, I don’t want to read any signs. Because it is not like I am going to do what they say anyways.
When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way
If there was a sign that said “free pancakes” I would certainly stop and obey. But a “no trespassing” sign? I see no point in persons putting these things up everywhere. They all think that they have to keep other people out from around them. And although I understand protecting wildlife, I don’t understand the imaginary fences and signs that all persons seem to carry with them wherever they are. It is like no one even sees anyone else. They just walk and walk and walk going nowhere with their heads down. They don’t say hello or smile. Even a dog can smile.
And this, in my observation, makes persons very lonely sometimes with their signs.
You know, if something makes me sad, I change it. If something makes me lonely, I change it. But persons seem to think that things will just change without them making any effort. And even us, when we were on the trail this week, got caught up in work assignments and problems. Well, that was Girl Person. Not us.
And something without warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind
But as we do every night, rain or shine, we took a walk in the woods. And we stopped and we went down to the river. We were stressed, and the river was a sign. Not a “no trespassing” sign, but a “come and look at me for awhile” sign.
But even though we sat there for awhile, when we got back on the trail, I could tell that Girl Person hadn’t really left her stress there. She was looking down. And that’s a bad sign no matter how you read it. Her “no trespassing sign” was back up. Until. A voice from the woods.
Someone else was trying to talk to us. Yes. Us. Even though Girl Person was looking down, we were hot and tired, and our day had been long, someone was trying…to talk to us. Despite all that. Apparently, they were ignoring our “no trespassing sign” and coming over anyway. Out came Jonah and his mom person.
It is not often that the Sheriff lets down his guard. But here came Jonah, with kindness all around him like syrup on a pancake. And butter. Lots of butter. And his mom told us how Jonah loved dogs, how they were fostering a dog, how he had become a Junior Ranger that day, and how much he loved us. And as we listened, and Girl Person looked up to put away her sign, I knew it. There were no boundaries here. There were persons, and kindness and no fences. Whatever had happened in everyone’s day, well, a boy named Jonah had taken down their “no trespassing” signs. This was living. This was what life should be. Not ignoring everyone, but acknowledging everyone. And even though five minutes on the trail went by fast, Jonah left an impression on us like when your fork slides onto the pancake. He would do great things in life because his kindness took down all signs.
Then I look at you
And the world’s alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it’s gonna be
A lovely day
A lovely day
When we are hiking like this morning, we heard wild pigs in the woods. We heard snakes slithering away and we heard squirrels in the trees. Some of this could make us wonder why they were there. Or make us think that we deserved to be there more than they did. But who really are the ones trespassing? You see, life isn’t about signs and fences and blocking everyone else out to make ourselves happier. Because that doesn’t make anyone happier in the long run. Every day is a lovely day and when you realize that life takes us all, and that we all deserve to be here, maybe your sign will read differently, maybe you will be a little kinder like Jonah, and maybe…just maybe…we will end up taking down all the “no trespassing” signs.
https://dailymotion.com/video/x2zkxig
When we drove home from our hike, Girl Person asked us to remember Jonah…no matter what state we were in or where we were.
She said Jonah is an example to kids without fur that they can help animals, be kind, and make a difference. And he made a difference for us.
-Deputy Digby Pancake
Did you catch our online cooking segment for dogs this week? Get the full recipe here and watch below!
Does organic shampoo matter? Visit 4-Legger to find out! Oh…and the answer is yes.
What an absolutely perfect and much needed blog. I’ve had one of the worst weeks in forever, and everything about this made me happy. Thank you, again. LOVED IT!!! And all of you. What a good kid, Jonah. I think I’ll remember him too. xoxoxo <3 <3 <3 <3
Still cold here in Chicago, but slowly warming up. Love your posts and your great dogs.