This is Deputy Digby Pancake.  Some days you know immediately that it is going to be a good, no, a great day!  That is every day in my book.  But when I wake up and it’s raining, and the persons start packing our picnic, I know.  This.  This is going to be a good day.  Yes. You heard me.  A picnic.  A hike.  In the rain.  Oh yeah.

Girl Person always tries to explain the history behind the places that we go.  She said that this place had a very bad wind storm in the forest. And then there were only stumps left that looked like a graveyard. But then it had a fire too.  I tried to pay attention.  But I knew the mud was calling my name.

We were on our way! Time to boogie down, y’all.

There are certain recipes I know by heart. Pancakes.  The best pancakes.  Meatballs. The best meatballs.  And I also know the recipe for a true hiking success.  Rain. Mud. Puddles. Creeks. Streams. And a waterfall at the end of it.  Also.  A picnic.

You see, I knew we were in for a delightful time on the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday.  We could hardly see anything thru the fog.

But we kept going and we kept driving until we reached our stop for the afternoon.  A three mile round trip hike.  In the mud.

I have to tell you. The persons were not so excited about this at first.  They thought that once we got to the trail that the weather would get better.

Well, in my perspective, it did. It got muddier. And for Sheriff Brickle, it got more slippery. And for some reason, Brickle thinks it is the funniest thing in the world when he slips.  And when Boy Person slips?  He laughs like crazy with that corn dog tail!

The persons did their complaining for a little while.  The persons tried to stay dry for a little while.

But once they realized that it was impossible to do anything but live in the moment and laugh with us, the trail sure became even better than I knew it could be. OH, the rain turned to love.  The dirt turned to love. The mud turned to love.  Oh, we were feeling it! Everywhere. In our collars. In our shoes. In our pants.  Well, not in my pants.  I don’t wear pants…I’ve mentioned that before.

There are few things that persons can control in their life.  But I know this.  One thing that you can control?  Your perspective.  Complaining about things you can’t change, or things that aren’t perfect in your day is a waste of time.  That time could be spent enjoying the not so perfect things.  Don’t be a stranger to the the not so perfect things. They are pretty awesome too.

This time on the Blue Ridge Parkway for us is coming to a close.  We have only a few miles left…and it seems like we started just yesterday.  Life is like that too.  We know that.  Life will teach us lessons no matter where we go.

So go where your heart wants to. Don’t jump over that mud. Skip thru it.  Get dirty.  Make memories, and if someone else needs a reminder like Boy Person, push them in it.

-Deputy Digby Pancake

Keep checking out our Facebook page this week for more videos and pictures of our adventures this week as we end the Blue Ridge Parkway!

Don’t forget, save 10% off of our entire purchase at Pet Releaf for the month of September with coupon code 2TDFALL at checkout!