one, we adopted one of our foster dogs, a senior papillon. the breed is described as “a small, friendly, elegant toy dog of fine-boned structure, light, dainty and of lively action, with hind legs are covered to the hocks with abundant breeches.” i now enjoy partaking in the google image search: papillons in royal court paintings. he is toothless, tender, and fancy-footed. we renamed him zephyr after he never noticed the consonant shift from a similarly-sounding boy name. a friend said: “the best, but the last in things that are alphabetical. it’ll teach him patience.” despite all of his floof and culottes, he is somehow hypoallergenic. my whole body appreciates him.

two, i’ve been doing a weekly bike ride up a nearby dormant volcanic vent, mt. tabor. the city park is full of trails, ground nesting birds, and reservoirs. every week i take a different path into the park, sometimes opting to walk up muddy and steep trails instead of sticking to the paved bike paths. mid-week, there aren’t many people there, so i mostly go on overcast or drizzly mornings instead of nice, sunny weekends. i don’t wear headphones so i can hear all the birds and in general be surrounded by nature. a few times i’ve ended up at the same secluded bench, so i’ve started bringing a book to read.

thinking about everyone these days. what’s getting y’all through?

<3,

rhienna