Traveling north of sixty …
“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace.”
Milan Kundera
I enjoyed interacting with the farm dogs of the Palouse, especially the great Pyrenees. At one stop, two of these big dogs came running from a quarter-mile away to check us out and give us a very friendly greeting. After we arrived home, I was prompted to read a bit about “pyrs”. I found that they were bred centuries ago to care for sheep in the high Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain and are comfortable being left completely on their own to do their job of chasing off predators – they can disappear for days. I also read that they like to have a small creature to nurture – if there are no little lambs, a kitten will do. According to one reference I found, “pyrs” are “leaners” – that is, they might lean against you to show affection. This old girl came from her resting place in a barn just to the right side of the road to do some leaning against Marcy and me. We struck an immediate friendship and instead of picture taking, I spent most of my time at this site interacting with the dog. I finally coaxed her to pose in front of this old grain elevator. She watched us longingly as we drove away.
