Thankful Thursday - Desert Sunsets and Shyla

As it continues to snow outside with another 8" expected tonight, I am looking backward again to a warm and sunny evening on the slickrock in Utah.

I can wander the slickrock, soaking up the beauty endlessly. I love the textures of the rock, the glowing colors, and the contrast between my pups and the rock.

As Shyla and I climbed toward the top of the slickrock slope for sunset, we stopped for a photo because I loved the lichens spotting the slickrock.

Then, we resumed a very fast hike directly up the fall line of the slickrock slope. In places, it was too steep, and we'd wind around looking for a route that was shallow enough let Shyla's paw pads and my running shoes stick. Soon, we were at the top. Shyla got there first.


I eventually caught up. The sight of Shyla glowing in the deep red sunset light warmed my soul.

And then the light got even more beautiful. I was so enamored with it that I wasn't paying attention to the clouds sneaking up behind Shyla.


I adore these photo sessions with Shyla. She's become my partner in so many ways. She anticipates what I might ask her to do. She does all of it with enthusiasm and a softness in her eyes that melts my heart. After K died, I never dreamed that I'd have another dog in my life who knew me so well and made my heart sing so much. That is what I am thankful for on this Thursday. For Shyla and the bond that she and I built.

Then, all of a sudden, Shyla completely disconnected from me. She slumped, looked downward, and appeared miserable. I was so engrossed in the light and the beauty around us that I hadn't noticed a storm bearing down on us. It was scaring Shyla. As many of you may remember from her early days with us, she shuts down when scared.

Just after I finally realized that we needed to get down off that slope (prompted by morose Shyla), the Runner yelled to me to get down because he'd seen lightning.

I will pick up the story there tomorrow - complete with images of one of the biggest and most intense storm clouds that I've ever seen. We couldn't see it from the slickrock because the slope itself was blocking the view.

Mother Nature is dangerously beautiful.

Thanks to Brian for hosting the Thankful Thursday blog hop.