Yesterday morning the pups and I ventured out to find inches of snow in front of us. What a pleasant surprise! During the night the snow began to fall and stuck. The husky was in husky heaven as we started our walk before most of Berlin had even stirred at 8am. Saturday and Sunday mornings in Berlin are quiet. This is a city that isn’t an early morning riser. Bakeries open even much later than they would on weekday mornings. No one is rushing anywhere, especially now during lockdown. It was me, the pups, the snow and a few other people who caught a glimpse of white and wanted to venture out before anyone else had trampled it.

The crunching of snow under my boots brought a smile to my face as Luna became her snow bunny hopping self and Pushky’s nose went directly into the white. We joke about his snow nose when there is white on the ground. It is a trademarked move for the big fluffy dog. The world much smell so differently from his viewpoint. Ana remarked later when we took them on a walk, it is as if they are both on a new scavenger hunt with everything covered. Both pups are eager to sniff everything when it is a different icy world. This morning when I took them out the snow hadn’t left, new ice was forming because it was 20 degrees F (-6 in C). Today is brilliantly sunny but incredibly ice and crisp. A totally different world again at our fingertips even if it is the same neighborhood we walk through every morning. A winter wonderland has formed before us which is refreshing during pandemic times as we look ahead to week 14 of lockdown beginning tomorrow.

As I went walking through the ice and snow these past two days I am reflecting on what Friday night brought us in the form of a Camino type of reunion, another landmark of walking. Ana and I met walking the Camino in 2017 and we made friends along the way. Friends that will always hold a special place in our hearts. Friends that saw us where others didn’t. Friends we opened up to and walked with for hours. It hit me last week that we have the tools to reconnect with these amazing friends! So I sent out a zoom link and 10 of us got together to chat and smile at one another. It was truly lovely. In this world of massive limitations we can connect in easier ways than before with these tools that now will never go away.

I loved every second of it. It made a difference. Now to think more about that…and walking…and snow…and connections….

Happy Sunday to you dear reader! What is your world like today?