Making Up for Lost Time

Poor Sugar. I have been away so much that she was sure she had been abandoned. Even though the boys looked out for her, she was miffed that I have not been around. I owe her a long romp. So today I collect the boys and we head for the Gates Park, a new discovery for us. I have driven by the entrance a hundred times, and it is usually barred shut. Suddenly though, now that summer is upon us, the iron gates are open and the roadway is clear.

Slowly we drive the long and bumpy road down into the park proper. The trees canopy the road with shade, and we catch glimpses of walking paths meandering through the woods. Who knew that less than a mile from our place all this nature was waiting? We are here now, ready to explore.


We round a bend in the road and find ourselves in a large parking area. To the left a playground with slides and swings and monkey bars - Drew is immediately drawn in that direction. Ahead are three soccer fields clearly marked and behind that a softball diamond. To the left, a cute bridge leading to a small pond where dragonflies are dancing.

Sugar wants to see it all right now. She leaps from the car, wriggling all over. First we head for the hiking path. The surface is bumpy and covered with roots. Vines and underbrush spill into the path, and we wonder whether there is poison ivy about. We see evidence that bikes have been here, but the path is so narrow that after ten minutes, we give up and head back toward the playground.

The boys revert to their childhood and abandon me to play on the equipment. Sugar and I decide to hike the perimeter of the park and head toward the pond, then circle around the soccer fields and softball diamond. Snaking off to the left of our circuitous route are many inviting little pathways. We glimpse others out exploring, some with dogs, some with backpacks. We resist the extras for now.

Queen Anne's lace, daisies, thistles and other wildflowers nod nonchalantly in the breeze as Sugar roams about this way and that, snuffing for all she is worth. Sometimes she startles a toad or a bumblebee. She is so delighted to be allowed to wander in this wonderland. For every ten yards I walk, she probably puts in a hundred wandering back and forth, running ahead and falling behind.

This is great. Soon though, the boys tire of the playground and catch up with Sugar and me, ready to head home. I have to tear Sugar away. She wants to spend the day! At the car, I start to pour water from my drinking bottle into my hand so Sugar can have a drink, but she eagerly sticks her nose in the bottle and laps up the water before it can fall into my waiting palm. Oh, well.

Apparently we need to do this again and soon!