Unseen

It's one of my favourite spots along my walk. Realistically, there's nothing to see. It's just a narrow strip of asphalt with fences on one side and a metal guard rail and bushes on the other. Below the fence are weeds and gravel and, maybe, a bit of a divot.

A dog used to live at this house and when I'd walk past, he'd often have his head sticking out from under the fence. He wouldn't bark and most people would walk right past him without even noticing he was there. I'd stop and give him a scratch between his ears. There were a few times when I was walking past and I heard him run over. It felt like he recognized me and wanted to say hi. More likely, he just heard someone walking past and was curious and it didn't matter that it was me.

I haven't seen that dog in many years, but while my head knows facts about the life expectancy of dogs, I still think he could be in the house keeping warm and while the owners may have stained the fence and cleaned up the weeds, I still think I can see his favourite spot.

Late June 2016