I’m grateful that I got the new Covid vaccine today at the Safeway pharmacy and am now better protected from potential infection, hospitalization, or death from this virus. I know I’ll probably pay for this protection for a day or two with fatigue and soreness, but I’ll take that any day over lung damage and the possibility of another longterm virus. I’m grateful, too, when I look out over this beautiful little canyon, that I was able to offer it some protection as well, when I put the portion under my stewardship into a conservation easement in 2006.

Wren surveys her domain. She may get shivers being that close to the edge on that ledge, but I get shivers when I look over it at the landscape that landed me here. I first saw this canyon in summer and fell in love with it, then bought it that winter; over time I was able to preserve it for wildlife in perpetuity. I wish I could protect the entire length of it, but I’m grateful I could at least protect the middle third. Over the years I’ve seen deer, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, bears, and mountain lions in and along the canyon, as well as a few stray dogs and a couple of lost humans. I’ve seen it in drought and in flood and in ice. The past couple of years, since the big dogs died, I haven’t spent as much time down here as I used to, but this morning the shivers reminded me what a remarkable blessing it is, and I hope Wren will drag me down here more often this autumn.