Waldo Revisited

High: 40 °F
Low: 28 °F
Conditions: Freezing rain turning to snow.
Total accumulation: 2 inches.

This picture was taken the second week of March, 2006. Ari was four months old, and we had just embarked upon our very first field trip. Our destination was Mt. Waldo, a 1500 ft granite pluton with stunning views of the coast.

The baby Ari wasn't too interested in those views, but that didn't prevent her from exploring every edge of the mountain top, where--frankly--we were a little afraid her gigantic ears might launch her into orbit. Happily, though, the only thing taking off that day was her canine naturalism. It hasn't touched down since.


This week, we decided to celebrate the anniversary of Ari's field trip by recreating it. None of us had been back to Mt. Waldo since, and we were eager to see how it--and we--had changed.




The view from the top was still lovely, though we had to work a little harder to find it, since this group of beech seedlings have taken root since we first visited.


Once we reached the summit, we tried to recreate our early photo, but a certain someone was too interested in building herself a snow cave (or, more likely, digging for a few fox scat appetizers).




We tried to persuade Ari that what she really wanted to do was pose for a photo, but we didn't have much luck. And, this time around, we had considerably fewer choices, too. The baby Ari weighed in around 20 pounds and, even with the wiggling, could be held long enough to pose for a photo. The three-year-old Ari, on the other hand, weighs in at over twice that. And she knows better than to be caught long enough to be held, let alone picked up. So we had to settle for this image:




Definitely not a perfect re-creation, but probably a fitting one nonetheless. Ari is very much a grown up now. And she has more personality (and will) in one of those ears than most mammals have in their own bodies. Why should our photo do anything other than reflect that?


Happily, not everything has changed. Somewhere in all of this grown-upness is a dog who still values a good romp in the snow.




Not to mention a sunset on the way home so spectacular that, for the first time that whole day, persuaded her to stand still.