Old Lady Katie is in her 80s, in dog years, and like the middle-aged ladyshe follows around, she has to visit the necessary room a little more frequently these days. Katie’s necessary room is the great outdoors, and, because she has the world’s worst recall once the sun goes down, I always take her out on a leash for her last potty break.

The late night leash visits, give me a chance to enjoy the great outdoors in all kinds of weather, sometimes when we have visitors of the giant, furry kind near the composter, and, as happened last night, when the yard in the forest and Mountains beyond, are under the spell of moonlight.

Last night, the moon was gold, almost orange, forecasting, the change in seasons that is almost upon us. It will be our last autumn in Vermont before we move, and in that five minutes, I was reminded that there will be some magic from this place that we will miss. Sometimes, though, a little bit of bitter makes the sweet more special.