The forecast for the next couple of days is rain and then more rain. I can’t explain it; but when this happens, I find myself wanting to gather up all my C.S. Lewis books and go some place alone to read, study, and think. Oh, I need to think these days and listen for the Lord’s words of encouragement.

A friend took this photo of me and Cocoa Joy last weekend. She was refusing to let me take her photo. But when I picked her up,  she just dropped her head on my arm and relaxed. That’s when we got this photo of her—just being Cocoa.

Today Cocoa, and Chip, and I finished reading The Call of The Wild by Jack London. They loved it, and I’m still trying to decide why I put myself through it. Now, they want to read White Fang. I thought you would enjoy reading one of their favorite sections from The Call. Imagine them listening, wide-eyed, as they think about Buck (London’s lead character which is 100 percent all dog) and his adventures: “Buck was afraid that Thornton would pass out of his life as Perrault and Francosis and the Scotch half-breed had passed out. Even in the night in his dreams, he was haunted by this fear. At such times, he would shake off sleep and creep through the chill to the flap of the tent, where he would stand and listen to the sound of his master’s breathing . . . . Faithfulness and devotion, things born of fire and roof, were his; yet Buck retained his wildness and wiliness. He was a thing of the wild, come in from the wild to sit by John Thornton’s fire, rather than a dog of the soft Southland stamped with the marks of generations of civilization.”

After reading these words for the second and third time, I guess Cocoa is right, these words truly are words of deep feeling and meaning.

I just sent this photo to the editor of the local newspaper. Every once in a while, he runs my photos in the newspaper. I’m convinced this fulfills the “Jan Karon” side of my life. Years ago, small town editor began running portions of her first book (that she could not sell). The guy would pay her fifty bucks each week for her short newspaper column. That’s the way she got her start—writing for the love of it and very little money. Soon, people where buying newspapers just to find out what her lead character Father Tim would do next.

Of course, that was so long ago and . . . . well, let’s just say that she makes a lot more money than that now.

This week’s favorite thing to dislike: horses! I promise to take a video of this sort of thing because, especially when Chipley is concerned, it is pretty wild! He doesn’t like big animals while Cocoa thinks they are so coooooool. That’s the result of her Dog School 101 training.