What seemed like a good idea at the time turned out to be the longest 30 or 40 minutes of my life.

The good idea was to let my buddy Caleb run loose on a park road that is closed to vehicular traffic during the winter.

I had done this on a number of occasions without any issues.

On this particular evening, however, I encountered one of the scariest situations of my life.

Somehow Caleb disappeared into the dark woods bordering the road and went missing for 30 or 40 minutes.

I’ve been walking Caleb twice a day for 8 years now and almost never let him off leash. On the rare occasions when I do let him run loose, he almost never strays more than 10 or 20 feet from me and always comes back within a minute or less of being called.

So when Caleb disappeared into the darkness and didn’t come back after 2 or 3 minutes of being called, my heart began to sink.

When I stepped over to the spot where I had last seen him and saw a steep, rocky ledge and the frozen lake below, my heart sank even further.

I was afraid to look below but knew that I had to. Making matters worse was the fact that it was pitch dark and I didn’t have a flashlight.

I held onto tree trunks and branches as I made my way down the steep ledge. I was both relieved and panicked to not find Caleb anywhere down below.

I continued to call for him as I made my way back up the ledge, but to no avail.

Back on the road, I decided to run the quarter-mile or so back to my car and get a flashlight so that I could better see where I was searching.

As I ran I continued to call for Caleb but there was no sign of him. He wasn’t back at the car, either.

Back at the spot where he had disappeared, I continued my search, this time with two flashlights. I was afraid of what I might find but knew that I had to look.

After another ten minutes or so of searching and calling in vain, two women who were walking through the park stopped to help in my search. A man who was walking his dog on the frozen lake below did the same.

After the four of us searched for another 10 minutes or so without any luck, I decided to call the authorities. I was directed to animal control, who told me that they’d be to the park in about 5 minutes. I told them where I’d parked, what kind of car I was driving, and where Caleb had gone missing.

I searched and called for my dog for a few more minutes and then decided to walk back to my car to meet animal control.

As I made my way there, I was met about halfway by someone coming toward me with a flashlight.

“Are you Wade?” they asked.

“Yes I am,” I replied.

“I think we have your dog,” the person replied, as I noticed that he was an animal control officer.  “Does he have a big white belly?”

“Yes he does,” I replied, with a huge sigh of relief. “Where did you find him?”

“He was sitting by the back bumper of your car,” the officer replied.

I don’t remember my exact response but it was something like, “Holy crap! I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”

Overjoyed is more like it. In a span of 30 or 40 minutes, I went from feeling like my world had ended to feeling that I was the luckiest person alive.

Four days later and I am still catching my breath and counting my blessings.

Some lessons I learned through the harrowing experience are:

*Dogs are a lot smarter than we often give them credit for. How Caleb found his way back to my car in the pitch dark is pretty impressive.

*Always carry a flashlight on a dog walk in the dark.  I almost always do so but of course on the night that I really needed one I had forgotten to bring one along!

*Dogs can be real escape artists so we should always keep them in our sight.

*When walking a dog in the dark and/or a wooded area, a lighted and/or bell collar are a good idea.  After my experience I know that I am definitely going to be investing in a lighted collar for Caleb.

*Laws and safety devices may seem like a constraint at times but often they are the very things that protect us from harm. 

If I’d been following the city’s leash law while walking Caleb through the park that night, I wouldn’t have had to suffer through 30 or 40 of the longest, most agonizing minutes of my life.

Now I know more than ever that by keeping Caleb on leash when it’s best to do so, I can help to ensure that we are able to enjoy many more walks together. With a little less drama, I hope!

As a runner, one question I often get during the winter is, “Did you run in this?”

“This” meaning the cold and/or snow.

My answer is almost always “yes.”

Unless the temperature or snowfall are extreme—colder than 20 below or more than 10 inches of snow—I will do everything I can to brave the elements and get out for a run.

One reason for this is that running for me has long been a healthy habit. It is as automatic of a daily routine as brushing my teeth.

Another reason for this is that I am convinced that getting outdoors for some exercise is even more important for our health during the winter than it is during other times of the year.

Getting some fresh air and sunshine during the winter—when it’s dark and cold so much of the time and we spend so much of our time cooped up indoors– can go a long way in helping to prevent “cabin fever” and/or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

The cold months of the year can be challenging enough without having to deal with the winter blues, which is why it’s especially important to get some outdoor exercise even when it’s cold and snowy.

While I appreciate how pine trees help to brighten our Christmas season, I have an even greater appreciation for how they help to brighten our world throughout the rest of the year.

Here in the Northland I am especially grateful for them during the dead of winter, when things can get pretty cold and dark.

By holding their green needles when other trees lose their leaves, pine trees provide us with a welcome source of color during a season when much of the landscape is drab and gray.

I am fortunate to have a generous number of pine trees along my daily running and dog-walking routes. They have been especially beautiful the past few weeks, as they have been covered with a white coating called rime ice that is formed when water droplets from fog freeze onto a cold surface.

It definitely has been cold and foggy here in western Wisconsin the past few weeks, which would explain why so much beautiful rime ice is decorating the needles of pines and bare branches of other trees.

During the dark days of any winter this would be a welcome sight.

During the dark days of this winter—what with all of the struggles that our country and world are going through—it is especially welcome!

One way that I got the New Year off on the right foot is with a run.

My route took me past one of my favorite landmarks in the city where I live—statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.

Over the last 25 years or so I’ve run past Paul and Babe hundreds of times without giving them much thought.

This past year, however, they have been a welcome reminder of the grit and teamwork that can help us stand strong in the face of challenges such as the current pandemic.

Paul and Babe remind me that we stand strong when we stand together. Just as a certain good book reminds me that two are better than one. When one falls down, the other can help him up.

Happy New Year everyone!

I’m sure that I was far from the only one who was having some trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this season, the main reason being the global pandemic that all of us are going through.

Even the most positive, optimistic souls among us have to admit that COVID has put a damper on the holiday season.

For many of us who live in the northland, another big reason that the holiday spirit proved elusive this season is that we didn’t have any snow on the ground.

Until two nights before Christmas, that is. That is when Mother Nature decided to step in and give us a healthy dose of the white stuff.

Seeing fresh white snow on pine-tree boughs–with a bright blue sky above –was a wonderful Christmas gift. Along with the arrival of a COVID vaccine a few weeks before Christmas, it gives hope for brighter days ahead!

One of the things that I have been especially enjoying this holiday season during my daily run and dog walks is Christmas decorations.

After the year we’ve had, they are an especially welcome sight in helping to brighten the season.

So welcome, in fact, that even big blow-up Christmas decorations are starting to look good to me. In normal years they are a bit too gaudy for my modest Midwestern tastes. But after the year we’ve had I’ll take all of the holiday cheer that I can get.

So this year I give a special salute to those who have put in the time and effort to decorate their homes and businesses for the holidays. Thank you for helping to spread some cheer at a time when many of us can use some.

Merry Christmas everyone!

During these oftentimes dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic one of the places where I have been looking for and finding a glimmer of hope is in nature.

That is why I found it especially cool that the day after I was treated to beauty above me during my morning dog-walk —flocks of geese flying overhead in a clear blue sky—I was treated to beauty below me.

On this particular morning the beauty came in the form of a fresh layer of sparkling frost on the ground. The sparkles were created first by my flashlight and then by the morning sun reflecting off of a thick layer of frost. It was an awesome sight, like stars at our feet and paws brightening our way to a brand new day.

Seeing the sparkling frost was uplifting in and of itself. It also was a welcome reminder—especially coming as it did during the middle of the dark COVID-19 pandemic and the dark days of winter—that the Lord is a “light to our path and lamp to our feet.”

On this morning’s dog-walk I had the good fortune of seeing and hearing a huge flock of geese flying overhead.

Actually, flock is a bit of an understatement. It had to be at least a handful of flocks as there were well over 100 geese flying overhead in the clear blue sky.

The sight and sound of it was not only beautiful, it was a vivid reminder of the changing of the seasons. Winter is here and migratory birds are heading south for the season.

No matter how many times I see it, the migratory process always amazes me. With no map or GPS, how do geese, ducks, and other migratory birds know when and where to fly south?

I’m sure that my wildlife biologist running buddy has some answers for me on that one. Next time I run with him I’ll try to remember to ask.

But my guess is that even to the experts the migratory process will always remain somewhat of a mystery. To me, anyway, it will always be a wonder of nature that reminds me that “the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands.”

This 4^th of July weekend, I celebrate some of the many freedoms that the Lord blesses me with through running!

Through running, he frees me from loneliness. I have met many wonderful people and grown many wonderful friendships thanks to running.

Through running, he frees me from anxiety. Numerous scientific studies show the anxiety-busting benefits of running.

Through running, he frees me from sadness. Numerous scientific studies show the mood-boosting benefits of running.

Through running, he frees me from obesity. Running’s calorie-burning benefits make it much easier to keep my weight at a healthy level.

Through running, he frees me from indecision. A regular running regimen helps me to keep moving forward.

Those are just some of the many freedoms that the Lord blesses me with through running and that I am thankful for on this 4^th of July weekend!