Yesterday evening I took a very scary walk in our woods with Caleb. It started off innocently enough, as we headed up the field and into the woods.

I lost track of Caleb early on but wasn’t too concerned. He often disappears, especially during the first part of the walk. Lots of things to do and smells to explore, and there’s very little trouble he can get into, or so he tells me.

Except yesterday evening was different. The smell. It got stronger and stronger.

Yes indeedy, it was a pungent skunk, and very close by. So where was Caleb? That was my big worry. Often on these walks he takes off and gets ahead of me. And if he was ahead of me, I had a pretty good idea of what had happened. (And if THAT had happened, I had a pretty good idea of how the rest of my evening was going to go, too.)

But lo and behold, as I walked through the Maple Grove I saw Caleb trotting up behind me as if he hadn’t a care in the world. The skunk smell had dissipated by then, and as he approached, I wasn’t getting any powerful new whiffs. Hopeful but not convinced, I kept my eye on him, watching for any strange behavior or noxious smells. Caleb was oblivious and patient — he didn’t even seem to mind too much that I sniffed his head when he paused in front of me.

My lucky day! We dodged a bullet, me and Caleb. And as we continued our walk, he sang a little song. I share it with you now, for your enjoyment.