Leo Clement

William A Garnett ( Snow Geese with Reflections of the Sun over Buena Vista Lake, CA ) My work with horses causes me sometimes, to think only in black and white terms: good verses bad, hard versus easy, simple versus complex, and so on. This kind of thinking probably seems too constricted and too naive in this age of fifty plus shades of gray: black and white seems so yesterday, you know? However, when your life depends on clear signals because everything is riding (literally) on the clearness of your signals to a thousand pound animal who if scared and confused can cause havoc and disaster, black and white is the only safe and reasonable choice.  I've been thinking lately about how we go through our life drowning in choices and options; so many things lie instantly at our finger tips should we want them. All the information we could ever want is usually only a click a way. Should we suddenly decide to change our life completely, the tools to help can appear instantly.

I really struggle this time of year. The post holiday crash is potent because of the knowledge that the hardest part of winter is still ahead. The dark and cold and the general inaccessibility of the outdoors often trigger anxiety in me, not to mention depression. My job requires me to be outdoors all year round, regardless of the weather so even though I am used to it, when the temps drop below zero, I'm dragging myself out the door by my boot straps lamenting and mourning those golden summer days. I had icicles on my eyeballs the day it went fifteen below zero (Fahrenheit) this past week Between the necessity of getting through the day without frostbite and or misery for me and my kids (though the school has recess in the gym when it's this cold) I often forget to lift up my head and find the beauty that can be found in this dark and solemn season. That is why I have Leo. Leo's new favorite word is beautiful . And he knows how to use it. He knows