Goodbye to Larch Drive

Yesterday, I sat for a while in the backyard of Larch Drive. Perhaps it will be the last time I ever come here. There are still quail in the Back Forty field. Dappled sun through the olives and pines in the afternoon. The tops of the redwood grove still have the sun. Airliners flashing on the final approach to SFO and small planes angling to San Carlos and Palo Alto airports. But inside the house were I grew up.... well..... it's not a home anymore for me. Rugs are all gone. No good food smells. No more water bowl. I do not want to set paw into the empty den, kitchen, or the bedroom wing. So, I don't.

My person tells me a new family will live there. A Dutch lady, her husband, and visiting grandchildren and their families and friends. I like the idea of the house being full of people again. Maybe they will have a dog. Or a cat. They will make the house come alive again.

We walked over to to the Boat Tree around the corner. Got to sniff all the regular bushes, gravel banks, and mail box posts. Saw two big young black labs who were being taught to walk at heel by their person. A shepard kind of dog off leash with a jogging lady.

Good memories. Nice that the old neighborhood still has lots of dogs.