Riley enjoys his comfort. Where once he never lagged behind on our clambers and treks now he does just that. In the winter particularly this concerns us because we're aware that coyotes have been sighted at dusk and dawn in there, though we've never seen one ourselves, no longer entering the ravine as we once did, at those hours. Before he was born, and when Button was a young puppy we would often go into the ravine at night, and in the winter when the skies were overcast and the moon hidden, a magical pinkish glow would light up the ravine, often making it as light as day. At that time there were still foxes to be seen often in there, signs of porcupine and skunk, and frequent daytime sightings of raccoons, of grouse and quail. But no coyotes. Even the occasional deer came into the ravine through the corridor along the Ottawa River, reaching down toward the ravine.

The presence of owls has become more common now, and hawks arriving with spring weather. Riley trundles along behind us on the trails. But given his unfriendliness to dogs that he doesn't know, we take the precaution of one of us walking before him, the other behind, and our progression is, as a result, very slow. For me that works fairly well, since I too have become much slower in my physical progress and energy levels over the years, but even I become irritated at the slow pace from time to time. Once we're halfway through our usual circuit, oddly enough, he suddenly picks up his gait, just as Button used to do.

He doesn't have Button's curiosity and adventure of spirit. Although to his credit, he may be bored with being exposed to the same old routine every day. It's true that when we deviate, when we take a different, shorter trail, he becomes instantly interested and forges ahead. But then the familiar landmarks evince themselves and he falls back again, trudging along.

He seems to prefer the comfort of home, just being home, relaxing and enjoying the feeling that he can do whatever he likes there, within reasonable constraints. Mostly, now that he's approaching his 13th year, dozing.