The perfect walk is coming, I can feel it.
I mean, I get a perfect walk every season, but the Fall perfect walk is my absolute favorites.
It all starts with the perfect temperature. As someone born in the Midwest, I never grew out of enjoying a cooler temperature. To quote Miss Congeniality, the weather for my perfect walk is “not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.” So put in the low 60s.
This also means my little Chihuahua, who prefers to sunbathe, gets swaddled in a cozy turtleneck sweater. She does love her sweaters in this kind of weather. I like to think she gets it from me.
So on this perfect walk, Smidge is rocking her cozy turtleneck sweater and I have on utility jacket with lots of useful pockets, layered over a long sweater and cozy leggings and my favorite boots. I’m also having a good hair day but not so good that I get annoyed when a lofty autumn breeze ruffles my curls.
Ok, we’re dressed perfectly for the perfect autumn walk. Next, we’re on the walk, and Smidge is doing great, and I mean great. She’s too busy sniffing the new autumn scents in the air and investigating the grass when dogs she’d normally bark at slip on past. And she’s in the mood to hoof it on this perfect walk, we’re not getting lazy by the time we reach the community basketball court today. No, she prances her way down the main drag and everyone who drives by enjoys the little dog in the turtleneck sweater.
We’re at the make-or-break point – will Smidge turn the corner at the end of the main drag? Or will she pee on a shrub and call it a day? On our perfect autumn walk, Smidge goes forth and turns that corner. Then she investigates each Halloween decoration on the nearby lawns. As she checks out a plastic skeleton rising from an earthy grave, I take pictures with my phone (stored in one of my convenient utility pockets) which will be perfect for her Dogstagram.
On the way home from our perfect autumn walk, I get to step on several crispy leaves, hearing that satisfying cronch that comes with a good autumn leaf. Smidge has not lost her swag and has not barked at anyone or anything. She even poses for more photos because she is a ham.
Following the perfect autumn walk is a perfect little treat, maybe even a double treat night since she didn’t bark like a crazy dog, and we curl up together with a cozy quilt and burn a fall-themed candle. Smidge snores loudly while I read, little feet tucked into her sweater.
Lucky for me, this perfect autumn walk is not fantasy. We really do have walks like these. Occasionally the sweaters even coordinate, but they aren’t always as specific as this – sometimes she does bark and sometimes she refuses picture time. But even when she acts like a brat, or when I’m still in work clothes, or if she doesn’t want to go the long route, walks with Smidge can be perfect little autumn walks just because we’re together. And I plan to enjoy each and every one of those.
