1. Wild Animals in the Wild - It's no secret that I love national parks. Some parks are better for wildlife spotting than others, but I think it's the unpredictability that adds to the gratitude. I appreciate zoos for their conservation work, but it's just not the same as seeing something that isn't "on display." It's like you won some sort of experience lottery when something you like or something unusual is spotted in your travels. I have a couple of work friends heading up to Alaska in a day or two. They literally won the lottery and will be spending 3 nights in Katmai. I counted 9 bears at Brooks Falls last night and another 4-5 along the river. I can only imagine how epic their experience will be...especially considering all of the other places they'll be visiting and the animals they're possible to see.
2. Pets - From my first dog and my kids' first dog, to our current doggo...I love them all. Our current dog is a black lab/shepherd mix. She looks much more black lab, but she's a shelter baby, so there's probably a little Heinz 57 in the mix. I'm extra grateful that she's not too traumatized from the storm and seems to be rolling with our difficult situation. We got into town around 9:30pm the evening before Beryl hit, meaning we couldn't pick her up until the next day. The facility lost power like the rest of us and they haven't been able to access phones or email. After the storm passed, we played Frogger with all of the downed trees and debris to try and get to her. We were successful! She's currently adapting to motel life, which may be vital, since power isn't looking promising for a while. Meaning she may have to come on the road with us for the next round of travel softball. We even left her in the room last night for a bit while we went to buy groceries. Not a peep and she was snuggled up in bed waiting for us to return. She has also learned to ignore the voices in the hall, but bark if someone comes to our door. Good girl!
3. Animal helpers - From the true service dogs to animals that act on instinct in a time of great need, I am grateful. My aunt had a seeing eye dog. I've never been a big fan of German Shepherds (more on that in a bit), but hers was an absolute angel. I'm also reminded of a neighbor's shepherd mix that broke down a door to attack a would-be burglar entering the house. Beyond that, we had some really aggressive German Shepherds that lived down the street from us at one point and like many of our neighbors, the animals weren't fenced in or restrained. The town authorities eventually had to get involved, but before that, one of them went after my mom and I while we were walking to the library. She was expecting my brother and I was about 4 years old. The big sheepdog across the street went into flock guardian mode. The memories are faint at this point in life, but I've heard the stories from my mom and I have little snippets of visuals of fluffy white and gray fur being in between me and a snarling shepherd's face. I also remember my mom being on the ground with her pregnant belly, trying to get up.