January 27, 2008 – Cold, clear. Paula has gone back to NY. A nice week, she loves bringing food to the chickens, donkeys and goats, and is irked that they are picky about her cooking. Finished my next book, at least the first draft. Lenore and Izzy love riding around on these picture sessions. Izzy holes up in the back and Lenore tries to spot the Dunkin Donuts, where she is known and loved and always given those little munchkin things. She loves Dunkin Donuts. Izzy is rebounding, turning into his old self. We both are going to hospice tommorrow to get checked out, and cleared for further work. Izzy has many pals in the hospice building, where a bowl of water is always kept for him.

  You can make yourself crazy reading too much symbolism into things, but these two leaves have been hanging together all winter, and I pass them two or three times a day walking the dogs. They have survived winds, rain, much snow and ice, unlike most of their brethren, who have long fallen. They signify friendship to me, a kind of loyalty and shared experience that is rare and beautiful, and that few people really experience. I thought I ought to take a photo and remember them. They surely will be gone one day. Or perhaps I ought to take them down and keep them.