Notes from a dry waterfall, fluttering wings, and a dog named Buddy
Shade Saavedra set out to visit a waterfall in the Zuni Mountains today, May 13th, hoping her two dogs could splash in the water; but the waterfall had other plans — it was dry. Still, the day wasn’t a loss. Shade and the dogs found magic in the meadows instead.
While Buddy (formerly known as Tyson) and his pup companion, Cinnamonroll, ran wild through the brush and rocky ravines, Shade turned her attention to butterflies. She gently picked one up, careful not to touch its delicate wings. “I did it to five of them — at least,” she said with a laugh, promising she was gentle with “the things.”
The butterflies didn’t seem to mind. The dogs leapt in the air with them, a blur of joy and paws in motion.
Buddy, the bigger dog, came from the Grants Animal Care Center. Shade said when she picked him up from the shelter, he was a skinny, shy boy, but now he’s affectionately called “a log” — built stout and strong from hiking trips just like this.
Even without water, the Zuni Mountains delivered — sunshine, movement, life. Sometimes waterfalls don’t need to flow for the day to be full.