Kickass and Phyllis's birthday

Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper this morning in wishing Phyllis a very happy birthday, noting that she is much younger than the keeper, but then so is everybody.

Phyllis’s young-at-heart spirit makes her chronological age meaningless. This is a woman who has hiked in every national park in the lower-48, backpack-camped on Isle Royal and elsewhere, biked across Wisconsin and won ribbons and honors with her photo-artistry.

The keeper is in awe of her and will never understand the miracle of how she came late into his life with love and the kind of companionship that makes every day a joy.