before bear i was cultivating the minimum in a sort of maximal way. these are relative terms. before mister died i was doing 23 walks a week. now i do 8. i managed to stay within the hour today but it takes 15 minutes to get to the international house dog yard and 15 to return to bear's lair, and 30 minutes of rowdy play goes by in a flash, then we have to run. i was telling the other dog people i think i'm becoming redundant in little bear terms. i can keep going and stay within the window, but it's not ideal for bear nor me. i'm feeling the abyssal  difference between cultivated minimalism and redundancy, and i know many, many people feel the same way. i think it's always time for a change, but i think we're just biding time.