The mallards are mellow today. We spot a small raft of them on a small beaver pond. The move away from the little dog and I, but slowly, like they don’t Aki to think that she discomforts them. Even the Harlequin ducks ignore us, hugging the beach that we walk along after exiting the woods. Only a seal seems to notice the little dog and I. It keeps its all-too-sad eyes on Aki like an urchin starring through a sweet shop window. We walk in the gray but across Lynn Canal strong sunlight patterns the Chilkat Mountains with darks and lights shapes.