The campus of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute

For many years, every morning and evening I take my dogs for a walk. The apartment block I live in is on the border of university campus.

Old university campus built of a yellow brick and immersed in a park area. It is more difficult to notice the beauty of the buildings during summer, as they are heavily covered with greenery.

When in the winter, especially on rare sunny days, the yellow brick walls radiate gold and in contrast with white snowdrifts, the student campus looks like unreal past century island in the modern city.

I take the dogs out to the park when all the students have already started the classes and alleys are not filled with families yet. It’s time when you can walk dogs without leashes, as they do not interfere with anyone.

The dogs are busy tracking down squirrels, which are in great numbers there. Although the spring is still far away and there are huge piles of snow along paths, the squirrels are already circling tree trunks in the mating dance, occasionally going down to the snow to change their path, making dogs crazy.

Dog lovers carefully glide along the icy paths and count the remaining days to the spring.

Most of the trees in the park are too old. Every summer, sometimes there is a strong wind, and then it becomes dangerous in the park. Even though the university is looking after the park, after summer thunderstorms pieces of branches cover paths and glades, and sometimes a huge fallen tree blocks the road.

When we go out for a walk the next morning, we retell stories about the fallen tree for a long time. About the pouring rain that starts so fast, that even dog owners, who live 20 - 100 meters from the park, come back home fully soaked. About the crackling of a falling tree, which was heard even outside the park. About how it was quickly removed.

Day after day, year after year, in any weather, I go out for a walk with dogs. I change, dogs and dog lovers change, and the park is the same, it only changes colors for the seasons.