Retracing my steps

Where WAS that flower? If I could only find it, things would be ok. When I bent down to look at it, that must have been when it happened - when the remote-control fell out of my small top pocket...

After a happy walk with my dog, just down the road, round the field, and back, I arrived home. Reaching into my pocket ... the remote wasn't there. I went cold. This was the access to my home. Without it, I couldn't get in; worse still, maybe someone else COULD get in...

Now I had to decide: Do I retrace my steps, or go straight to where it should logically be, at the place where I bent to look at the unusual flower?

Deciding on the latter, I hurried back to the field. Only the dog was unworried - she was expecting another run! I walked along, trying to find the spot where I'd seen that strange flower... The problem was, this was a field FULL of spring flowers, none very bright or tall, each ground-hugging and very like its neighbor. I scoured the area; no flower (at least, not the RIGHT flower); and no small, black, plastic remote. Dejected, I thought again.
"Retrace your steps" said my inner voice, persistent. I retraced them backwards from where I was. Nothing.
"Do it again."
I did. What else was there to do? This time, I followed my first, original, pre-loss route. Finally, as I was about to give up, there it was: a small black object in the green grass.

Retrace your steps. Logic is not always the answer.