(One thing five weeks of abiding by stay-at-home orders has taught me is that loneliness has many dimensions. I hadn’t planned on sharing a second lesson this month. Only as I was filing papers into my writing binder, I came across this lesson written last fall. It spoke words I needed to be reminded of …
365 days and counting. The number of days our wild kitty has lived the domestic life. The number of days since she has had to live by the code of the wild- self-preservation. The number of days she has received the care of human hands and the love of a Labrador Retriever. Reeses, our tortoise …
At two years of age, my southern pup had limited experience with snow. As Adi explored our property the morning after her first big winter storm, she saw the familiar coated in the unfamiliar. Her nose had to dig under seven inches of snow to find everyday smells. The wood pile that once seemed a …
Continue reading Snow, Squirrels, and a Southern Pup: A Lesson on Understanding
On this day in 2016 a litter of Labrador Retriever puppies was born- one yellow male and three black females. One of those females (Adi) came to live with us, while another (Nova) went to live with my brother’s family, and the third (Maxine) stayed with our friend. Adi and Nova live close and play …
When your dog’s breed contains the word “retriever,” you anticipate that your pup will love a good game of fetch. What I didn’t realize was how much my retriever would also enjoy carrying things around in her mouth. On any given day you’ll find her carrying various shoes, socks, stuffed animals, rope toys, gloves, balls …
Our Lab isn’t much of a talker. As a puppy, days would pass between barks. Early on I thought we might have a pup like the main character Gyp in James Herriot’s children’s book “Only One Woof.” Gradually, Adi developed her voice. Only she uses it sparingly. She much prefers to communicate with her eyes, …
Summer. The season of swimming, cook-outs, vacations and . . . shedding. The warmer temperatures trigger my lab and every other dog with a double coat to begin blowing their protective undercoat. Basically, that means copious amounts of fur are coming off these dogs daily for a period of several weeks. Coat blowing time arrives …
A Coat of Forgiveness- One of my memories of our Brittany Spaniel is of the burrs that would entangle themselves in her coat after a hunt with my father and brothers. Eventually, one of us would need to sit down and painstakingly work these burrs out of her long red and white fur. The first …
