Introducing.....

As promised I have some big news!

This little face has stolen my heart...Introducing Jed!

At last my heart, regarding the loss of my beloved Griffin, 

has passed a threshold and the door to another pup has opened...

There are certain things in my world that disappeared when Griffin died.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed a good ramble through the woods and swimming in the

cool summer lakes and rivers but it was those moments without my boy by my side

 that felt somewhat empty.

Replacing Griffin was not on my mind as he was a once in a lifetime dog.

That will never be disputed.

Some people never have that blessing bestowed upon them and I was one of the lucky few.

Jed is a new companion...

Fresh off the press and ready for action!!

All be it he's the same cross as Griffin was (Lab/Poodle) he is showing

me his very own personality along with the quirks of all individuals...

It was almost 14 years ago that Griff was as small and terrorizing as Jed and time has let me forget just how much energy it takes to begin the task of raising a puppy!

Do you see the mischief in those eyes???

It really is akin to having a newborn baby and stealing showers when possible and doing chores

while the wee one naps!

But as all puppies do, he will grow quickly, leaving only the photos

and chewed up shoes to remember these days.

I hope I do well by him and that our adventures together will fill

my soul with the joy that only a dog can bring...

Here's to looking ahead Jed!

Subtleties....

There's tiny, subtle changes in the air...

...cooler in the mornings and evenings, leaves browning and floating to the forest floor...

 I walk these paths with Griff in my heart...

 It was an easy walk for him in his later days, not far from home with shaded, soft paths...

Now days these trails are walked on more frequently since becoming a 'real park'...

There's two new docks...not just simple ones but pretty skookum ones...

 (Oh! there's Rosie who came with me today)

The docks are meant to last, with metal ramps, cement bases...

 A place to sit and take a breather...

 even a place to put your fishing rod, if you're so inclined...

There's another one down the lake a ways for swimming and dangling toes in the water...

Soon enough the summer will fade, as it always does and the rain we've been hoping for

will be a curse on our lips until we're soaked to the bone and ready for spring again...

...but will we really?

Not me.

I welcome the change in the seasons...

Though this year the biggest change for me will be walks without my Griffy...

...but he'll always accompany me in spirit no matter where I wander.

flowers for Griffin...

 I always try and keep a little bouquet by Griffs picture...just because.

 xo

Wordless Wednesday...found in a coat pocket

Comes a time...

There comes a time when a decision is made that you know will change your life.

That was the day I got Griffin.

Picked from a litter of 13 puppies sprawling about on a lawn, 12 years ago.

My choice to wait to have a dog again was a very conscious one.

The last dog I owned I had to give up due to work schedule and basically bad timing.

It was very difficult for me but more difficult was that it broke my 8 year old daughters heart.

The dog ended up in a beautiful home in the country and was well loved for the rest of her life but then and there I decided that I would never again take on a dog unless I had the time and the space.
Forward 12 years later...  here I sit looking at my poor Griff who now has lung cancer.

The most difficult part of having a true animal companion is saying goodbye.
This comes with the territory.
It's the price you pay for the tremendous joy they give you.
But nothing can prepare you for such a passage.

My world has evolved around this black, scruffy dog.

My days are timed for his walks, his meals and his many idiosyncrasies.

Although sometimes it has felt like an inconvenience, it has filled my life with purpose.
And meaning.
And adventure.
And friendship.

 

And so many hours of deep, meaningful, silent communication with him.

Love.
So many miles of rambles, scrambles, climbs and strolls.
He never was the kind to run off ahead, always sticking close by not
out of fear but out of the bond we shared.
Never one to complain.

Friend to all.

Water was his element.

I am his.
He is mine.
A shadow to each other.

Walking in each others footsteps.
There are times when he looks at me through wise, dog eyes for long moments.
What I would give to know the thoughts inside that lovely soul.

But I think I can tell some of them.
He is full of love. That simple.
An unconditional kind that we humans can never know.

His sensitivities run deep.
There was a time here when we were burying one of our goats and Tom had dug a
fairly big hole. He had worked at it for hours. After we put the goat in the hole the two
of us started to shovel back in the dirt that was piled up in several small piles
around the edge. And there in the silence of that process Griffin started to nose his
own small pile into the hole, helping us fill the grave.
If anyone ever says something like
"it's just a dog"... don't even bother responding.
If you've ever had a companion like I do...you know different.


P.S
This was written about a week before Griffin passed away.
After a very rough night he spent the day laying in the spring sun.
His battle with lung cancer was done and the vet came and we put him to rest on the couch.
I hope his dreams were full of swims in the river, snowy treks on old logging roads,
long rambles in the woods, runs on sandy beaches, big breakfasts and steak dinners.
But mostly that we were the last faces he saw before he closed his eyes.
His people who loved him well.
Sweet dreams my bud.

pps...
(a special wag to Frank and Irma...faithful companions of the road, trespassers extraordinaire)