There were deer track in the front of the yard on the side.  Maybe, it is deer not cottontails that are eating the cut up carrots and apples I am putting out in front of the woodpile in my back yard.  Or maybe both animals.  I have seen deer tracks in my yard before but have only seen one deer in ten years on this property.  I have repeatedly seen rabbits in the backyard so I am not sure what animals are eating the carrots and apples I am putting out there.  They keep disappearing usually within twenty-four hours.

Yesterday a dead squirrel lay in the street opposite our driveway.  It looked like it could have been dead only a short time.  I used a large branch to move the carcass across the street.  I did not want any other car driving over it.  I know there are plenty of squirrels in the area and it is not that unusual to see a dead one on the road; nevertheless when I saw a dead one near my street, it became more personal.  I did note it disappeared by the next day.  Maybe, a vulture picked its bones.  I really don’t know.  I just felt sorry for it.

It was a quick picture I might have easily missed. We noted recently our neighbors down the road must have gotten a burro. You always have to be careful when you pass by their house: their chickens cross the road all the time. Yesterday I was passing their house and spotted the burro in the yard on its back. It must have had an itch it was taking care of. That little detail made my day. It is impossible to see everything but, nevertheless, you never know what will come your way when you view your world expectantly.

I was surrounded by my three black animals, again, in bed.  Cool Hand Luke, my cat was somewhere on my bed, sometimes, arching her back nearby for my touch.  Then there were my two dogs:  Tilla was in his spot, to the left of me, on the bed usually within reach.  Coco, the other female, unassuming, most of time lay at the foot of the bed.  Although, yesterday, when I called her she jumped on the bed and lay close to me, so close I had to nudge her away a little bit:  I could not get enough of my blanket over me.  She then jumped off and lay at her usual spot.  At some point the animals move after I have fallen asleep.  This morning after Tilla heard me stir he jumped on the bed to greet me and half asleep I petted him and then he jumped off the bed, again.  Sometimes there are more creatures in my bedroom but these mentioned are the “regulars”.

You never know what creatures you will see around my house.  Last week I flushed a deer in the woods out back.  It must have been drinking water from the tiny creek there.  It is not unusual to see deer in the area although that was the first time I spotted one in our yard.

A few days ago I moved my mower which was on our front porch and a two inch black toad hopped away and disappeared into a crack between the porch and wall.  I had never seen one that color before although I have seen many toads of all sizes on our porch that are attracted by the bugs the porch light brings.

Just today I saw a chipmunk on the limb six feet up on a branch of our white pine viewed from (???) of our living room.  Usually he is only seen scurrying on the ground helping himself to the bird seed scattered on the ground.  I know they can climb but that was an unusual spot to see him.  You never know what animal you are going to see.  We live on the edge of the countryside.

I wonder who will show up at my doorsteps.  Each year toads, of all sizes, from tiny to humongous, show up attracted by the insects the porch light collects.  Every year or two a large box turtle comes from the tiny creek in back of our house.

Sometimes it can be found sunning himself on the slab of concrete in back.  I never (???) exactly what creature will make an entrance.  Twice we saw large orange salamanders in the yard.

We usually uncover them accidentally:  they like moist environments.  I had no idea of their exact identity.

Once my wife saw a wild turkey in the front yard.  They are in the area but I never saw one being in the yard before.  A few weeks ago a possum was discovered by the dogs.

I shooed then away.  I thought it might be dead and was relieved when it was gone the next day.  I never know exactly what will appear in the yard.  I just enjoy and welcome the next creature who comes to our doorsteps.

Love your pets while you still have them.  We put to sleep Slinky, one of our cats.  It was really hard.  She was this timid, really affectionate black cat I had since a kitty.

I woke up this morning and she was no longer there.  She was in heaven.  I would do any thing to see her again.  At least, she was no longer suffering.

Lynelle and I gently stroked her body as she lay on the table as the vet administered the drug that put her to sleep.

She was this innocent gentle cat that loved to hang out in the bathroom window and never got enough of our strokes.  I had taken her for granted.

I wish I had appreciated her more when she was on this earth.  I have now seven cats and four dogs.  I no longer want to take any of my pets for granted.  They are only on loan to us.  As every thing else.

My one pup (he is at least two now) “Atilla” is a “funny” dog.  When he wants attention or thinks he is not getting enough, he locks himself in either the bathroom or our office.  And waits until we get him.  We usually hear the door quietly close.

Sometimes when he is in the office with us he will close the door behind us to make sure no other animal will come in to compete for his attention.  We have four dogs and eight cats.  At least this is our guess.  You never know for sure what is in a dog’s mind.

The grass is not greener elsewhere.  It is so tempting to believe that but it is not.  Sometimes paradise is right in front of you.  This year I discovered a large raspberry patch within an hundred yards on the street I live on the edge of some woods.

This was to be the second year I was going to pick raspberries in a patch I discovered last year on my property.  And then I discovered this patch.  I did not know who the owners were.  The berries were wild.  I picked enough at the new patch for at least two pies.

It amazed me I never noticed that patch before.  It was ten feet in from the road and I happened to notice it when my dog was sniffing around there.  What else am I missing right under my feet?

I was going home from church and took the long way because the land was wilder and I never knew what wildlife I would see from this road.

I was not disappointed this time:  I flushed a dozen wild turkey hens.  I do see wild turkey around here but I had never seen so many at one time.  I was thrilled to say the least.

I never know for sure what discovery I will make next time.  We have thousands of books between us and there is an universe in each of them so I have no need to travel too far to explore the next universes.

And that does not even include universe after universe in my music– thousands of LP’s, cassettes and CD’s.

I never run out of things to explore.  I do not have to go to far but don’t get me wrong I do enjoy traveling once in a while.  I just don’t feel I have to.

Life is composed of many small things.  The big things only come along once in awhile.  If you can’t enjoy the small things you miss a lot.  It is just a question of paying attention.

I happened to notice looking out through my large living room window a flock of slate covered juncos feeding on the ground (three to be exact).  It was only the second time in months I have seen them–the first time more than one at a time.  The advent of Autumn seemed to have brought them here again.

I was passing a house in my car and I saw their young black goat for the second time.  It was crossing the road right in front of me.  For a second it reared on its hind legs as if to say “hello” and then walked across.

Another one of their animals a hen turkey stood for the longest time in front of my car before it made it to the other side.  I brought my car to a total halt waiting for it to pass.

Theses are just three incidences but they enlightened my day.  You never know what surprises lay ahead–usually when you least expect them.  All you have to do is face each day expectantly.

Coco can only do one thing:  she loves.  When she sees you, she wiggles excitedly in every which direction and slobbers on your face.  You have no doubt she loves you and is extremely glad to see you.

The ability she has to love you seems quite elementary.  For a dog, that is.  Yet, so many people have quite a problem with it–expressing love and affection openly.  In fact, so many people are much more comfortable with their pets than humans.  There is no deceit, no lies, twisted truths demonstrated towards them by their pets.  They either like you or don’t.  There is no guile.

Of course, each animal has their personality.  Coco will stay out in the yard for hours all by herself and also when she is in the house she will often lie down on our bed all by herself.  She likes her privacy.  She is loved by everyone in this house and loves back freely.  That is no small thing.  There is a reason so many people own dogs.  They forgive quickly, just ask you for a bowl of food and water and do not make many demands beyond that except occasionally to sit on your lap and be petted.  Wouldn’t it be nice if others’ demands were that simple?  Love is never a simple thing.  Dogs, though, make it appear that way.

Do Animals Have Souls

Author: siggy

This I have no doubt of.  Anyone, who has ever had a pet also has no doubt of this.  Each cat or dog (whatever pet you have had) has a distinct personality.  I am convinced God put pets in this world to teach us to love over and over:  for a simple reason we usually outlive them and then have to get a new pet and start all over loving them.

Any animal you spent any time around has a personality.  I am not an animal activist.  The Bible clearly says (in Genesis) we are to be good stewards of the resources He has given us.  We raise crops and beef and chickens and pigs and that is a short list to consume them.  I believe we should respect the animals we raise to eat.  That means they should be treated humanely and with respect.  And I did not mean to digress to this extent but I felt I had to say this so others reading would understand my position as much as I could in this small space.

Anyway each animal has a soul (and spirit).  The American Indian understood this well.  The buffalo was very important to them.  It supplied them with many things:  food, hide for their tents and that is just an incomplete list.  They treated the buffalo with respect as well as the rest of the environment.  They wanted to co-exist not conquer their environment as the American settler often did, chopping down whole tracts of trees with no regard how this practice would impact the rest of the environment.  The passenger pigeon, which at times were so numerous they actually blocked out the sun, have been extinct in the United States for many decades.  They were killed indiscriminately by the millions for food.  That is just two examples of not respecting your environment and the impact of unwise practices.

But to get back to animals.  Yes, each one has a soul and all you have to do is to love one dog to find that out (or another animal).  Then you would have no doubt of this.