Feb
14
2010
I have to thank both of my wives for one thing. Both love cats and dogs. When I was growing up I never had any pets. My Mom simply was too fastidious. She could not tolerate any messes they might make. When I married Robin we usually had at least one dog and one cat. And now I have a menagerie with Lynelle: seven cats and four dogs. I would not want to live my life any other way. I love all my pets. They daily enrich my life.
Jan
22
2010
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.
Dec
13
2009
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.
Nov
15
2009
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.
Nov
11
2009
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.
Mar
12
2009
Coco can only do one thing: she loves. When she sees you, she wiggles excitedly in every which direction and 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.
Mar
9
2009
I have many memorable stories about “Atilla The Hun” my bad black mutt but in here I will only relate one. He got out again and I was chasing him. Finally he comes up to me and dropped a green dog leash at my feet. I had no intention of canvassing the neighborhood to see which stoop he stole the leash from. You have to understand this was the day after the state dog warden had paid us a visit. He had gotten loose again and harassed the neighbor’s dog. I did not want to advertise he got out again and was roaming the neighborhood again loose.
I simply grabbed the leash and dropped it in the corner of the living room floor. My wife a few days later noticed the leash was now in several sections lying on the floor. Mister “Tilla” (for short) must have bit the leash into several parts. He remembered the hours he spent tied to a the leash as punishment for another escapade in the surrounding area. We also had gotten four chain leashes and he bit through the leather end of each of them, of course when we were not watching him. We were not happy.
Later on we noticed that the green leash he found was now bitten through into NINE sections: he was going to make sure that no dog was ever going to be put on that leash. All we could do was both laugh.
Feb
25
2009
The dawn is only an hour away. I can not wait to see the first chickadees come to my feeders. They never fail to delight me. I am always thrilled by the magnificent red-bellied woodpeckers who come to feed on the suet I have put out near the trunk of the large pine tree outside my large living room window.
The downy woodpeckers come during the day. They seem to stand at attention as they feed and go around the trunk of the tree. The occasional cardinals who feed on the ground are very wary. The beautiful bright red male cardinal never fails to delight me, too.
Every once in awhile I see a brown creeper. And the many goldfinch who love the thistle I put out for them. They will sit at the feeder for five minutes eating the thistle. Often there will be a dozen feeding on the ground. I can not wait for the males to turn yellow again. Before, I rarely saw them. Now they have become commonplace. Maybe, now I take them for granted. The slate covered junco come in flocks and might have gone away.
These are the more common birds I see out of my window every day but I never know when I will be surprised. I am waiting to see if I see any flocks of indigo buntings. They are such beautiful birds who I only see a few times a year.
There are also the piliated woodpeckers. I usually hear them not see them. Their wild cackle is unmistakable and when I am lucky I actually spot one with its large long red crown. It is such an exotic looking bird over a foot long. I never forgot the first one I spotted outside my house. I had to run into the house to grab my binoculars to get a good look at it. It was over a hundred feet away perched on a stump. I absolutely love birds. I have all my life. I guess you got that idea.
Feb
23
2009
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.
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