Nutmeg saved her old dog, Ezra’s life today. From all the way across the front yard and down across the street!
Ezra, Nutmeg’s beloved 12 year old boxer, got out the front door and wandered across the street, before Nutmeg had a chance to realize. With four kids and a busy house, it happens. But Nutmeg did see Ezra in time to watch the speeding car heading straight for her, as she was about to step into the street.
Nutmeg … Read More
What I like most about my laptop is the freedom it gives me to set up shop anywhere in the house. This evening, I’ve parked myself in the living room by the fireplace. There’s nothing I love better than working by the warmth of a crackling fire.
Having finished her homework, Cait is drawn by the cozy flames. With a good book in hand, she makes herself comfortable in the chair across from me, knowing full well that in a … Read More
Can you see him? He’s in the middle of the two clumps of trees. (Sorry the photos aren’t clearer. He was all the way across the pond, toward the ridge. Even with the digital 12x zoom, it was hard to get a good shot from this distance at dusk.)
I called out to say hello, and he turned to look. He’s such a big boy now.
This coyote and I go way back. All the way back to a field … Read More
Finnegan gets some outdoor time under a watchful eye.
There’s a great debate raging at our house. When I got Finn for Cait, I made the executive decision that he was going to be an indoor cat. Knowing that the average lifespan of outdoor cats is around four years, and having lost my most favoritest cat in the whole world ever (yep, at around four years old) to a wild animal, I decided that for both Finn’s lifespan and Cait’s … Read More
Barbara Kingsolver brought the idea of locivore food growing and buying to the fore with her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. In it, she speaks to the value of focusing on eating locally instead of using fossil fuel to transport food long distances.
While Kingsolver feels a moral and environmental obligation to do so, most people are starting to feel a financial obligation to do so. The price of fresh fruits and vegetables (especially organic) is … Read More
Having recently had an interesting conversation with a friend who’s expecting her first baby, it got me to thinking about another conversation I had more than a decade ago.
Before I had Cait, I’d once asked a dear friend, if she had it all to do over again, would she still have kids. She hesitated for several long seconds before she answered. That hesitation spoke volumes. She finally said, “Probably not.” I was a little surprised by the answer, but … Read More
Every encounter we have with our dogs is a training session– whether we know it or not.
So I start training consciously right from the very first day I get my puppy home. This keeps me focused on my behavior and interactions with my puppy, as well as hers with me. Doing so makes it less likely for an unwanted behavior to get very far before I can nip it in the bud. Good communication and redirection are key.
For … Read More
There’s another snowstorm blowing in. It got me to thinking about how one’s perspective can change over time…
Before I became a mom, my idea of winter splendor was this. Pristine, untouched snow. No footprints. No snow shaken from branches on which it gently rests. No sign of humans anywhere.
Monochromatic stillness.
Since I’ve been a mom, my idea of winter bliss has changed. Colorful splashes of coats. Rosy red cheeks. Footprints everywhere. Long channels of compressed snow rolled for … Read More
