Tomorrow she will be gone....

Well, this will be a terribly sad one. The boy has gone home and tomorrow so will Maya. She can no longer get up without help. I knew that she would not make it through another winter. This house has stairs on both sides and she cannot handle them so well anymore. She falls down them a lot and has trouble getting back in. It is only her magnificent heart that keeps her going, but she keeps giving me the eye as though "This is awful, what are you going to do about it?" I used to work downstairs on my computer and she would join me and sleep at my feet, where ever I was, so was my dog but the last few times she fell down the stairs and gave up on joining me, she would wait on the landing for me to come up, now I work upstairs with her at my feet. She still manages a wiggle of joy when she sees me come home and I love her so. I'll never find another dog so sweet and cute. She's everything I ever wanted in a companion but at 15 almost 16 she's had a good life and I will cry like a baby tomorrow I'm sure. I'll have her cremated and sent to me in Connecticut and we will have a ceremony for the two finest dogs that ever lived and spread their ashes in the meadow they loved to chase the deer out of. They were unique in that they only chased the deer to the edge of the field and then turned around and came back, satisfied that they had monitored their turf. Any other dogs would have run the deer to ground. I lost her brother two years ago to cancer. He was my hero dog. He watched my children like a hawk and actually smiled when he went down to the river and just sat in the water while I swam. He used to teach himself tricks and make the children laugh. When he died my grandson called me the next day to tell me that his bonzai tree that I had bought him at the flower show had bloomed one white blossom, a Hobie blossom in honor of his friend. These dogs were litter mates and looked nothing alike. Hobie was a 110 pound golden and Maya was a 62 pound while shaggy thing that was comical to look at. No one believed they were brother and sister and of course everyone questioned their parentage. They had many good years together. It really was all good...

The Summer of September

I've been kidding all my friends about the 5 days of summer that we have had this year. It was very cold, cloudy with little rain most of the summer. My tomato plants let me know what they thought of the weather by simply not growing. It was as if someone had sprayed them with a growth regulator, they never got more than 10 inches high and only one produced a fruit about an inch across. The whole midwest suffered unusual weather and at least we didn't get the floods that many areas were faced with but, something happened last week and we have had the most glorious weather of the year for 6 days now and this may continue into next week. This is Labor Day Weekend, the emotional end of summer and yet here is the warmth of the sun drawing you out, begging you to lay down in the grass and watch the clouds go by. Honestly, it's been perfect. I don't care much for excessive heat so the 72-76 F temps during the day are just right for me. At night it drops down into the 50-60's which means excellent sleeping weather with the windows wide open and a good fuzzy blanket pulled up around your shoulders. And if that isn't perfection enough for you, there was a full moon a few nights ago, which made it as clear as daylight outside with the way it shone down upon us... It was huge. Last night it came up pink and round over the farms of Luxemberg where we were attending a party. We gals all walked out on the deck and marveled as it rose above the trees, I'll bet it was even more fantastic rising over Lake Michigan. Then the frosting on the cake, Fog! I love fog, the thicker the better. I watched it form tonight as the moon rose, thin little layers floating across the back meadow, moving slowly in the night air, not much wind this past week either. The Fog will build most of the night, it will sit above the roads and you will drive in and out of it, the Fog will whirl around the other cars that pass you by, but by morning it will be solid and I won't be able to see the Bay until the sun rises and burns it off, with a little help from a morning breeze, isn't that beautiful?



I can't believe how wonderful these past few days have been. Tonight we walked down to the bridge to fish and we stayed long past the last nibble. The sun set with a hot pink flourish that spilled across the water, broken only by shadows of the boats moored in the bay. We rocked gently from the wake of boats racing back into harbor to beat the oncoming night. Even the dog understood this serenity and she never moved, she just laid there and rocked with us. There was a reticence between us, almost like a love affair about to end, neither of us wanted to say, "good-bye"and ruin the moment, but the chill in the night air told us we must go.



I don't know if I can capture these feelings again over the next few days and perhaps that isn't the way it should be. I only know that I feel that way now and I'm grateful for this wonderful peace that envelops me at the moment....I wish you moments like this....its all good.

Northwest Totem, Lava Jewelry

Well, it seems as though a third element has been added, a job in Northern California between the Redwoods and the ocean....Gosh, this will really be a hard one. Well at least I would be near the Native Americans who's art I cherish so. I've lived in Washington state before and I love the territory, (but not the mold) I don't know if this would have the same hazzards. It would mean separation again, transiting between Wisconsin and California because I could not sell this house at this time, and it could be another adventure and some fun, new lands to explore etc. Hmmmmm

On the newsfront, I have started my Northwest Indian art as jewelry segment. I love the towering volcanoes that dot the land, Mexico has a string of similar peaks, so I used vesicular Lava for the stones that host the totems. I love this set....this seems rather providentials NO? And somehow, It's All Good....