This week has been both icy cold and unseasonably warm, and last night, it was raining (but warm). It seems to me that there are many ways to enjoy the changing season. Here are my top 5. Number 1. Go out into the fresh air. Breath. Saturday was the Opening Day of the Keswick Hunt, and I went to the meet to see them off. It is lovely to be involved in hunting, even as a spectator. Thanks to my…
Like so many things, it all happened by chance. We were staying for the weekend at Heathfield, our farm near The Plains, Va. We had not owned it very long and were not connected in any way to the horse world there. On a warm Labor Day weekend, the phone rang. It was a foxhunting friend wanting to speak to Charley. We met Mike because his wife was at Holton-Arms School with me. I always liked her. She was a…
Procrastination is so prevalent in my life, it no longer bothers me. It is like having a bad knee or shoulder that you must be careful of injuring. You just live with it. You manage your life around it. And carry on with what is essential, perhaps, while leaving so many unfinished tasks in your wake that you lose track. But there is a cure. It was given to me as an aside when I asked a friend who was…
When I look at old photos of my life at Heathfield, it is as if I could enter that life again. It is physical pain, a longing, and a deep feeling of wishing I could go back. But of course, none of us can go back. We need to go forward. My life is wonderful now, but it was also wonderful back then. It is hard to say what is most important my very long and eventful past or my…
I am smiling as I write this because I know the ending to this part of Serenas’ story. It had been ten days since my dog, Serena went missing. Ten days with no word at all, made me assume she was dead, gone for good. After all, I had contacted everyone I could think of. I went door to door to the neighbors, begging for information. They all understood how much it meant to me. We had contacted the local…
One Christmas many years ago, our children surprised me with an unexpected gift. They told me they had a present for me but I had to wait in the living room, while they went to get it. They were giggling and acting very pleased with themselves. With much whispering and fanfare, they brought a rather unwieldy-looking tan-colored cardboard box adorned with a red ribbon on top. When I opened the large badly shaped box I was shocked. There, inside, was…
I have so many photos of foxes, it is fun to share them with my readers. The featured image was taken by my daughter Helen. One of the joys of spring is the site of newborn animals and their mothers. Watching females feeding their young is special. From foals and calves in fields by the road to more hidden animals like foxes, opossums, groundhogs, rabbits, ducks, and geese, spring is the time of rebirth. It brings forth new life, and…
The other day I posted a photo of myself on horseback So many people commented on that photo or simply ‘liked’ it, that I took a second look. I posted it originally because it is sometimes enjoyable for me to see how I looked in those days with a trim figure and youthful features. Life was good. But there is more to that photo than just me. Foxhunting is a sport that requires guts. When I began seriously hunting in…
It started with constant yelping. There are several types of barking styles employed by my dogs. This was an “I have him cornered!” bark, not an “it’s a snake!” bark or the squealing call which indicates running after a squirrel or a deer.My three dachshunds are very different from each other, though all are extremely lovable in that way that dachshunds alone seem to know how to be. Magnus is sweet-tempered and awfully patient until it is time for a…
My name is Magnus and I am a medium-sized black and tan, long-haired dachshund. I am 6 years old. I live with my Mom and two other dachshunds who joined the family later after I arrived. Sisi is a pretty, miniature, smooth hair red-gold bitch, also 6. I love her. Her slender muscular frame is lovely to watch. She has the look of a “greyhound”. She leaps and jumps and covers a lot of ground quickly. She is affectionate and…
Living with three dogs is a constant adventure. Lots of love, licks and occasional problems.
Today dawned cold and damp with a steely sky and bright leaves beginning to make a real show of autumn color. Finally, fall seems ready to give us a look at the world in orange, yellow, rust, and moss green, with occasional patches of the brilliant red leaves of the “burning bush” shrubs in the back of my house. Light from the hidden morning sun glinted off of the pond far below my house. At noon wood was laid for…
Do you sleep with your dogs? If not, why not? It is the greatest pleasure to have a warm body next to your own with absolutely no agenda except to love you. I have always slept with my dog since I was ten years old and got my first dachshund, Rowena. She was a smooth haired black and tan standard-sized dachshund puppy. My parents bought a pair of them from a friend. One was for my sister, and she named…
