As I sit outside on this lovely Spring day, awash with pollen from the many flowering trees and the budding leaves of deciduous trees that are so early to leaf out this year, I ponder. While I sit here in warm sunlight watching my dogs accustom themselves to my new puppy there are hundreds of political prisoners sitting in disgusting, solitary cells in Washington DC. The rules have been changed and the government is holding these men without trial, often…
It was a cold clear Christmas Eve and we were living at a house we called BonnieBrae. We had not been living there too long, only a few months. We believed we had sold our wonderful farm, Heathfield. It was supposed to go through on January 1 of that year Was it 2000? Or 2001? So we bought another house and moved into it before the actual settlement of the sale of Heathfield. A word to the wise: Don’t ever…
June 3-4 weekend was an example of a perfect family event for this Grandmother. Of course, I hope and believe that everyone had a lot of fun at my grandson’s wedding to his fiancé. But none of them could have enjoyed it any more than I did. The weather was spectacular—cool evenings and not too hot or humid in the daytime. The sun was bright, the air fresh and fragrant, the grass green and shrubbery lush due to a great…
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…
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…
She was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1918, the year of the Spanish Flu. Her mother died of the disease when my mother was 8 months old. And as a baby, she also had the Flu, but she survived it, which may have given her extra immunity. This may explain the extraordinary health that she enjoyed during her long life. February 22nd was her birthday. This year she would have been 103. She died only about 14 months ago,…
In troubled times it is helpful to remember that adversity comes and goes like the weather. Dogs keep us company and love us no matter what happens.
The other day my dogs went hunting. They chased an adolescent deer all over 2 and a half acres of our yard. They cornered it over and over. Each time it fled, sometimes jumping over them. I took photos and movies I wonder if I can add a video on this post? (NOT) It was alarming because I was nearly helpless. Having come home from work early, I was planning to go to the market. So it was logical to…
