Passing On The Torch ~

Rascal & Annika

I've spent the best part of two days now making up a photo book for Kittaka.  It's been a tough go.  Only a few months since her passing - looking back over the years of her life with us was a trip down memory lane.  Fourteen-years is a long time in anyone's life - including mine.  As I had to go back to photo albums - YES - real photo books, Butch came in, saw them on the table & I would hear exclamations as he too realized the changes time has wrought.

Amazing how the trees grow, the girls mature, grand-kids appear & then they too start to grow!   Where has the time gone, well - it's right there in those pictures!  With Abby, the first dog our family owned.  The one who made the move with us to the Homestead in 1990.  The beginning of the direct line of dogs who have followed.  Abby was with us the night we brought Kittaka home in Nov. 1997.  When Abby left us after a long (14-year) life full of adventure, we brought Rowdy home.   Even though Kitt was six-years old, he was the one she  loved the most.  The one who bonded to me & learned the ropes from her!  She treated him as her pup, schooling, scolding & teaching him the routines she'd learned from Abby. 

Rowdy with Kittaka - April 18, 2009

When he died so young & unexpectedly - she & I both found it hard to move on...  But moving on is what life is about;  so next was Rascal.  He was a different kind of Beagle - independent to a fault, not necessarily in need of much attention, but again - at age eleven - Kitt decided it was up to her, to make a dog out of him.  She didn't give him the love or attention she had Rowdy - but she made darn sure that he figured things out or paid the price!  :-) 

Kitt with Rascal - November 1, 2009

 Eventually, as Kitt continued to age - Rascal became more important to her.  Her ears, her eyes, her companion & help mate.  Rascal stepped up to the task too - if not with her, he would be close by.  With her loss, then the loss of Mischief so closely following - Rascal had an unwelcome taste of what it felt like to be lonely - the only Beagle, the only dog...  We all had some very tough times.

But then... along came Annika.  A different kind of dog & yet - there was something about her, something that we recognized?   An independence, a happy outlook on life, a way of smiling when she sees us.  Without any way of knowing - she somehow seemed to sense what was missing.  Rascal has been training her of course, in his way - but there are some things...  The way she seems to like the same special spots in the yard, a little of the look - when she runs to greet us, just to see that flash of gold again when I'm walking the woods.

This afternoon though - when I looked out to see, then grabbed the camera to capture the moment - it's a picture of life here on the Homestead making a full-circle.  A good day, a fresh, sweet breeze from the cleansing, welcome rain of last night~