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~

Coming to Terms ~

Rascal & Mischief watch a pair of Seagulls

The going has been tough - each day a struggle.  I cancelled Cassidy's ride on Farah in the Snohomish Easter parade.  After months of being stalled, I felt that she's just too full of energy to be a reliable mount for our young Granddaughter - inexperienced at riding, in a parade setting with all the noise & commotion.  Instead, we worked at home all day on Sat.  Butch burnt the brush pile that had been accumulating all winter & cleaned out his truck.  I raked up at the top of the woods, finishing the last trail.  We both hauled more of the debris from the storms down & burned it too.  We sat out & watched the fire during the nicest evening we've had so far this year.

Butch & Mischief

Easter Sunday, both our girls had plans with the "other" Grandparents, we could have fit in by doing a morning brunch, but I couldn't motivate myself, knowing that they wouldn't have had time to spend the day & that it would have been more hectic than restful.  Instead, we put the Beagles in the back seat, stopped for breakfast on the way & drove to Whidbey Is.  It's been our favorite "get-away" for almost 30-years.  Close enough that we can do the drive & still have time to relax.    We hiked the beach for a couple miles, enjoying the sunshine, breeze & smell of salt air.  We stopped a couple times to watch boats going by & I found several small agates.  

A pair of Seagulls flew circles overhead, then settled on a rock just off shore.   Something made me think of Rowdy & Kitt, maybe they were letting us know that they were near...  We stayed until late in the day.  A week since Kitt's passing.  On the drive home, Rascal came up front & laid down in my lap.  He somehow knew that I needed him...