Thank you for another wonderful tree season, wrapping up another unusual year. As always, we love seeing our familiar tree friends year to year, and welcoming new folks to our farm. We are settling into the last few quiet days before Christmas and the winding down of 2021.
This year came with a combination of new and old for us, and it is ending with that tone as well, hellos and goodbyes. We welcomed Piper's litter of 9 pups, watched as 8 of them settled in beautifully with their forever families, and delighted in Poppy as she has grown to be a carbon copy of her mama and integral part of our family.
We also said goodbye to another integral part of our family last weekend. Hazel came to live with us in 2019, at least 12 years old, traumatized, and difficult. For the first month she lived with us, we always kept her separate from Ember and Piper because she was known to bite other dogs out of fear aggression (she survived a serious attack a few years prior). We had been told she never barked, and she did not make a sound that first month. But she found her voice (and with it, coined her nickname, "Borf") and found her place in our pack. She belonged, and relished her self proclaimed role as Queen Dog. She declined quickly at the end, and was ready when Compassionate Care came to our home to help her go. She never lost her appetite and went out on a high, with a full belly of pizza we ordered specially for her.
And then it snowed; a thin blanket of white, and a quiet peace.
The snow also brought a lot of excitement. We are snow-lovers and Poppy enthusiastically agrees with us. Her first snow was a delight and I am watching the weather and crossing my fingers that the forecast holds for more snow to come... maybe even a white Christmas.
We wish you all happy, restful, gentle holidays or whatever sort of end of year feels right!
