Most of the year passed by in the familiar rhythm and cycles that come with the seasons. Winter holding its frozen stillness punctuated with moments of magic, then the spring sun gently warming us with green and bloom. Summer is lush but tense with drying heat and late light, and then fall arrives with rain and cool and it feels like we exhale along with the land around us.
But fall also foretells of harder weather coming for the animals around us, and this year we felt that more acutely as Al, our alpaca of almost 18 years, was showing his age. He seemed happy and would still join us occasionally on walks, but he was skinny, and clearly slowing. His nightly charge back to the barn had become more of a meander. The vet, who exclaimed "Goodness Gracious!" upon hearing his age, paid us a visit to treat a small infection which cleared well, but she also noted his lack of fat stores at the time of year when he would need them most. We asked about getting him blankets or a coat, and he didn't need that yet as his fleece was warm and he could come and go from the barn on his own.
Still, we were worried and we did not want Al to suffer in what would likely be his final season with us. So the clear November days were welcome as we regularly saw him comfortably basking in the warmth. And then on a particularly sunny Sunday morning, he did not want any grain. He had been eating well and was chewing his cud lying on one of his favorite patches of grass in the company of his chickens. Just half an hour later, a little after noon in the peak light of day, he had died there. We miss him. He was very loved. And we are deeply relieved that he passed gently and so grateful to have had him as part of our family for so long, almost as long as we have lived here.
It is a new era for us in a few ways. Shortly before saying goodbye to Al, we welcomed Poppy's long awaited litter of puppies. It was intense and joyful and tragic and we grieved the loss of five pups while supprorting Poppy and helping her two living pups thrive. Poppy just adores Pebble, our keeper pup, and her brother Murphy now lives in Idaho with one of Poppy's sisters. They grew up happy and round and are both doing absolutely fantastic. If you'd like to read the whole story, it is shared on our Corner Crest Labs Facebook or Instagram, along with daily updates if you want to see the pups grow from tiny little dumplings into tiny little dogs.
And so, with a different balance of animals in our family, we are finishing out the year feeling an enormous mix of emotions - many different edges of love. We are ready again for winter, a quieter time to rest (as much as one can with a new puppy). But first, tree season is coming, and the holidays, and that feels good too.
Here is our year in photos, about one per week:
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