Precious

This is our little longhaired Daschund, Precious. We've had her since August of 1999, and we're not sure of her exact age. She was with her second family when we got her. She had belonged to a couple who had divorced, and somehow, ended up with the second family. They all worked, or were away from home, and she was left alone much of the time. We think that, perhaps, she had been abused when she was with the first family, having been in the husband's possession after the divorce My son Mike, who loves animals, begged the second family to sell her to him.

When he brought her home, she was skinny, and undernourished, but she took to us, right away, and of course, we fell in love with her. I think she must have been at least a year or two old. She was out in the backyard, not too long after she joined our family, and we heard this terrified cry, and when we ran outside, we discovered that Weenie Dog, the neighborhood canine Lothario, had ambushed her from behind the corner shrub! She was pathetic, and scared out of her wits! After we managed to send Weenie Dog packing, we had to carry her around in our arms for most of the day, while she whimpered and cried at her misfortune!

I guess I don't have to tell you what the consequences of that day happened to be--pretty soon, she was obviously very pregnant. She had a hard labor, which lasted the whole night, from about nine in the evening, until around seven-thirty the next morning. She had a difficult delivery, too, needing a lot of help from me. She delivered five babies, and the very last one took a long time, and just seemed to hang there. Ironically, it was during the Presidential election, when they were counting all the votes down in Florida, and talking about "hanging chads," so you can guess what we named that last puppy! Yep! Chad!

Precious was not very infatuated with any of her babies, but she was a good mama, allowing them to indulge their appetites whenever neccessary, but I don't think she was too happy about it. She fulfilled her motherly duties until they were old enough to wean, and to be given away to good homes, but I don't think it could have been too soon for her!

We told Weenie Dog's family that if it happened again, we were going to have to go for child support, and they promised not to let him out of the yard again! It's the least we could do for our girl!

Rainbow, Soon Snow

Today, we are having snow flurries, and it is about forty-six degrees, with lake effect snow expected later this evening, with an accumulation of one-to-two inches. Right now, it is rather cold, and blustery, but just look at the picture above. That was taken only a few days ago,at the edge of our back lawn. I think it is pretty, with colored leaves, and the prism of rainbow colors, but soon when we look back there we will see a winter wonderland of snow, and an occasional family of deer passing through, and it will be really cold. Since I started typing this, the temperature has dropped to thirty-seven degrees, so I'm thinking that right now would be a great time to go start a pot of spaghetti sauce, and penne pasta. Salad and thick slices of toasted garlic bread sound good, too...along with a pot of freshly brewed coffee. Before doing that, I will light all the good-smelling candles, including some balsamic pine ones that I just bought the other day, and several others, all over the house, just for the ambiance. I don't know, but I really do think that I'm a fall and winter person--there is just something so comforting about being all snug and warm, and cozy, shut away from the outside world, enjoying all the comforts of home. If only everyone could be so blessed. I certainly wish it for everyone. I think that I appreciate it so much more, because I didn't always have it. I am thankful for all my blessings, and I never want to take them for granted. I know that it is so easy to do at times, when things are going well. I guess the thing to remember is that sometimes things do change, so it is a good idea to savor the moment, whatever that moment may be.