All souls night, Halloween, Samhain are fast approaching and the weather has been shifting into winter mode far earlier than usual this year... All my relations have started to whisper through the veil...
Nimue has been on my mind a lot lately and as i was looking through portraits of canines on Etsy, I came across this one and did a double take...
It looks like a young Nimue dog !!! and
when I noticed her... I realized that I had stopped breathing and was staring at the monitor intently.
So... after last week's Lucky Black Dog Treasury... this week, I decided to put together a white dog treasury dedicated to my Nimue girl.
To me, Nimue is best represented by greyhounds... the white german sheperds just dont have the right crinkly ears and whilst i am absolutely -not- knowledgeable at all about dog breeds- its interesting that almost all the images that reminded me of her are greyhound varieties... do greyhounds get snow noses ?
This dog very much reminded me of Nimue as well:
What a silly girl... Nimue was- a real "character". lol. Check out that snow nose and the coloring is just about right too: white with strawberry blond. I went to check out JoyStClaire's Etsy shop and she has an entire 2011 calendar dedicated to her canine muse (now on my wish list).
Amongst the portraits & representations of Nimue-like canines, I made sure to place treats in the Treasury for her to 'enjoy': some cookies, of course, and then a white mouse- a delicacy she was not known to pass up. I love the pre-raphelite looking bookplate and the gorgeous white cream pink nuno scarf... Those things represent beauty & aestetic which was Nimue all over...
When Nimue passed away last Spring and I was getting her altar ready for the memorial in April... I unintentionally fell upon CarolsCanvas and this beautiful tile of hers. It grabbed my heart strings and in those days, I was crying every day over the loss of my girl. I purchased the tile and it became part of Nimue's altar... even though the nose is not quite right- there is something of Nimue in that portrait.
Nimue the dog was named after Nimue ('Nim-way') who is the Celtic Goddess of Spring... when i first came across this spirit She was referred to as Nimue The White and her soul was indeed very large... Nimue is capricious, rambunktous, demanding, intelligent and stunningly beautiful.
A few years later, when my eyes fell upon an all-white two week old puppy - I knew what her name would be right away. This image below, which I adore, is the perfect synthesis of Nimue the celtic spring divinity and my canine daughter.
I've fallen madly in love with several images by this artist, Kim Parkhurst, and could not help but include the second one below in the Treasury. It is the one that makes me smile the most about Nimue getting her wings... Nimue the white... patrolling the cosmos... flaunting her opalescent wings and doing her guard duty. Its a perfectly soothing way of thinking about her now...
I know that Nimue visits me often and that she will always be my dog. I have shared a few stories... the most noteworthy & striking one is how Nimue and the rest of my guardian angel animals saved us when our land caught fire in the middle of the night this last June. Five acres burned... but we were woken up just in time to move the vehicle out of harms way and to get my current crew loaded up and off property. Thank you Nimue for leading the animal angels and for keeping the fire from burning the structures & gardens !
There is one more image I want to share... it was not included in the Treasury... because it is once again by the same illustrator, Kim Parkhurst & owner of Etsy shop Toadbriar...
Nimue... as with Artemis - Diana - & Brigid... are all maiden divinities associated with early Spring... and in the lunar cycles are often represented by the waxing new moon. I just adore the magic of this illustration !
My sincere thanks to all the artists for allowing me to share their beautiful 'Nimues' in a celebration & remembrance of my fur daughter whom i still miss very much ! Copyrights remain with the original artists...
October is Adopt-a-Dog Month...
please opt to adopt and rescue a dog !
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What a nice write up! I love that last image by toadbriar.. It looks like a tarot card.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful memorial to a beautiful doggy :) Wonderful artwork too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic ode to Nimue. :)
ReplyDelete♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
I can so relate to your love & devotion to your Nimue....
ReplyDeleteWonderful ode & tribute.
I'm honored to be able to contribute to it!
xx
Your art choices are so revealing of Nimue's character...so beautiful. Such gentleness in each piece of art. Lovely post.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Nimue with us - beautiful tribute to a lovely friend.
ReplyDeleteI've missed your personal blogs dear friend, and was so touched when I read this. I'm thinking of this quote: "Until one has loved an animal, a part of their soul remains unawakened." What a beautiful expression of how your love for each other transcends everything else.
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Lisa
What a fabulous collection and a wonderful blog post for your sweet baby who's gone onto the next stage of life. There are many things here I'll be checking out too. Been thinkin' about you!
ReplyDelete