Wishing

Wishing

My Merlin

was here with me

I miss him today

Sleepy Dog (Merlin)

by Rebecca of KneeDeepOriginals

Nimue Day 2015

Nimue Day 2015

It was time to tidy up and reconfigure Nimue's grave. The butterfly bushes that were planted there five years ago at the memorial ceremony are now all grown up... knocking the original stonework down but thankfully I had been able to safeguard the statue & had actually moved it away a couple years ago. Yesterday I reorganized the space. I was able to keep the base of the rocks in place and moved the rest of them to the fencing line. The naturally shaped heart rock was placed at the center as well as a hand painted paw print stone marker. The prayer hoop which still has the original prayer ties from the memorial ceremony was laid down to surround the entire circle and the canine statue was relocated nearby after I pruned the shrubs.

A decorative metal plant stake which had rusted was roughly repainted to emulate a wildflower that appears at this time of year- I call them Nimue's flowers. I had'nt realized that the actual stake was still at the base of the largest butterfly bush... it was reshaped & incorporated into the shrub as its trunk expanded in size so I attached its flower top to the fencing nearby.

I am pleased with how all of this unfolded... throughout the day too as I had not pre-planned the work… It all turned out far better than I thought it would. Nimue is very much remembered and still missed. She was my daughter.

And She Was...

And She Was…

a black and white kitty

named Tillie

Sometimes the Heart Aches

Sometimes the Heart Aches

A Tribute to Gurdy

We miss you !

I Miss them...

I miss them.

Terribly.

I miss their love.

I miss being loved by them.

I miss their faces.

I miss their bodies close to me.
I miss them.

I just miss them so much.

Nothing can fix that. 

Ever.

Just sayin'

Merlin, my Love

I am saddened to announce that Merlin passed away on the eve of Autumn Equinox- Monday late afternoon and was laid to rest near his sister Nimue at our home, Twilight.

I never blogged about what happened in June when I made the huge mistake and got Merlin micro-chipped as he was getting his teeth cleaned. He had an adverse reaction to the chip implant and grew a large tumor on his shoulder within days of the procedure. It didnt help that he had been vaccinated on that shoulder and that his vet used morphine as a pre-anesthetic procedure. Research shows that morphine is thought to promote tumor growth in dogs.

Three months later, the tumor on his right scapula had continued to grow downwards & in thickness as well and began to pinch on Merlin's spinal cord causing nerve pain throughout his body and weakness in his limbs. Homeopathy, Tramadol and Metacam were of some aide but it was clear that the days ahead would get more difficult. Merlin was also dealing with breathing issues, pain in lungs on deep breaths- all of this made worse by his fall the week previous.

Our one on one time increased to 100% this last weekend- snuggling & cuddling, keeping each other company as we snoozed or i read. We held paws & gazed in each other eyes appreciating all the love we have for each other. It was both beautiful and heart wretching for me.

A good friend of mine, who is an animal communicator, spoke with Merlin Monday morning and we saw our vet in the afternoon hoping that she might have some 'pain management' suggestions. Merlin travelled well to the vet and was able to show us that he could stand up when necessary. 

What a brave beautiful boy !

He had however made it clear to us, through the communication, that if we could not make things more comfortable for him within a day or so- that he was ready to go that day. I had spent the afternoon 'getting ready' for that outcome but a part of both Merlin & I just wanted to cancel the apt and hold out another day or two. It took courage for the two of us to head to our new vet as we did.

Mama Shawna was there to greet us and we settled into a room on the mattress beds i had made for Dingo & Merlin a number of years ago, a sheet and two pillows so that Merlin could prop his head on. Merlin was very calm- i had not given him any remedies or drugs or herbs before we left or when we got there. I had them with me but he was calm & accepting of this process. He was ready to move out of his body since the vet felt it was time too.

An IV catheter was put into place and the most peaceful euthanasia experience i had ever witnessed unfolded. Very slowly- Merlin relaxed into a sleep and his heart slowly came to a stop by the time the barrel of the seringe had been emptied out- his head gently resting on the pillows. 

He was surrounded by love: Mama Shawna, who had bottle fed him some 11.5 yrs ago stroking & talking to him… the vet, super mindful, sensitive and appreciative of how incredible Merlin was being & how loved he is… and me holding, kissing and saying how much i love him. We got home at 6pm and with the help of Bruce we were able to dig Merlin's resting place & surrender him to the earth by dark.

I am heartbroken and the vast emptiness of my home without Nimue, without Dingo, without Merlin is hard to bare. I do not believe in the rainbow bridge and cannot take comfort in that concept. I do know that Merlin's spirit is now free and will be with me always, as are Nimue and Dingo, but first I have to grieve my loss. It's me that I'm crying for. I am grieving the loss of my love, my companions and the end of an era for me at Twilight.

Dingo Running Free...

Dingo's grave marker arrived this week 

and was placed there on Equinox night.

She looks so happy running around

like the wee fairy canine that she is now.

The narcissus are blooming 

& dancing in the wind

at the foot of the persimmon tree

that was planted in her honor.

What a heart & with wings too !

Handmade specially for us 

by Mountain Iron on Etsy

Dingo Hug Me Dog...

Yesterday I received a VERY SPECiAL handmade item from my friend Elizabeth Ruffing… who makes these magical 'hug-me' animal plushes.

"No words can convey my deep gratitude to Elizabeth for undertaking the task of creating a brand new sock puppy design that would resemble my Dingo girl. She passed away in January and i wanted a hug me toy to stuff with her fur... to have and to hold when i missed her terribly."

"Despite the fact that Elizabeth had a full production schedule- she managed to find all the special materials she needed for my custom order and was gracious enough to 'squeeze' my order in the weeks that followed. Her original design is not only fabulous & totally sweet… the craftsmanship on this sock puppy dog is superb. Really fine work." 

"I just LOVE my Dingo girl 

and will cherish her fur-ever. 

Thanks so much! 

xo"

Merlin Turns Eleven...

My Merlin boy turned eleven.

Happy Birthday !

xo

Look for Me in the Flowers Wherever You Go...

Portrait of Dingo

by Rebecca of KneeDeepOriginals

Dingo-lini - Dingo Love - My Dingo Cheri...

Dingo-lini - Dingo Love

My Dingo Cheri

Still a perpetual 19 yrs old

& wearing her biggest smile

... just for me.

xo

Merlin is Ten - Happy Birthday !

Happy Birthday, Merlin !

My sweet boy completes his 10th year today !

It was love at first sight when we met...

Oh my goodness- such cuteness :)

xo

Zippy Zip, Le Hero...

If you haven't met Zippy Zip yet... today is a good day to show him off and to sing high praises to our kitty boy !

There used to be a day when all the animals that looked to me for extra tlc were felines and now as things are- Zippy Zip is 'it' in our spacious household in the wilderness. He choose us many years ago- having been abandoned by his previous owner... White Cat, as he was known in those days came up to Twilight to investigate. 

White Cat, 2003

In those days- all the feline girls (Tillie, Chelsea, Tammy) had gone except for Tara who was clocking in her 18th year with me. 

The new canine patrol: Nimue and Merlin had arrived with the dawning of the Spring... and Moonstone had patiently waited at the vets for me to adopt him as well. He was our newest kitty resident... attempting to snuggle up to 18 yr old Tara who simply was not interested in doing that at all.

One dark night... i heard a cat argument outside. Shining my flashlight in the big outdoors, I found Moonstone speaking words of wisdom to White Cat. An unusual occurrence since I had never seen this cat before. 

I asked the stranger if he had noticed our NO vacancy sign and told him that if he needed food to return in the morning. Three days later, he returned and Moonstone was smitten by the kitten. 

Moonstone adopts White Cat, 2003

I called up my neighbor to inquire and she knew all about White Cat since it was their neighbor who had abandoned the little guy. She had just taken White Cat to the vet to get him neutered and vaccinated and she said it was fine with her if White Cat wanted to move in with us since she had her own cat crew to take care of. So... White Cat chose to stay and became Zippy Zip and best buds with Moonstone. 

That was 9 years ago... Tara, Moonstone & Nimue are gone now but Zippy Zip and Merlin are still here... and of course, Dingo is too... she came along shortly after the Zippy master.

So... here we are in the today and the special occasion is... celebrating Zippy's rise to King-ness. The prince is now King... or at least a full fledge Knight.

Zippy this morning,  2012

This boy-king slew a rattle snake yesterday and won, with no injury to himself. Instead... he completely severed the snake head and left the whole thing for me to find in his Mighty presence not far from our front door... WOW !

So LONG LiVE ZiPPY ZiP !

May his tail continue to entertain him 

for years to come...

and

THANK YOU, Mighty Zip

for without you... one of us 

surely may have come to harm !

My Dingo Love...

My Dingo Love...

"I Love my Dingo, I Love my Dingo

My Dingo Loves meeee"

Taken this month...

Dingo is now approx 18-19 yrs old !

xo

Nimue Day 2012

I Still Remember You, Nimue...

2003 - 2010

Star Light

Star Bright

You are my Star

Every night

Sun Rise

Sun Set

Do I love you ?

You can bet !

My Winter Solstice Tree...

My Winter Solstice Tree

It features some very special handmade ornaments.

Yep, I know... my 'tree' is a snowman (or snow person to be more accurate). It's a cutie too (not usa handmade tho) BUT if you look more closely, you'll see some animals hanging from it. To be more precise... pet animals: as in dogs & cats !

They're customized to match each member of my pack !

There's Zippy Zip: our resident feline- a beautiful gray white kitty; then there's Dingo - a brindle canine with some Australian herding dog heritage; on the left is Merlin- a black German shepherd, rottie, lab mutt and then, his sister, Nimue - a golden white dog whose spirit vibed greyhound but in truth she was of German Shepherd / lab descent. She crossed over last year so maybe her ornament aught to have wings ?

Thanks to Patty for creating such wonders for my winter Solstice tree- LOVE them all ! Handmade by none other than etsy shop owner of CatCalls and DogBarks... stores which, as you might have guessed, specialize in feline and canine goodies.

Aren't they just darling with their little scarves ?!

So no snowmen or white Christmas here... in fact, we've had a very dry Autumn- hardly any rain & lots of wind... even the scarves haven't come out of their drawers.

Merry Christmas !

xo

Ode to Dog

In native American tradition the animal of the West, as told in the Medicine Cards by Sams & Carson, is the teacher that "leads you to your personal truth and inner answers. It also shows you the path to your goals".

My animal medicine teacher of the West is Dog...

2006, Merlin & Me with Nimue & Dingo

Dogs, of course, are well known to be a person's best friend... a loyal true guardian who has been serving humanity for eternity. Dogs are usually devoted, faithful, and deeply sympathetic of our 'lot in life'... which is to say that they are dedicated to compassionately forgiving any & all our character defects. Dogs ability to love us unconditionally dictates that they will give their human companions second chances over & over again. Dog teaches us about delving into service work.... and on the other 'paw', they also give us the opportunity to lighten up and be more playful !

Here is the Treasury I put together of dog inspired handcrafts...

ODE TO DOG

curated by brizel4TheAnimals

click HERE to visit Treasury

It was very exciting to rummage through Etsy for dog items... I started by selecting Team EFA products because so many of my favorite Etsy colleagues make dog theme art.

Rebecca from KneeDeepOriginals creates some fabulous pop art paintings which I adore... Patty from DogBarks crafts these incredible dog plushes and custom art tote bags... Carol from carolscanvas has the most adorable dog portraits on the planet... Jane from thedoghouse has human & dog accessories to drool for... KaysK9s puts together these felted dog ornaments that are mind boggling beautiful... and so on & so forth... lol

It was a pleasure to feature other artisans as well... excited to discover the Zodiac Dog print by Thailan and the Faithful Dog Necklace by LuannUdell which is something that i would love to wear myself... it looks like bone or ivory but is actually made from polymer to resemble an ancient artifact. I adore it ! Is it too late to pray to Santa ?! lol

I wanted to be sure to represent my own canine pack in this Treasury... Nimue is 'there' in the shape of a white greyhound, a print that i continue to lust for, and I found a dog print to represent my very own Dingo girl (abstractly speaking because she is not a yellow dog by any means). lol

Merlin got to make his very own personal appearance... A quick snapshot I took when my friends, Lisa & Jane, were putting together a Holiday Guide for Dog Lovers and wanted to feature one of Brizel's Silk Tapestry Boxes...

"Brizel Handcrafts presents, Puppy Dreams, a unique handmade decorative Silk Tapestry Box, made of recycled silk sari yarn, perfect as a memory keepsake !

Merlin is a shy boy but here he is pictured with Puppy Dreams. He has been with me since he was a pup... abandoned at the vets door along with his siblings shortly after their birth... they were bottle fed & reared there until they were 3 mo old. I visited them every couple of days & waited patiently until Merlin & his sister, Nimue, came to live with me :)"

"Puppy Dreams is a soft fiber arts container, with a lid of its own, featuring multicolor rainbow silk & embellished with a puppy dog pewter metal vintage button."

This special silk box would make a super memory box and fur keeper.


"This lovely Silk Tapestry Box measures approx: 3 3/4" in diameter x 2" high with an inside 2 3/4" in diameter x 1 3/4" high"

Puppy Dreams is available for purchase at thebrizel4TheAnimals store - click HERE !

To view the full collection of animal theme boxes, one can click here... to see other silk tapestry boxes and silkworks, please visit the Brizel Handcrafts ArtFire Studio here.