I woke up this morning and watched my girl sleeping curled up in her bed at the foot of mine. These days I watch her breathing and feel grateful for another day.
Welcome to one of my parks!
She’s doing so well, we have her stabilized and she’s been good for several months now. She’s eating meals and doing her jobs regularly. Her poo passes the ‘looks normal’ test, and she’s drinking water on her own again.
It was a cool and windy day. Perfect.
I know she’s still in stage 4 kidney disease but you wouldn’t know by looking at her. What you will notice is she walks more stiffly, and her back legs give out if she tries to jump, or goes around a corner too fast.
This is my yard today!
I take her to her parks as often as I can, knowing that she loves to be out and about, especially in her woods, on her trails, checking under her picnic tables. Her ears don’t hear much anymore, and I suspect her eyesight isn’t perfect. But her nose works just fine.
And she’s a happy girl.
I love it out here, mama!
That’s the most important thing, that she’s happy.
She still barks at squirrels on her deck, at diesel trucks going by, at neighborhood dogs, at people walking on her street without a sheltie permit. She loves her meals, all five plus one late night snack of them. She still loves her walks through her neighborhood.
Let me at that snowball!
Two days ago I took her to one of her parks and we walked the earthen levy at the end of the lake. It was a windy day, no one was out there but us and she got to roam freely. She wasn’t at all ready to get back in the car when I was. She’d obviously dressed better for the adventure than me.
Something smells different about this snow!
This morning she received a special gift. It snowed. My Katie-girl loves snow. She loves it’s cold. She loves to eat it. She loves to chase a well thrown snowball. She loves everything about snow.
I can’t stop smiling!
We went on several walks today, and explored the backyard too. While out there I grabbed some pictures because in the back of my mind I wonder if this is her last snowfall.
My yard is looking good!
Not that she looks like she’s going anywhere just yet. But will she still be here next November or December when winter closes in on us again? Probably not.
Yep, I’m a happy girl.
So for now I toss her a snowball. I watch her twirl in happiness. And I take pictures to save the moment.
Our girl.
Because each day is a gift, and I’ll want to unwrap this one again some day.
I can’t even believe I have to tattle on mama again. It’s not as if I haven’t discussed time management skills with her before. I even thought, these past couple of years, that she was finally getting the hang of paying attention to me and only me.
But she fell off the wagon yesterday.
Deuce and his little brother Ace on the shores of Lake Huron.
While I was home napping supervising my daddy she was off galivanting with other dogs. And worse, they were boy dogs! She can’t fool me, I might be old and deaf but my nose still works just fine!
I can’t believe it! Seriously, I am too old for these kinds of shenanigans. Mama should know better.
Ace is only 2, and he likes the water. Silly boy.
She says she thought about taking me but decided the drive would be too scary, what with how I shake when I have to go in the car these days. I told her that she’d shake too if the only place she ever got to go was the vet!
Deuce is 10 and smart, like me. We don’t like our feet getting damp.
So she said she was sorry, and she made me my supper and tickled my ears and tried to play lovey-dovey.
These guys will pose anywhere for a treat. I need to tell them about my one image, one treat clause.
But I told her there was only one way she could make it up to me, only one thing she could do to make me consider forgiving her this time.
Yep.
That’s how I got to go on a nice long walk with my mama in my park right after supper while the sun was setting.
You owed me mama, and you know it!
But shhhhhhh. Don’t tell mama, but I didn’t mind staying home all that much. I got lots of loving from my daddy and lots of naps and I didn’t miss a single meal either.
That was your one picture, mama, now lets get to walking.
I’ve been taking a series of free online classes about night photography. Of course the instructor believes we should all be shooting in RAW. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this.
At Katie’s park on a pretty day in March.
Many years ago I took another night photography seminar, where RAW was suggested as well, mostly because you can change the white balance when you’re processing if you shoot in RAW.
“No snow, mama, but still lots of ice!
What does it mean to shoot in RAW? Well, it just means the image you are getting hasn’t been processed at all. There’s more data in the image and it’s all unmodified.
The blackbirds were singing, so it must be spring.
I’ve been shooting JPeg, because, for some reason, RAW made me nervous. Years ago I did a few test shots in RAW, but my processing software wouldn’t allow me to download them. So I haven’t tried again.
“Kinda windy out here, mama!”
But lots of time and software has passed since then, and I figured I should try again. So I took Katie to her park yesterday; in 50 degree (10C) with a stiff breeze, she was in heaven.
“I’m having a good hair day!”
It has been a long time since we visited her park, and, as I remember it, a blizzard was bearing down and it was so very cold that we didn’t stay long at all.
“I love my park!”
Yesterday she pranced like a puppy, tail wagging, nose to the ground looking for all the pee-mail left by other doggies just for her.
“Hey mama, the smells are just wonderful over here!”
I took a few pictures, in RAW, just to see how they came out. To be honest, I can’t tell the difference, but I’ll keep shooting in RAW until I figure out why it’s better.
“It’s so good to be out here, mama!”
Katie says she’ll gladly model for me again. As long as I bring treats.
I heard a helicopter fly over late last night. And the night before. I don’t know why or where it’s going, but it makes me think about the people in Ukraine, and what they’re hearing fly over, or roll by outside their windows. And I wonder how they are sleeping while hiding in an abandoned subway or in an old bomb shelter. And I think about those trying to leave the country, walking miles, standing for hours, the men being turned back to fight, women and children trying to find a safe place to rest. My heart breaks for them all.
Last week I dog sat for a neighbor who was out of town for a couple days. The dog’s favorite indoor game was to retrieve his tennis ball. So I’d roll it under the ottoman fast enough that it would appear on the other side. He figured it out pretty quick, either waiting for it over there, or trying to keep me from rolling it past him in the first place. As he was pouncing on my hand, moving so quickly that it was almost impossible to get it past his big feet and long tongue, I had a memory flash. We used to play “Sheltie in the middle,” with one of us sitting on the floor on one side of the room, and one of us on the floor at the other side. We’d roll her tennis ball back and forth and Katie would try to get it. She usually did. Then she’d prance to one or the other of us and give us the ball to play again. I had forgotten she used to play like that. My heart cracked just a little.
I know, I know. Today is Wednesday, and so I’m supposed to be wordless. I don’t know who thought up that stupid rule, but let me tell you, this girl has never been wordless in her whole life. And I’m not going to start now!
Mama? Can we please go on another walk?
Actually I don’t really have much to say, being that I hardly ever get to go anywhere anymore, except the vet or the groomer, and those are not places you want to hear about! Or maybe you do?
They’re not going to weigh me are they? Cause I’ve put on a couple pounds.
Really? Well, OK then.
This past week I went to a new groomer. You know how I used to go to my groomer Nicole, I’ve been going to her since I was a baby. And then this weird covid thing happened and her groomer place wasn’t open. So after months and months of no baths or nail trims mama was getting sort of desparate and she asked on her neighborhood FB thing if anyone was a groomer and would be willing to take care of me under the radar…and I went to see Jessica.
Mama….do I look round to you?
Jessica was really nice and the good thing was that I’d get an actual appointment and not have to be dropped off at the beginning of the day and picked up at the end of the day like at Nicole’s. I only had to be in the scary place an hour. And it was pretty close to where we lived so mama liked it. I went to Jessica for over a year.
But Jessica didn’t really listen to mama. Mama likes my furs long and flowy. She loves to watch me walk with all my fur blowing in the wind. Jessica would nod her head and then when mama picked me up in an hour I looked like a tough street kid with short spiky fur! Everybody thought I was cute in the short cut, but mama was frustrated.
I don’t know…I guess it’s a look.
Then Deuce’s mom (you remember Deuce, my cocker spanial friend?) started taking Ace, his little brother, to a groomer right here in my very own town!
Deuce and I went for a walk while Ace was at the groomer, but it was so cold and windy the moms made us go back home.
She had high praise for this groomer, cause Ace, who has only just turned 2 and is a real handful, has a thick heavy coat, sort of like mine, and he takes a lot of maintaining. Kinda like….well….me.
A couple weeks ago mama took me to meet Tracy and to get my nails and feet done.
She only did my nails this time, but I still got a bandana.
And last week mama got a full grooming appointment for me. Mama dropped me off and went home to do some vacuuming in peace. Tracy, the new groomer, sent mama pictures of me and asked if she should take off more or leave parts of me longer. Mama appreciated that.
I was cute but not really feeling the pink floof.
OK, I came home with silly pink things in my furs, but at least I had some furs left! Mama likes Tracy a lot, and I like that I didn’t have to stay there very long, and that the car ride was really short. Cause lately when I get put in the car I go to scary places, so I’m sorta not liking car rides so much any more.
Ah….I remember the old days when mama and I used to go on long car rides and stop at lots of rest stops with great smells, and sleep out under the stars and run on the ocean beach, and walk among old growth pines and hang out on my lake house deck and explore the world and meet new friends.
Me and my Florida friends in 2018!
Yep. I remember those days. I sure miss doing fun stuff like that, but I appreciate mama and daddy taking me out on short walks around the neighborhood whenever I ask. And I ask frequently, cause let me tell you it’s boring here in the house!
Mama, me and my shadow going for a walk this week.
Mama’s been feeling a bit stircrazy too and she says if I stick around until spring she’ll set the tent up in the backyard and we can sleep under the stars again. I can’t wait, I hope spring hurries up and comes! But mama says I shouldn’t wish the days away, cause there are only just so many.
What you talkin’ about, mama?
Sometimes mama is a little obtuse, you know? I think I’ll go take a nap while she wipes her eyes. Darn woman is just so leakey-eyed these days. She never used to be like this, I don’t know what I’m going to do with her.
I guess I’ll sign off for now, mama will have to figure herself out on her own.
Sometimes a girl just has to take a nap
Your perfectly coiffed princess,
Katie.
Don’t forget to wake me up for supper!
PS: Mama says she’s sorry about the quality of the images…most of them are from her phone. She hardly ever takes me on photo shoots with her big camera anymore. She says she can’t give me treats, and so she doesn’t think it’s fair for me to have to pose for free. Plus it’s cold out there.
Change Is Hard 