With Gratitude

“For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

For flowers that bloom about our feet;

For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;

For song of bird,

and hum of bee;

For all things fair we hear or see,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee!” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I share this poem each Thanksgiving, as a reminder of all that we have to be grateful for. This year, with so much loss and tragedy, my heart swells with reminders of the goodness that shines through. I thank each of your for traveling with me on this journey-and for the friendships I have made along the way. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Blessings

Rosie was a breeder dog who was considered “used up.” A good Samaritan took her and brought her to us when the breeder made clear that she would be disposing of her.

She has never lived inside or been treated with love, and yet, she gives hers unconditionally. The first bed she had was the one we provided her.

When her adopters mentioned that they would be letting her pick out her own new bed and toys, Rosie made clear she was ready to go!



Cole was left tied up on a street with cut-out soda bottles filled with food and water.

A good Samaritan found him and, after ensuring that no one was looking for him, brought him to us. His thick coat was a matted mess, full of burs and foxtails. His new sister, Lucy, said “you can come home with us.” Cole will never be left alone and abandoned again.

Buddy’s only fault was being young.

His human man brought Buddy to us with tears in his eyes when his human woman said she had enough of him. His new people were overjoyed to find him and are looking forward to completing his growing up with patience and love.

Sadie and Sitka lost their home in the Camp Fire.

They are our honored guests while their humans work to get their lives back on track. Out of harm’s way, they spent days tied to the family’s bumper because the small animal shelters were full. They are with us for safekeeping until their people are ready and all can be reunited.

Milo was born without eyes.

He was adopted from Homeward Bound and went to live with his mom in Paradise, CA.
When the fire came, she loaded him in the car and raced to get down the hill.
At some point, they had to abandon the car and begin the journey on foot with so many others.
This boy with no sight put his full faith in his human mom through a five and a half hour trek in thick smoke and ash as she guided him to safety.
Now, she thanks us for the gift of Milo who gives her strength and hope to carry on.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are surrounded by reminders of all that we have to be thankful for.

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” ~ W.T. Purkiser

When Bad Things Happen

California is on fire…again. Each occurrence seems to set a new record for destruction and loss of life. The entire town of Paradise is gone and with it, 23 lives and countless animals, domestic and wild.

The thick smoke has drifted and settled in our valley turning the landscape an eerie orange –

blocking out the sun and delivering an early cold that caused a premature freezing of tender fall blooms.

It is tempting to complain about the suffocating air – until you remember that the smoke carries with it the lives, memories, and homes of others.

How do you reconcile the weight of tragedy against our day-to-day lives? When the world seems so full of hate and hurt? When the homeless still sleep in our streets? When our very planet is under assault? Or an entire town is reduced to ash?

And yet – dogs still need to get out to run,

play,

learn

and be comforted.

The garden still needs tending and planting if we are to celebrate spring.

I left my smoke-filled home this morning and arrived at the rescue which was miraculously nearly clear – blue sky rising above a layer of smoke.

As the flowers of late fall replace fallen dahlias,


and new pups take the place of those adopted,



I am reminded of life’s cycles and the beauty –

and hope –

that still surround.

When you cannot stop horrors from happening, find a way to help. Provide a roof to someone who lost theirs. Foster an animal to bring peace of mind to humans as they struggle to cope. Send money or donate items.
In times of bad, demonstrate good.

Here is a list of ways you can help in Northern California, provided by the Camp Fire’s local paper.

Choose Your Garden

You can create whatever man-made environment you want – just as you can build false societies.

But these artificial landscapes require strict restraints, constant oversight, and continuous, often heavy-handed, feeding to maintain control. Without it, they eventually return to their natural state – often in bullying or survival-of-the-fittest ways.

Natural gardens spring from what was always intended to be there.

True to their nature, they find paths of peaceful coexistence and mutual cooperation.


And they thrive.

Their success supports future generations of flora as well as fauna – the critters that depend on their good stewardship for food and shelter.



The natural garden is built on true foundations of sun, water, and earth.

A healthy society is built on foundations of mutual respect, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
The choice is ours.
What kind of garden do you want to live in?

Vote.

Some Things…

Some things make me laugh.


Some make me smile.

Some fill me with joy – like the asters in fall.

And others make me want to say, “Don’t worry boy, didn’t I tell you you’d be home in a flash?”

Some touch my heart.

Some fill me with hope.

And some make me wonder how a boy ever thought that peeing on a new girlfriend would win her over?!

But this just fills me with pride.

Last year, I told you about a young airman shipping out to South Korea for a year of service. She left her one-year-old boy in the care of our loving foster family.
This week, I was honored to be invited to witness their reunion –

and to share their story again.

Some things make me cry…with pride and joy. I could not love this “work” more.

Fall Project #3: Where Did All The Dogs Go?

This is not my project…but it’s a big one that impacts everyone who volunteers at the rescue. We had been waiting for the weather to turn to get it done.

This weekend, the guys removed all 25 kennels and lined them up in the yards where they will wait for a week.

Monday, the floor installers will come and begin putting down flooring that has been vet-tested for endurance. It should withstand the wear and tear and make cleaning easier and more thorough – and anything that helps to reduce germs is a good thing in a kennel environment. But it will require up to a week to complete. So where are all the dogs???

First…we put out a plea for short-term foster help. So many people raised their hands; it is truly gratifying. Not only will it be less stressful on the dogs, we’ll learn more about them from their time in foster. A few might even foster-fail if we are lucky!

Second…the dogs have been getting adopted as fast as we can get them ready! This seems to happen in waves. Sometimes, they will be here for weeks with little activity, and then the floodgates open. The timing could not have been better and we LOVE going homes!

Third…with the weather cooler now, the remaining dogs will spend their daytime hours in the yards.

Our walkers and feeders are so conscientious about getting the dogs out. Their days look like this: Feed and run. Nap. Walk and play. Nap. Swim or playgroup. Nap. Feed and run. Bedtime. With the kennels removed, they are not getting their naps which brings me to…

Fourth…thankfully, we have a large facility with lots of places to stash dogs when necessary (puppy palace, office spaces, conference room, senior yard, laundry room, and isolation unit). With so many at foster or adopted, everyone found a cozy place to stay at night. They won’t have quite as much room this week at bedtime…but without their daytime naps, I am betting they will be so tired that they won’t even notice.

Like I said – this is not my project. Hats off to the guys doing the heavy lifting, Lori and Jody doing the heavy planning, the adoption and foster counselors and placement team doing the getting ‘em home, and the feeders and walkers for braving the chaos to ensure that the dogs are comfortable and cared for through the process. ‘Cause like we say…”it’s all about the dogs!”

Fall Project #2: The Puppy Pad

Maria’s decorations signal that fall has arrived in the garden…but gardening had to wait this weekend.

I’m a big fan of completing one project before starting another (the Virgo in me) – so I was hoping to complete the new bed this week. But when the success of a project depends on the muscles of others – you adapt! My crew was available this weekend…so this weekend was dedicated to the new Puppy Pad.

We built a Puppy Palace in 2014 with a dedicated shed, kennel, and a little enclosed yard for our youngest guests.

All was well until…the well! The pumping equipment was adjacent to the Puppy Palace, and when it needed replacing, it encroached upon the puppies’ yard.

While the shed and adjacent kennel space still provide excellent housing for newborns and puppies up to four weeks,

after that – the little monsters need more room to run and play.

For the past year, this meant carting them to the much larger puppy yard. They quickly outgrow wheelbarrow transfer leading to weeks of one-by-one carrying.

The solution: Puppy Pad South – or as I like to call it, Juvenile Hall. An enclosure within the large Puppy Yard that can house puppies when they reach four weeks or so.

The guys fenced off a space and built a shed at the end of the yard with a large tree providing all-day shade.

The surrounding ground, however, was a disaster. So we got to work leveling and setting pavers to provide a safe play space that is easily cleaned. While Kermit supervised…of course!

On one end, is a small patch of real grass and another tree. And under the large shade tree where grass doesn’t grow, artificial turf will be installed. The puppies will have plenty of safe room to play and stay – and when we have eyes on – the gate will open onto their very large, grassy puppy yard.

No more hauling back and fort! And everything a puppy needs for play and socialization.

Fall Garden Project Number One

No, really, there are no remains in the Memorial Garden…although you might suspect otherwise if you saw this.

While we were away, fall signaled its arrival.


Just hints so far, but the creatures know.


And with cooler days come a mountain of projects. First on the list: a complete demolition and re-do of the raised bed area of the garden.

Once, these housed a mountain of overgrown and deadly blackberry brambles. They spread their spikes throughout the garden, so they were banished to the perimeter a few years ago where they (and the bunnies) thrive safely out of the dogs’ paths.

Blueberries, California Poppies and a bed of Rosemary took their place, but the spot was too dry and hot for the blueberries, the boards were rotting, and the Bermuda grass was winning the war on all fronts. I have learned to let nature have her way…to a point which does not include Bermuda grass!. So, the raised beds have been razed and the blueberries donated – and in their place will be gentle mounds hosting native and drought-tolerant selections more appropriate to the site while echoing other sections of the garden.

The first order of business, however, are trenches.

When it rains, everything on the property flows from the dog yards and kennel to the garden. It helps to keep the dogs drier (our first priority) but creates lakes in the garden. We lost one tree this year to the swamp that collects in the center; we want to prevent that going forward. So, in the design are trenches and mounds – to act as catch basins for some of the deluge while keeping drought-tolerant plants high and dry.

Maria helped me with phase one: the blueberry and box frame removal while unearthing and capping the existing irrigation.

Nash came to the rescue to cut down and remove the heavy redwood boards.

And while the dogs did not quite grasp the principle of sled dogs to help in moving wheelbarrows of gravel,

Kermit the cat was happy to provide supervision and amusement.


A few plants will go in this fall to get established, but mostly, we’ll fill the bed with fresh compost and leaf mulch and let it “cook” over the winter to be ready for spring planting. I have learned the hard way: preparation and patience pays rewards in the end.




What’s on your fall garden list?

Yellowstone

The Native Americans called it “Burning Mountains.”

They thought an evil spirit lived among the meadows, rivers, forests, and towering mountains. If you witnessed the geysers or stepped into one of the scalding pools – you might think so too.

But good spirits live here. Animal spirits. Nature spirits.

I have just returned from my first (long overdue) trip to Yellowstone National Park. It is magnificent.

I traveled with my friend and fellow gardener, Maria, and her son. There were bets against our compatibility as journeying companions as we fuss and bother like two sisters when we are in the garden. But when it comes to travel, we are surprisingly compatible. Up at dawn to catch the sunrise and the wolves.

Chasing all day after animal sightings, we put 800 miles on the car – mostly in the park.

Fourteen-hour days flew by soaking up the park’s beauty –

From its barren, fossilized landscapes,

To its turquoise pools,

Snow-covered mountains,

Meandering rivers,

And expansive valleys filled with roaming bison, long-horn sheep, pronghorn, elk, coyotes, bears – and if you are very lucky, wolves.



Yellowstone is home to 67 different mammal species –



and a few birds as well.


As a photographer – I am deeply humbled. I lack the equipment or the instincts of my traveling companions for spotting and anticipating the animals’ moves.

But you don’t need to see the whites of their eyes to appreciate their place in the landscape.

Or the poetry of tenderness in such a rugged and wild place.




They loom so large in front of us –

but we are all just specks in nature’s place.

You can understand how people who live in this wide-open country have little understanding or appreciation for “city folk.” It is a harsh, unforgiving existence – but filled with an indescribable and addictive beauty.

It is hard to leave.

And I will return.

“Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time.”

At the Heart of Gardening…and Rescue

“At the heart of gardening there is a belief in the miraculous.” ~ Mirabel Osler

Who would have believed that an acre of weeds and thistle would turn into our memorial garden.

Or that seeds, bulbs, saplings and bare roots would grow into this.

Yes, it takes hard work, water and sun, and a fair amount of luck – but what unfolds is kind of miraculous.

Rescue requires its own belief in miracles. Here are a few of the tiny ones we have recently had the privilege to know.

Patsy was likely hit by a car and dragged. This little puppy arrived from a shelter with a broken leg and a body covered in bruises and scrapes.

She did her rehab like a quiet trooper in her little prison, giving no hint of the awesome Yoda personality inside.

As she recovered, it came shining through.

She was listed as available for less than 24 hours before a lucky family scooped her up and carried her away.

Miss Pickles puppy came to us with hydrocephalus – water on the brain.

Already nearly blind, the condition could result in full blindness down the road as well as seizures and behavioral issues. But don’t tell her or her mom that she is anything less than perfect,

because Miss Pickles – now Autumn – is perfect for her.

Tiny Johnnie was dropped off at a shelter and marked as stray. He was abandoned.

He has swimmer puppy syndrome. It is a developmental deformity showing up shortly after birth which causes the chest or thorax to flatten. Puppies with the syndrome have a hard time eating or drinking, and those that survive the first few weeks lack strength in their legs to push themselves up. Their legs – particularly their back legs – are splayed, moving side to side – thus the name swimmer syndrome.



Johnnie is lucky to have pretty good use of his front legs. Intensive physical therapy can reverse the impact to his back legs if begun early.

He has found a foster daddy who will work with him – including regular swims – to get those back ones into gear.

Sometimes, miracles are just good people with kind hearts. And we are blessed with good people who understand that…

“Where there is great love, there are always miracles.” ~ Willa Cather

Cat Crazy

I like cats…really I do. But this may not end well.

A couple of months ago, a new cat showed up at the rescue. He was given a less-than-welcome greeting by Tori, our resident “cat-tester” who still has plenty of spunk at age 15. As you can see, the new cat was simply unfazed.

He not only didn’t budge – he made his way inside.

That earned him a name: Kermit. And a trip to the vet to ensure that he would not be fathering any (more?) offspring. The plan seemed to be to have him hang around the office to give Tori a much-needed break from the dog-testing duties. But Kermit was such a pest, he quickly found himself booted outside.

For weeks, he lounged around the patio – making his way back in whenever someone wasn’t looking. But today he showed up in a whole new place….the garden.

We have quite a few cats at the rescue. They help to keep the population of mice, lizards and snakes to a minimum. They all have their special places and respect each others boundaries. But not Kermit. If you recall, the garden belongs to our feral cat, Frida.

She is a mighty huntress but a tidy girl who always keeps her garden shed neat and tidy. Lately, however, we have been finding her food and water bowls overturned, and remnants of someone doing their business inside the shed. Now we know why.

It seems that Kermit has been making himself at home in Frida’s domicile – from under the shed (her favorite hiding place)

to on high.

This boy has no fear and clearly doesn’t respect our motto: “it’s all about the dogs.” And let me tell you – we have some cat-hating dogs who will be just as unhappy about Kermit’s presence in their garden as Frida!

The same drama unfolds at home, too. We have two neighbors with multiple outside cats and at least two feral cats that have taken up residence – finding ample free food left on stoops. Like Kermit, they have no fear – and no sense. They roam all of the neighbor yards looking for birds, river rats, and squirrels to savage. The fights are horrific.

Worse: my Yogi is a verified cat-hater. We cannot leave or return from a walk without running the cat gauntlet. Yogi literally propels himself straight up in the air like a helicopter when he sees them – while they just sit and stare. If I were an unkind person, I would let go of the leash. Then again, Yogi might well be on the losing side of a battle with these feline beasts.

I read that there is a controversial cat ban proposed by a New Zealand town. I can tell you, it wouldn’t be necessary if people would keep their cats inside. And yes – I know this is not their natural habitat. But it’s not a dog’s either. And while I appreciate the river rat population control – I do wish they would not pick on the poor birds!

So mind your Ps and Qs, Kermit boy. Remember that you are here by the grace of Tori and Frida, and keep an eye out for those doggies…and the owls above!