This and That and a Puppy, Too
My oh my - time is spinning past me faster and smoother than I would have thought possible. I continue to find myself surprised that it’s Monday. Or Friday. Or Sunday. Or Monday again.
A lot of that is largely due to this little babe, who is taking up a whole lot of my world these days.
Her name is Bisbee - and yes, she is indeed named after the turquoise! A rescue pup of unknown origins, she came home with us two weeks ago today.
After our flights to Paris were cancelled back in March and we decided to move ahead with our puppy plans, we put in applications at countless rescues. With Ponderosa, we knew for sure we wanted a corgi and we made it happen by going through a breeder - but this time around we thought we’d just put the process in the hands of the universe and see what came our way.
As it turned out though, with so many people stuck at home, we were not alone on the puppy hunt. For six weeks we missed out on dog after dog - application processes were slow, online glitches rampant, making contact with an actual person almost impossible. It was an exercise in patience and we kept reminding ourselves that when we eventually found OUR dog, we’d be glad the others had passed us by.
And thats exactly how it worked out. The minute we met this little one, we were sold. She was sweet and mellow and climbed right into Eric’s lap (where she promptly fell asleep). Her foster family had been calling her Emily, too - so we knew from the start that she was best friend material.
Ponder and Bisbee have ended up being almost exact opposites. Short legs vs. long legs. Butt wiggles vs. tail wags. Up ears vs. down ears. The most stubborn animal to have ever lived vs. ready and willing to please.
I just think back to when we were trying our hardest to house train Ponder. There was one time where we were so desperate for a “win” that we gave her a bowl of weak chicken broth, of which she drank every drop and swelled up like a tick, in an attempt to make it impossible for her to NOT pee outside. She still managed to hold it in for six hours before dashing our hopes and dreams outside of her designated bathroom spot.
Bisbee goes out and, quite literally, gets down to business (exactly where we ask her to!) without a fuss. At only nine weeks she also doesn’t insist on chasing cats, walks sweetly on a leash, and is already sleeping through the night on her own. It’s just one of the many ways in which life tends to balance things out. After seemingly endless corgi struggles, this little girl is a piece of cake.
But the best part about our new pack member is getting to see these two play. And apart from first thing in the morning (when Ponderosa really just wants to go back to bed), that’s all they do. Tug and tackle and chase and bite. They have fun and we have fun, just getting to be near them.
I guess what I’m saying is that we’ve gone from saying “the dog” to “the dogs” without having to try. Like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Along with puppy tending, my green thumb has been working overtime, too. All the tomatoes I started from seed have either been gifted to friends or family or planted in our own sturdy raised beds.
I’ve still got squash and pumpkins and basil under the grow light in the house, but they should be going in the ground in the next week or so, too.
Even my precious and temperamental Moon and Stars watermelons are thriving. I can already imagine the vines rambling and can almost taste the melons now.
But back to balance for a minute. Because with all of this care and effort I’m putting into the garden and my furry friends, I’ve been thinking a lot about the things I’m doing to take care of myself, too. The effort I’m making to keep learning French and the few minutes a day I set aside to pluck out a few guitar chords or read a chapter in my book. The things that go unseen, that seem inconsequential, but make all the difference.
I’ve always hated that saying that asks whether a tree falling in a forest makes a sound if no one is there to hear it. Because OF COURSE it does - everything we think and feel and do ripples out and colors the other areas of our lives.
The best example I have of this is my time with Cirrus - I’m almost always alone when I go out to see him, and both my camera and my phone sit forgotten in his presence so I rarely document the things we do together. But it all ends up so clearly reflected in the way I speak and think and work through problems. It’s become integral to my creation process, so even when what I’m making seems far from anything even remotely equestrian, it’s there anyhow. You’re seeing it, reading it.
With this in mind, I’ve been placing some extra little details onto the backs of my necklaces this past week - little golden nuggets nestled on the flip side because they’re just for you. Precious and valuable and tucked away so you can choose to share them - or not. Either way, they exist. They matter. You matter.
Take care friends - I’m sending Colorado sun and puppy kisses and a whole lot of love your way.
