Red Dirt Farm and Studio

We lost a piece of our heart this week.

Our sweet little senior rescue dog crossed over.

Her name was Peanut, she now rests peacefully under the pear tree. Though she was part of our lives for only a short four years and just a speck of a dog her absence feels big and all-consuming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We actually lost 3 pieces of our heart this month, it has been a hard month so far.

  We lost our hen Alice, the first of the month.  She was named after my grandmother, who was a chicken farmer.  Alice was one of my first chickens and she held a fond place in my heart.  She was Stanley Roo’s sister.

A few days later, my dear sweet uncle passed away just a day shy of his 91st birthday.

He taught me one of the hardest lessons ever.

He took me along when it was time to slaughter the cattle.  That day has haunted me to this day.  He let me know in a firm no non-sense way this was part of farming.

  Early June for many years, we would get a phone call from him – “are the cherries ready for picking?”  We would tell him that they would be ready soon.  He and his wife would come from Pennsylvania and spend a week helping us pick cherries and put them up.  He always found yard work that needed doing here and other chores around the homestead.  He loved working outside.

  A project he took on one year was to restore an old bird feeder that I had purchased at an estate sale.

  That bird feeder was old when I got it, but I just knew it still had some life in it.   Sure enough, Uncle Lloyd, patched it up and made it look good, we still use it to this day.

When we see a cardinal, Mr. Cottage says “there’s Lloyd.” He loved the Cardinals.

Such goodness to hold in my heart.

 

We knew Peanut’s time was coming, the tumor was growing and it was affecting her brain.

We made peace with this difficult decision,  Mr. Cottage and I took her in and she passed with the assistance of the vet.

They say these things come in threes, I hope this is the end of this time of loss.

 

A warm glow from twinkle lights, fluffy feathers and deep veining in the petals of lovely orchids. Snow covered branches.  A solar-powered sunflower for Peanut’s grave.  Time spent at the kitchen table creating mixed media assemblages and earrings. Losing myself in creating tiny wire bird nests with sweet little eggs.  Inspirations from the birds gathered at the white-dusted feeders.  Vessels filled with feathers frame the window.

These are long cold days of winter.  Time for reflection and tears and happy memories of those we have loved.

All of this, yes the sadness too, is goodness to hold in my heart.

Thank you for stopping in today.

xo Kim