A beady-eyed burnt-orange sun crept over a smoky horizon, and it’s hot-air balloon season in Colorado. Juxtaposition: A new day dawns, but the same destructive fires continue to destroy homes, kill animals, and upend lives while others carry on as usual. My hay guy just delivered a load, $2.50 a bale more than the last … Read more
Yes, it’s a proper word. I didn’t make it up, but I wish I had. Quanked is in the 1893 Glossary of Words Used in the County of Wiltshire. It means overpowered by fatigue. They didn’t say emotional exhaustion, but I’m not alone here. I needed a word that was as old as I feel. … Read more
Ruby lives with my friend, Lara. We both have reactive dogs who exploded our lives around the same time. But do not feel one crumb of sympathy for us. We gazed at our dogs, besotted. Even though, and let’s be honest, they were not easy for normal people to love. Lara says, “I … Read more
I never thought I’d say this. Me, of all people. But do you ever think we might need some balance about the dog and cat thing as the world seems to come apart? I know I’ll get in trouble for even suggesting it. World politics and the extreme suffering of those caught up in war … Read more
Dogs. We rescue them, buy them, inherit them. They are irrepressible puppies, midlife couch-partners or milky-eyed elders with wonky ears. They come from puppy mills, rescues, or impeccable breeders. No matter, once the dog is ours, they immediately become the smartest dog, the cutest dog, the most loyal dog. Every single one of them is … Read more
Do you follow the Iditarod, too? Northern breeds are such athletes with their instincts on full display. These half-wild dogs are perfect. They get to run with their pack. Then they stop and all lie down to rest. They eat better than most of our dogs. And then, with very little steering, they run some … Read more
Meet my dogs, Preacher Man, Mister, and Jack. They’re in the doorway to my writing studio. It’s Thanksgiving night, which is always on a Thursday. So, for the last thirteen years, every Thanksgiving evening (and every other Thursday night) we meet here to write my blog. It’s usually the All-Horse Channel, as I share what … Read more
Which way to go?