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Rest in Peace, Old Friend

Yesterday, our dog Kelly passed away. She was just a few days’ shy of her fourteenth birthday and had lived a good healthy life. Kelly was a lab shepard mix adopted at a shelter by my mom in 1998. It seems like a long time ago now. Mom passed away nearly six years ago and I had no way to keep Kelly. After two weeks of trying to find her a new home, Ken, my then-boyfriend, said he’d take her home with him and try to find someone to adopt her. Kelly latched onto Ken and his two dogs and decided she wasn’t going anywhere else. She had found her new home and pack. More time passed and we all came together to form a new pack in our home in the Methow and Kelly was happy here too. She was a good dog and we will miss her. Kelly loved walks and rides in the truck and swimming in mountain lakes. She loved to act like the guard dog, barking ferociously while wagging he tail. She was the sweetest dog.

 

I imagine her rolling in snowy fields under bluebird skies now

 

Walking over hill and dale smelling all the smells

 

And smiling her happy smile

Ken made this last photo of Kelly smiling and wrote this poem.

Snow fell gently
from gray skies
when
our old friend
passed to the other side.

I felt her heart
stop
her breathing, suffering,
ended

and she ran free
again
across open ways
celestial doggie
trails
full of scent
and sun
free
liberated, dissapated

moving on
into memory
on that
other shore

staying with us
always
as our good dog
Kelly…..

 

 

Another Day at the Town Trailhead

Seems like there are always interesting things to see around here.

 

Mojo’s person was playing hockey. Mojo thought everyone else who came by wanted to throw his slobbery pine cone.

 

One of the hockey players gets ready to go home. His bike tires have screws for studs.

 

Mojo was disappointed every time someone skied away from him.

 

The shuttle took lots of folks up to Mazama to ski the 30k back to town.

 

Mojo thinks that by the force of his will, he can make me pick up the icky pine cone and throw it for him.

 

 Ken and Luna wanted their picture made in the sign. Well, Ken wanted it – not so sure that Luna did.

 

This Week on the Community Trail

The freezing rain that coated the soft snow with a hard crust gave the trail groomers something good to work with. The ski trails had been soft and slow with all the new, cold, dry and powdery snow last week – good for classic skiing. The last couple days, they trails have been faster and more fun for skate skiing.

 

A thin layer of fog hugged the lowest trees as the sunlight climbed up the hillside

 

Ice coated everything, even the fence wire

Skate skiers

Great morning on the MVSTA Community Trail

In and Out of the Fog

Freezing rain fell on our fluffy snow leaving a crust of ice behind. It also produced fog in the morning which quickly burned off to reveal more bluebird blue skies. The dog walk went from sunshine to fog to sunshine and more fog til it was just sunny and the fog retreated farther down valley. I heard that Twisp mostly stayed in the fog. Sorry Twisp.

A dried yarrow flower coated with ice

Luna, walking towards Shelley’s house

Sam thinks maybe she doesn’t want to walk to Shelley’s house.

It seems so far from here

Who walked here? A mouse? A vole?

Ice coated leaves

and branches

The neighbor’s driveway. They don’t come here in the winter.

Kelly emerges from the fog

And Luna. Think the tortoise and the hare.

Sam’s foot is turning white. As if it too was covered in ice or hoar frost.

Winter Blues

Blues. The color. Not the mood.