Tag Archives: animals

{rest in paradise, sweet callee girl}

11 May

it is with a very heavy and woeful heart that i post this blog.

this past week, i made the very difficult decision to put my kitty, callee, down to eternal rest. she was my best friend, my sidekick, my companion, my love. she gave me purpose and something to look forward to coming home to. for so many years she gave me a reason to feel important, a love i have still never known, and so much appreciation in my heart for what a good girl she was. she did not bite or scratch people or furniture, she didn’t jump on countertops, knock stuff over, or most of the typical cat stuff. she was so loving and sweet and loved to be adored and petted. she was my little shadow… followed me everywhere. she “slow-blinked” at me all the time and just adored me. she was a “talker” as my best friend would say, she was vocal and a good listener, she was also a good learner and just an overall great animal and pet. i was overwhelmingly blessed to have her in my life for such a long time. i still can’t believe she’s gone. it will take me some time to grieve and move on. i used to think i would want another kitty immediately, but now that i’m here in this space and time, i realize i feel differently… i just know i need to have grace with myself and allow myself to take it all one moment and day at a time until i decide i may want to adopt again.

losing her is a great loss for me. it was a long time coming… she had been declining for about the last year and i did all i could to hold on and let her hold on… but in the last days, i knew she was ready to go. she was telling me every day and finally i had to make the decision in haste. i found a wonderful local place that was able to take her immediately and so graciously helped and comforted me through the very tragic and daunting process. i also had a tremendously wonderful friend help me through the entire journey, even long before the final day arrived. these people are important to me and i will be forever grateful to have them there during the painful and heart-wrenching procedure.

in her final days, she was a lot more affectionate with me. she was always so loving, but not much of a “lap cat.” but one day last week she came into my recliner with me and laid on my chest for what felt like days, although it was probably only a half hour. but it was the best gift she could’ve given me. she nudged her little head into my armpit and held me close. i will forever cherish that moment. days later, when we sat in the veterinarian office and i had made my last memories with her, she was calm and was purring and rubbing her head against my hand, almost as if to thank me. we both knew it was time. and i reminded her that although i was no longer going to be able to play the role of her mama on this earth, that she would be so warmly greeted and welcomed by my mama on the other side.

and believe me when i say this – SHE UNDERSTOOD THAT! ❤

so on this mothers day, which is usually a hard day for me anyway, i honour my mother, and also being a “mother” to my sweet kitty, callee. she changed my life, saved my life, and forever will be in my life… and in my heart.

thank you to all of you who have made sweet comments about my dear callee girl, and those of you who had the pleasure to meet her, pet her, hear her, know her, and love her.

i’ll most likely post another blog with more pics of her… but for now, i will close with this favourite foto of her from 2017. 

I LOVE YOU FOREVER, CALLEE GIRL!

 

 

{foto friday : baby swans!}

21 Jul

i had the honour of seeing these beautiful baby swans back in late spring around the lake by the house. sadly, i’m just now getting around to blogging about them.

i was hoping they would get close enough to use my 50mm lense to capture… and they obliged! 🙂

the adorable little babies did not stray far from mama’s side…

the whole family came together…

our neighbourhood lake has these awesome feeders for the lake-dwelling animals…

they perched and munched for a good 5 minutes… it was so cool to watch…

the turtles hung out close by, hoping for some snacks to fall to their level! 😀 Continue reading

{my furry valentine}

14 Feb

like most pet-owners, i’m a little obsessed… and i’m pretty much in love with my cat. ❤

i mean, how can i not be – look at how cute my callee kitty is!!!!

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i love it when she stands like this or when she looks at me like that…

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and i love her crazy long whiskers and when her ears go back like this…

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she’s mildly playful, and also easily annoyed when her claws get stuck in things…

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and it’s fun when you scroll through film and find pics like these! 😀

i’m just in love with my cat! ❤

{the reason…}

17 Aug

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{calvin the crazy caterpillar… and his shadow!}

21 Jun

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you know i kind of have a thing for insects, right?!  did you meet adam ant… or francis the praying mantis?!

 

 

{another “my life through my camera phone” post}

14 Jun

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callee has recently become a lapcat… she never used to lay on my lap and let me pet her and now she’s always climbing all over me – especially when i’m sitting at my desk blogging. so – apparently my kitty callee says hello, everyone! 😉

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squeezin’ in some vitamin D anywhere i can – even on my lunch-break…

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speaking of vitamins, i am trying these new kickass 100% organic food-based vitamins from garden of life.  and how happy was i to find my favourite quote ever inside the box?!?!!! 😀

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watching sopris emerge from the clouds…

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taking more shameless selfies : featuring new shades…

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i was having a nice moment with this cute little bunny… until a loud truck drove by and scared her away…

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yep, those are two ladybugs… *ahem* …on an asparagus stalk…

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bloomin’ onion…

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how do you feel about ravens?!  they are always all around me… practically everywhere i go.

 

have a nice weekend, ya’ll!

{animal messengers : the centipede}

5 Apr

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i found this little guy {or gal? … are they asexual?!} in my tiny house the other day… and i think it’s so cool i was able to kind of capture the little legs!!!

i may have been a little freaked out at first, but that’s what you get when you live in the mountains – you have to learn to share your space with all of nature, as you are on her turf.  when i looked up what this creature “represented” {according to some}, i read terms like psychic revelations, ability to survive stress, and this : “it is a wonder that something so small can humble even the largest and most threatening of creatures and people.” which clearly made me feel so good and comforted – cuz i am small, myself – but only physically 😉

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i happily scooped him up onto a piece of paper and released him outside… but not before snapping a couple quick fotos.  little bugger is FAST, too!  i could only fire off two shots before he creeped down into a crevasse and scurried away…

apparently some centipedes are poisonous?!  {yikes!} but not here in colorado, from what i’ve been told and read. i am thankful for my little gift of a centipede messenger.  at the time i didn’t think much of it, but after reading about the energy this creature carries, i feel super blessed to have had it cross my path…

 

{foto friday : this furry face…}

28 Mar

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…i can’t even handle it… SO CUTE!!!!!!!!

zuko is not my dog, but i get to play with him all the time ‘coz he belongs to my neighbour/landlord and he is always wandering over to my tiny home to play and be adorable.  like when he laid on my yoga mat the other day in the sun…

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downward-facing zuko.

😉

{saturday sun snoozin…}

8 Mar

isn’t it adorable/amazing how cats always find the ONE sunbeam in the house to lay and nap under?!

i just love my callee gurrrl….

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happy daylight savings!  and welcome more sunshine!!!  woohoo!

{foto friday – “this house is blessed with love, laughter, family, friends, and a cat”}

17 Jan

just a couple shots of my kitty callee, being insanely cute and sitting next to this pillow my grandma gave me years before i even got callee… doesn’t the cat on the pillow look just like her?!!!

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gah, she’s just so cute!!!!!

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🙂  have a great weekend, everyone!

{kitty yoga – volume 3}

14 Dec

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my kitty callee loves laying on my yoga mat…and why wouldn’t she?! — cats can get into some pretty contorted positions, dude!

and since injuring my neck/shoulder last week {i’ll give all the details soon}, i am actually told by my physical therapist to NOT do too much stretching… so callee is taking my place on the magenta mat until a couple weeks pass 😉

have a great weekend, friends!

{whatever wednesday – cute callee cat quirks}

20 Nov

my cat is kind of quirky and kind of ridiculous…

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ridiculously cute, i mean…

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she’s always getting into things… just like her mama. 😉 Continue reading

{harry & carrie – the spider and ladybug : bringing messages of protection, renewal, and gentle strength}

16 Nov

i have lots of animal energy surrounding me… i mean, we all do… we just have to pay attention and keep our hearts open.  i believe it’s one of the ways the universe speaks to us – through animal energy.  i’m one to notice patterns, almost obsessively, and therefore i can usually recognize when there is a message trying to reach me.

i saw dragonflies quite often during my meditations when i lived in denver. dragonfly’s message is about transformation and seeing through life’s illusions… which was so fitting for what i was experiencing at the time.

lately i’ve been seeing lots of spiders.  i’ve always had spiders around me… which used to totally freak me out.  *quiver* who likes spiders?! anyway – over the years i kept seeing them and i found myself actually photographing them quite a bit.  i’m fascinated by their intricate webs and their stillness. and spider’s message is one of creativity – to weave our own web of destiny… and to be patient during the process 🙂

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harry the spider

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{the bi-annual cattle round-up}

11 Nov

i had never seen anything like this and i was so happy to get immersed right in the middle of it!

remember last friday i wrote about the coolest cattle?! well, as i was fotographing them that day, i inadvertently got stuck behind the twice-a-year cattle round-up that takes place here in town.  i was pretty much cracking-up the entire time and also felt so privileged to have witnessed this event, camera-in-hand.

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it was the day of the eclipse, too… and the sunset was unbelievable!

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i know they’re “just cows”, but i love them. and what i want to know is…

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how the heck did they round up all these cows without me noticing?  one can’t get off this road, so-to-speak, and i had just turned around to head back down the hill when i saw this… Continue reading

{foto friday : the coolest cattle}

8 Nov

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i almost didn’t share these fotos… simply because i felt like what i witnessed was so sacred and so divine… i really felt the connection and bond to these creatures as i was fotographing them a couple weeks ago… there was something very special about my moments behind the camera with this herd of cattle.  i even get a little teary-eyed thinking of it now.

hundreds of these animals live not to far up the road from me, on a gorgeous ranch. most of these are dairy cows, however a few of them are angus cows.

now, i’m not necessarily a vegetarian {though i’ve had my stints}, but i limit my intake of meat in general, and only once in a great while do i eat red meat.  but when i do, i am so very particular about where it comes from and how the animal was treated while raised. i am too educated not to make wise decisions about what i eat. {watch food, inc. or any other number of food documentaries and see what i mean} i feel like it’s my responsibility in a way… and i was so happy to know that i could find and purchase grass-fed meats locally here in my new town.

what made me feel really good about seeing the angus cows on this farm, was knowing what a happy life they had.  they weren’t shoved into a cattle-lot and stepping over each other just to eat.  they were out grazing… on the most beautiful pasture, surrounded by mount sopris, bein’ all cool…

just hanging out, like this :

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{animal energy}

26 Oct

animals {and all of nature} can teach us so much about awareness.  they can teach us about patience, presence, process, and perfect magic.

animals behave from instinct, not from thought.  i find it comforting when an animal crosses my path.  i feel their energy offers us much insight into a greater cosmic awareness.

so, here are a few friends i made recently :

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this was the “little caterpillar that could” – i watched him patiently inch across the street just in time before a big truck came rolling through…

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this dog followed me all the way into town one day… and right after i took this foto, i looked up and a huge raven flew over my head.  {talk about magic!}

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lots of cattle surround these hills and they have so much room to play! Continue reading

{my kitty, callee – doin’ some pretty cute cat stuff}

2 Aug

my kitty, callee, is incredibly adorable… like, really!  the fotos don’t really do her much justice… and unfortunately she’s too timid to show off her cuteness around many people other than myself… i’m blessed and grateful that she chose me… she’s so ridiculous and wonderful and funny and – ADORABLE!

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hiding behind the blinds… super spy kitty.

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literally wearing my swim suit after i was sunbathing one day… weirdo.

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doing the quintessential cat-in-the-box thing… friggin ridiculous.

{foto friday : more kitty yoga}

12 Jul

the first time i captured callee on my yoga mat, she kinda posed for me

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this time she was extra wiggly… movin’ all around on that thing, and bustin’ out poses i’ve never seen before… 😉

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she’s all like, “namaste – mrrreow” … seriously though, she is sooooooo beyond chatty!  the most talkative cat you’ll ever meet. one day i’ll get a good video of her talking and post it for you…

{shedding layers – but gaining a 500th follower!}

28 May

hi friends.  i’ve missed you…

i don’t really have an amazing story to explain my absence as of late… sometimes i randomly take a little time off from blogging to adjust to the ever-changing events life can throw at us… i hope you are enjoying the sun and had a nice kick-off to summer — grilled up some BBQ, got in the pool, graduated, and/or all of the above!

anyway, i’ve been “metaphorically”  shedding layers and such for a few months now… going through a lot of change in A LOT of ways!… but when i started seeing little balls of wadded up hair begin to overtake my carpet, i knew something had to be done…

i love my kitty, callee… she is beautiful.

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and sweet and squishy and a plethora of other things… and i’m fairly certain she is a norwegian forest cat… i’m not totally sure because she is a rescue and was abandoned {so sad!} and so the pound did not know much about her… but the point is, she has a LOT of hair!!  and it’s that time of year when they begin to shed like crazy – thus the hairballs all over the carpet…

i decided to give my cutie callee a brushing the other day… check it out : Continue reading