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Since my dog, Sheena, contracted breast cancer in June, 2011, and we'd been taking walks together, I noticed little gifts of nature from God on almost every walk. I think He sent them to make the pain of knowing I'd soon lose her more bearable. She died on November 27, 2011, and I still see these gifts. I'll post them here for all to enjoy. Some posts may include pictures. If you're in a similar situation with a pet or a family member and want to post gifts like mine or just talk, please, feel free. Please, have your dog spayed or neutered to avoid the heartache my family has been through. I think God was teaching me about “living in the moment,” being thankful to Him, and maybe to not think about the future so much.


Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Walking with Sheena and Alexis


This picture was taken on August, 30, 2011. The tall tree in the background is a cottonwood I named Elizabeth, after my youngest granddaughter, and used in my book Cottonwood Place. She grows near a creek on the back of my property that butts up to a neighbor’s property. All the trees in the background are mine. The treeline is along our property and they are very tall, but Elizabeth shames them all in her height. She towers over them because she is over 80 feet tall. Alexis was walking Sheena with me and we stopped in the neighbor’s driveway so Sheena could sniff the drainage ditch and the mint growing in it. Elizabeth the tree was over 200 feet away so you can get an even better idea of how tall she is. From my driveway, which lies just beyond the treeline, I can hear her leaves rustling when the wind blows even a little. When I brushed Sheena to get rid of the tons of hair she’d shed, we sat on the back porch in the afternoons and listened to Elizabeth. Most times she and the many birds were the only sounds we’d hear. More than once I got the eerie feeling that heaven was like this: sunny, eternally green, full of trees and blooming all over with flowers, peaceful creeks flowing nearby, with animals that love us romping all around. The music of nature is the only sound in that part of heaven. On my walk with Alexis that summer day, we could hear Elizabeth’s leaves blowing even from that far away, Sheena was happily sniffing and exploring as a dog should, and I was comforted with being able to forget the future for a few minutes. Oh, by the way, Alexis is jealous that I haven’t named a tree after her; I’ll have to find one and remedy that. We have a slightly shorter cottonwood on our property, I'll probably chose that one.      

1 comment:

  1. Whenever I'm troubled in my life, I find great peace by going out on my own in nature...whether it's on a hike, or whatever. Somehow, being around nature helps me to think more clearly. I've seen a lot of neat things in nature - backpacking in New Zealand, and on the Inca Trail to Macchu Piccu. Japanese gardens, and just hiking through the woods here in Germany. One of the coolest things I've ever seen, though, was when I was stationed on a remote Pacific island...I was walking around the island early in the morning (it was still dark) - and I looked up at the sky and saw a rainbow...by the MOONLIGHT!! Wow, a moonbow!! I'm glad you've found peace in your cottonwood. :)

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