Dickens update: a scare

Last night my husband got an email from someone who saw a flyer and who lives in a nearby neighborhood. He found a dead cat in his yard on Tuesday and moved it to the woods nearby on Wed. He said he couldn't say if it were Dickens or not but would be happy to show my husband where he had located the remains.

This morning my husband met the man but the cat's remains were no longer where he'd put them. He said there was definitely no collar on the cat he moved (a good sign since Dickens was wearing one) and that there has been a black and white cat hanging around his neighborhood for awhile and he thought maybe this was that cat - he said the one hanging around his neighborhood was definitely not Dickens.

My husband brought the only thing left from this mystery cat's remains - a few tufts of fur. It isn't the same kind of fur that Dickens has. So we feel fairly certain the deceased cat was NOT Dickens. 

But this evening marks a week since we have seen him. I am envisioning him holed up somewhere sleeping and safe and happy on his grand cat adventure. And hoping he'll head home soon. Last Friday night we had a very cool night and I can imagine him setting off to enjoy it. It got warm again since then but we have more cool weather rolling in late today so maybe that will send him home. 

I so appreciate the good thoughts everyone has sent to him and to us. Thank you!!!

Dickens Come Home!

Dickens, our oldest resident feline on November Hill, didn't show up for breakfast on Saturday. A neighbor says she saw him that morning but he hasn't been spotted since.

It's Wednesday now. We've checked the local animal shelter and all neighbors have been notified. Dickens is very savvy and has gone AWOL a few times during his 10 years of life with us, so we are still hopeful but of course very worried.

Send some good thoughts his way if you will. I got home today from my writing residency and am hoping maybe I'll be a homing signal of sorts to lure him back.

The photo is Dickens taking a ride with me from the barn to the house last winter. He's a farm cat through and through. 

Dickens Edward Wickens - come home!!! 

wild muscadines, mini retreat, luminous Pixie

This is a bit of a patchwork post.

Today in the middle of barn chores I took a walk along the perimeter of the barnyard and back field to do some wild muscadine tasting. I can reach quite a few of them from the ground but will need Keil Bay to help me reach the higher-up ones! They taste really good this year.

Keil has been out of work since June and has a chiro appointment on Monday. I'll be back from a mini writing retreat on Wednesday. If the weather cooperates I'm aiming for next Thursday to take a ride. 

I'm excited about getting back in the saddle with the Big Bay and I'm also excited about this:

And here's a photo of the luminous Pixie Pie. She is such a sweetheart.

goldfinch = joy

Today I was scrubbing and refilling the big water troughs in the paddocks and field. I was intent on scrubbing for awhile and then completely attuned to rinsing the tub in the dirt paddock when I felt something looking at me.

It was a goldfinch, sitting on the fence post about five feet away. He looked at me and waited, then hopped down to a lower piece of the fence, still waiting, obviously trying to tell me something. I was charmed. (it's easy to see why a group of goldfinches is called a charm of goldfinches!)

He went to the top of the H dressage marker and suddenly I realized what he wanted. A pool! 

I found a spot where the ground dipped and made him a nice puddle and he flew to it immediately and began dipping his beak in and out. 

I love goldfinches and haven't seen many this summer, so today's visit and conversation was pure joy. 

end of an era and renewal of another one - sandplay!

With my daughter's graduation from high school, this fall marks the end of our homeschooling journey. Both my children (now 18 and 20) homeschooled from the time they were old enough to engage with the world around them until graduation.

My son is a rising junior in college this year, pursuing a double major in physics and pure mathematics. My daughter will begin in the spring semester studying computer science and physics. They are amazing young people, both smart, both independent learners, both creative and interesting to talk to. I couldn't be more proud of them!

In anticipation of having more time this fall and onward, I rented additional office space so I could move my sandplay studio into town. It's a fabulous space and good work is already being done there. I'm excited about rebuilding my practice and have been adding new miniatures to my collection. Most recently: a narwhal and an armadillo. 

Local folks - feel free to spread the word. If anyone is interested, I can share more information about Jungian-based sandplay. It's an amazing therapy modality.