Pearl and Maude are the new regulars at our woodsy New Jersey home that we call Shama Sanctuary. Pearl has close-set beady eyes and carries with her an air of superiority. She’s a bully, snorting and chasing off the twin orphans, Precious and Petunia, who are yearning for companionship. To show her dominance she’ll […]
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Recently I’ve been spending time with the new regulars at Shama Sanctuary, Pearl and Maude. Pearl has a pretentious air about her and is a bully, regularly chasing off the twin orphans, Precious and Petunia. Maude is easier to love. Her personality is quite chill, and with her one floppy ear, white spot between her […]
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Shama Sanctuary has been anything but a peaceful safe haven for woodland creatures this summer. When Eric and I returned home in early July after a few weeks of travel, we were excited to meet this year’s fawns. Lily gave birth on May 29th and Pearl and Sparkle likely did soon thereafter. Although initially as […]
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It’s been six months. In the love letter I read to Yoda minutes before he transitioned to formlessness, I promised him I would find shama amidst the grief of losing him. A promise made on a deathbed is a promise one must keep. Yet I had absolutely no idea how to find inner peace while […]
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Three weeks ago my precious Yoda left this world. Eric and I decided we wanted to set him free with a celebration of his large life. The last day of his life began with baking a “Yoda Pie” in his honor. The three of us ate the pie for lunch, and Yoda devoured his piece […]
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I said goodbye to my furry shama warrior on Tuesday night. My friend Dorry Bless, a Life-Cycle Celebrant, conducted a beautiful ceremony celebrating his life, and then he was set free in Eric’s and my arms in the studio next to the grand piano, his favorite place in the house. I read him this thank […]
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I have a super hero power that I invoke when Yoda and I road trip: I luxuriate in being invisible. No one knows me, so we sit and people watch for hours without interruption, without that maddening and foolish little voice in my head that fears judgment for having walked outside with my hair slung […]
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Dear 2016, Last night Yoda and I were walking alone in the dark. Dark as in pitch black. Our driveway is about ¼ mile long gravel path, so trekking to the road and back has become our evening ritual. We are in the woods so there are no street lights. The only light was a narrow […]
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In 2009, when I lived in Los Angeles, my friend Angela and I decided to enroll our dogs in agility classes. Angela’s dog Henry is a Bichon mix and has the fine motor skills of a stunt dog. Yoda, being part boxer, has the muscular physique of an athlete. Angela and I were convinced our […]
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Life has an interesting way of forcing us to face our fears. It’s terrifying to face them, but it’s also wholly liberating once you have done so. The past five years of my life have involved near constant facing of fears: driving around the U.S. with my dog, moving across country to a state where […]
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