Author Archives: hal

Remembering Pepper-Do-You-Want-Her?

Today marks the second anniversary of Pepper’s passing … and we find ourselves reminiscing about her and Penny-Penny-Penny! a bit more as time passes.

We have been seriously considering bringing another dog into the house again … identifying the “right” dog to fit in our household is taking a bit more time than we’d like but we’re of the mind that when it’s right for the dog and for us, we’ll know.

As always, Luv you, Pepper.

Remembering Cherry Berry

A note to commemorate the two year anniversary passing of Cherry Berry.  It’s difficult for me to imagine that it’s been two years since we last held her and said goodbye to her … in a way it seems like yesterday and yet it seems so far off in the distance.

In the time since her passing I’ve had a great deal of time to reflect on her many wonderful qualities, what she meant to us and the impact she had on our lives … and I stand by my feelings and emotions of the day: she was remarkable in many ways but most especially her closeness and loyalty to me, personally. Through each of my surgeries and recoveries she returned to my side and rarely left until if / when I let her know I was ok with being alone.

Here is a post I made not long after her passing.

As she was taking her last breaths I thanked her for her care and affection and that I would never forget her devotion; I mean that, still.

Every night when I went to bed she would come in, jump up on the bed, then on my chest to lean over and “kiss” me goodnight by rubbing her nose against my lips.  I would always thank her (“… that’s very kind of you”) and then I would say, “Luv you, CherBear”.

And I do luv her, still.

 

Remembering Pepper-Do-You-Want-Her?

Incredibly enough, today is the one year anniversary of the loss of our very own force of nature, Pepper-Do-You-Want-Her?  As I said at the time, our household would take a long time to adjust to her absence and return to “normal” … we are still a long way from that place as we sometimes expect her to come leaping out of a resting place or tear across the back yard to chase a squirrel or fence-roaming cat … or run, whining and barking, to the front door to welcome “Mom” home.

Luv you Pep!

Remembering Pepper-Do-You-Want-Her?

 

Happy 1st Year Anniversary, Bridgette and Grayson!

Today marks the 1st anniversary of Bridgette and Grayson coming to live with us … and what a year it’s been!

I’m very pleased to say that, all things considered, it’s been a very positive experience for everyone involved — Calvin, kittens … and us. To be candid, the year has included many more challenges than I imagine or expected, but we got through it pretty much intact 😉

I’ve taken a ton of videos and pics this last year and will try to begin posting some  over the next few days.  In the meantime, here’s a pic from today with both of them guarding my office door so I can’t slip away without them knowing about it.

bridgette_grayson_outside hal ofc

Thanks for stopping by, I’ll see ya when I see ya.

hal

We are very sad, RIP Swanee

One day in late summer of 2008 there was suddenly a full-grown and gorgeous swan — eventually nicknamed Swanee — in our local perc ponds on the Los Gatos Creek Trail.  Over the years I and thousands of other park & trail visitors have enjoyed seeing and interacting with Swanee whenever we saw her.  When you called out her name she’d raise her head in recognition and if we were close enough she would walk over to visit … she loved people and people loved her.

So imagine my shock when i visited the trail today and saw this poster … such a large loss for those of us who appreciate our local wildlife and loved seeing and interacting with Swanee.

RIP Swanee

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Here is what I wrote about the first time I first saw Swanee.

 

Remembering our CatGirl, Pandora

It doesn’t seem possible, but today marks the 5 year anniversary of the passing of Pandora, the first of our TwoBigCats family.  Not a day goes by that I don’t “see” her in one of her favorite spots around the house … by a window, sniffing the fresh air as she lay down in the sun or on “Pan’s Island” in the kitchen, asking me for a bit of ham or tuna … or waiting by the tub to serve as lifeguard to my nightly bath.

Over time, the pain of losing her has been replaced by the glow of the many happy times and memories we shared with her at home or at the market and always with our friends.

For those interested in seeing a few pics of Pan, here’s a link to the postings I made at the time of her passing.

Love you, CatGirl