And then there was one.

Not long after we moved here the Big Fella decided that we needed a dog.  He saw that someone local had puppies they were selling and went to look at them.  We ended up with two.

Here's the link to the post about them, with photos.

The female, Choccie, let the Little Big Fella do just about anything to her.  He could pick her up and pat her and make her dance and chase her around.  And she'd placidly (although not always happily) let him.

Recently the dogs have been running up and down the front fence "chasing" cars (especially utes), motorbikes and people.

Unfortunately today Choccie got out the gate when it was briefly opened, chased a truck and managed to get run over, dying instantly.  Thankfully(?), the Little Big Fella and I were at a party so the Big Fella took her and buried her.

Obviously there's sadness in our household tonight.  Frankie (our male dog) keeps sitting watching out the front.  I'm pretty sure he's wondering where she is.

The Little Big Fella had a big cry and we talked about how sad it was and what we loved about her and that we'll have to make sure we play a lot with Frankie now because he'll be lonely.

The Little Big Fella constantly amazes me in how well he "gets over" things.  After his big cry and our talk he went on with doing whatever he was doing, and playing and talking.  I have no doubt that there will be intermittent tears over the next few days, and recollections for a long time to come, but he's accepted what happened and is moving on.

So we're down to one dog and no chooks.  I'm beginning to wonder if we're meant to have animals at all!!!

Choccie was a bundle of energy and excitement.  The character "Scrat" from the Ice Age movies could easily have been based on her!  Although her barking wasn't my favourite thing, she was a stereotypical loving and devoted dog.  All she ever wanted was food and love, and we were happy to give her both.

We'll miss you Choccie.

Loved and lost

I just found out tonight that a friend of mine has died.  She died several months ago but I'm feeling awful that I didn't know and didn't have the opportunity to support her and those who loved her so much at the end of her life.

I've had so many wonderful people come in and out of my life.  I've lived in several towns and made friends with many, almost family with some.

But the reality of my life is that I've lost contact with people who have been incredibly dear to me.  And even though we have have Facebook and e-mail and Skype and relatively cheap phone calls, I have lost some of these connections.

The pragmatic part of me points out that it would be impossible to maintain the intensity of friendships that I have had.  I literally don't have enough time.

But I guess I just wanted to take this moment to say to those of you that read this post;

"Thank you for being my friend.  The times that we had are as rich and dear to me now as they were then.  I miss you and I am so grateful to have known you."

Horror in the backyard

Yesterday morning I received a text from a neighbour who has chickens.  Apparently their chicken gate wasn't closed properly the night before and a dog had gotten in and killed all 6 of them.

I was so glad I'd shut our chooks away that night, because sometimes we leave them to sleep wherever they like.  Probably a bit stupid being in the country with the possibility of foxes and feral cats or whatever.

Well, later that day I was in the garden pulling weeds (seriously, that is not my favourite job!) and I noticed a visiting dog in our back neighbours' yard.  I assumed that they knew about it and were trying to get this beautiful Husky to mate with their Labrador (or maybe she's a golden retriever - I'm not sure of the difference).

Our little male, Frankie, was not happy to have this Husky hanging around.  I mean, he thinks that yard is his as well, so to have a strange male dog hanging about (and I'm pretty sure he thinks Chloe is his girlfriend) was making him cranky.  The two of them were having a pee contest all over the fence too!  Ew!

After quite a while (at least half an hour, maybe even an hour) the Husky suddenly jumped the fence and attacked our silky chook.  Thankfully the Big Fella was around and chased the Husky away before it got our other chooks as well, but I watched my poor Silky stumble for about 30 seconds before collapsing and dying.

I know it's just a chicken, but honestly, watching that was horrific.  Silky, although she'd been quite shy of us, had become part of our family and it was awful to see her go like that.

The Little Big Fella had heard the commotion and come outside to see what was going on.  He saw Silky and knew that something wasn't quite right.  I explained to him that the dog had attacked her and that she was dead - her life was all gone.

You know, he amazes me, that child.  He accepted it.  Just like that.  It wasn't that he didn't care or understand either, he just accepted it.

The dog was collected by its owner a little later.  Apparently it gets out often and has attacked chooks before.  There's a bit I could say about responsible pet ownership but we'll leave that one alone for today.  Suffice for now to say that he offered to replace the chickens (ours and our neighbours').

The whole incident makes me very wary about letting our chooks roam free in our yard though.  But I don't want them to be locked up in their area all the time either (as nice as it is).  I guess we just have to gamble and hope that they'll be safe!

Life, love and the end of it all

I've watched a couple of movies over the past few days, and had a couple of conversations that have got me thinking about the big issues: life, love and death.

What's the meaning of life?  What makes a good life?
Is love the most important thing?  And if so, what does that look like?
What happens when you die?  What does it feel like?  And how come some people seem quite ready to go, while others are hanging on with every ounce of effort they have?

See?  The big issues!

And I'm not even going to attempt to answer any of those questions here because I suspect the answers are either unobtainable or completely individual.

But, because I have a blog, and because this is what I've been contemplating, I'll do a little bit of blurting and processing and see what we come up with :-D

We watched "Meet Joe Black" the other night.  I love that movie!  I love the concept of it, I love "death"'s naive, semi-vulnerable character, I love the presentation of the big themes of life.  I love the way they present the concept of a striking love that lasts a lifetime, where each knows the worst of the other and is still happy to hang around.

Which reminded me of a scene in "Good Will Hunting" where Robin Williams' character is recalling his dead wife.  He remembers all the odd, quirky habits that made her unique, and these were the things that he missed most about her.

Which got me thinking about the quirkiness of my husband and son.

The Big Fella snores... and I love it!  When we first got married I remember laying in bed next to him (weird concept, but we didn't sleep together until then) and trying to stifle my laughter as I listened to the unique rhythm of his breathing.  I love it!

I love the way he responds to books and movies.  I love his insatiable appetite for knowledge, and that his integrity and character mean I can trust him with my heart and my life.

I fell in love with my son the moment he was born (which is lucky for both of us or we might not have survived those first few years).  I'd never believed in the concept of love at first sight until then.  And I know not everyone has that experience.  But ever since that moment I have been privileged to discover my amazing Little Big Fella's quirks and personality.  I'm learning that, like his dad, he's not a follower.  He has a fantastic sense of humour.  He's a little bit precocious.  He is imaginative and sensitive and such a boy!

I am so privileged to have amazing people in my life!  Not just my boys, but friends (old and new) and family.

We watched "Eat, Pray, Love" this evening.  My favourite part of the movie is when she's in Italy because she experiences the amazing phenomena of friendship and family.  I am seriously lucky to have grown up in a wonderful family!  I am the oldest of four children and my parents are still together and very much in love, as are my grandparents.  My parents worked really hard to make sure we spoke to, and treated each other with respect.  Yep, we fought like siblings do, but we have always loved each other, and the impact of growing up in that environment is indescribable!

I also grew up in the church, which, for me was an extension of my family.  They supported and challenged me.  We had a lot of fun times together.  And every time we moved towns, the church was like an instant family wherever we went.

For me, life seems to be about people and your relationships with them.  When people get close to death, they seem to want to spend as much time as they can with the people they love.  And I'm guessing the more people you love, or the more you've invested in those relationships, the happier your life is and the more content you'll be when it comes to an end.