a little bit of skye

anyone who is a friend of mine on social media knows all about our new dog, skye, as the postings for the last three weeks have been naught else. 

and three weeks it will be exactly, tomorrow, on thanksgiving, from when we adopted her from the atlantic region central border collie rescue.

we are indeed very thankful to have this amazing kindred spirit and gentle soul join us. 

this is the first time we met skye. amazing with tristan and tashi and so very, very happy to make our acquaintance. it was love at first sight. she has her paw on tristan's lap here, letting us know that we are to be her humans.

and this is adoption day. we picked her up at her foster mom's workplace in charlottesville, and drove home with a new baby. we were all smiles.

we don't know much of her back story. she is not quite two, possibly a pure red border collie, or maybe has a little bit of something else mixed in. she is recovering from a leg injury that likely resulted from a car. she is not supposed to run just yet, but this girl sure wants to bound and sprint in the great out of doors! that is our biggest challenge, encouraging her to take it easy when we are out in nature.

and she now makes ours a house of three pets. luna and loki cat were a little put out, but frankly, are taking it so very much better than i could have ever imagined. the cats co-exist in the same room as her,  cautiously slip past her, and sometimes tell her who is boss. skye is totally passive around them, but for an occasion or two when she seems to want to play. the cats are not quite ready for that!

this girl gets us out the door, rain, shine, or sleet, at 6:30 am, at 12:30am, and many times in between! i have listened to the immense silence of the night, gazed at the brightest of stars, listened to birds in the brush, and awakened to a cold blast of dawn in the throat, while walking our new dog. i am so grateful for this link to nature.

we love snuggling with her and brushing her thick auburn coat. she is comfortable when our eyes lock with her icy blue orbs and likes to give us lots of kisses. she is beyond sweet and such a welcome friend. 

and she is a super-model, yes. we have joined charlottesville's downtown mall dog culture and can't seem to get very far before someone is crooning over her and setting up their tripod!

she is a nearby comfort  in the home and a great mate on the trail. 

we welcome skye, and look forward to all the new places she'll lead us!

gratitude day 1: feline affection

we have had our dear cats, luna and loki, for eleven years. tashi and i went to a pumpkin patch one autumn day and came home with sibling cats. they are quirky, loving, hilarious, and sometimes very naughty. they offer their purr therapy on the darkest days and arrange themselves in storm pose when bad weather is immanent.  they are very patient with tristan who likes to test their boundaries and less patient with everyone when it's time for a meal. luna is particularly fond of tashi and tries very hard to follow her into her room at night. tashi has sadly had to shut her out due to a developing allergy, but they still bond a lot in other spaces of the house. loki used to be in the habit of fighting other cats and climbing trees when dogs appeared, but he keeps himself out of trouble these days. luna can be a bit aloof and has a way of watching things unfold from her safe and distant perch. but when she decides to be affectionate she really has a way of turning up the sweetness volume.

i would love someday to have a pair of dogs too. 

but for now we are happy with these mysterious creatures who seem to see through
the walls of our house, and into the chambers of our human hearts. 

(thanks to dan for the above two photos!)