11 January 2022
Snow started falling in Vermont around mid-November, and by the time we returned from a Thanksgiving trip to Chicago and pilgrimage to the Little Yellow House by the lake, the ground was blanketed in white.
The animal footprints left in the snow reveal heavily trafficked paths and a flurry of activity in the hills and around the property. We’re turning into trackers. Less foliage in the woods means we can traverse across the hills and find new paths and tucked away places. Our walks are slower these days- but still trying to get outside despite the cold and snow. We’re scouting out campsites and continuing to find old apple trees growing despite the odds in the forested hills.
We have 1 less cat these days. Said goodbye to my favorite shrimp Dec. 30 2021. Cobweb and I have been seriously bonded since I picked her out from the animal shelter on South Western in Chicago in July of 2006. Her siblings had been adopted as a pair, and she was left alone in the cage until I arrived later that afternoon and scooped her up. She was a faithful companion, bedtime snuggler, and familiar for 15 years. HRH Cobweb was pampered, beloved, sweet, mischievous, playful, and adoring (of me) up until the end. It was the most difficult decision I have ever had to make.
LM is unfazed by her absence. A brave lion.
We welcomed the New Year quietly, and thus far we’re entering 2022 with ideas percolating, inspired and focused.
