Changing Seasons

My sneakers were soaked by the time I finished checking the electro-net in the pasture this morning. The  autumnal dew falls much heavier and lingers longer in the cool air. Holly had set fence around the hay field behind the studio on Friday, and the little ewes were delighted to have new places to explore when I opened the gate today.

Ewe lambs fall garden

Sheep fall hillside

The rest of the ewe flock has run of the sugar bush, further uphill where the  maples and beech are showy and colorful. My garden continues to flourish despite several frosts. I love the juxtaposition of the colors of summer and fall.

Fall garden

This Columbus Day weekend is lovely, but a difficult time for me and my family. I'm writing this from the Mass. Turnpike. Mike and I are en route to the Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton. Our eleven-year-old Golden Retriever, Emma, has been a patient there since Thursday morning. What started last Monday as a series of slips and stumbles has rapidly progressed into a full-blown crisis. Radiographs and MRIs show an abnormal mass on her brain. The pressure has caused her to lose physical control and posed a heap of complications. We meet with a neurosurgeon when we get there, to learn our options.

Emma

I took this pic yesterday when we visited her. She was alert, very happy to see us, but clearly not herself. I'm anxious to get there now, to kiss her pointy little nose. Please hold a good thought for her.