Sunset Dog

He sits on the back porch, warming his tired bones
His hair matches the color of the leaves that are changing on the maple in the front yard.
He's slowing down.....ever so slightly....this ginger dog of mine.
But this afternoon, that isn't on his mind....he's just sitting on the back porch as the sun sets, his head drooping, his eyes closing in a nap.

I wonder if, when he dreams, if he dreams of the days when he could play without tiring.....does he dream of the days when it was just the two of us....no Corky, no goats, no angry cat.

And so, my friend, this boy who's been by my side for 12 years is turning gray.....his eyes are a little milky, but they sparkle if there's the promise of a ball....or a frisbee....or bubbles.....he limps if he's played too much frisbee....or when it's cold....but he runs through the woods like a wild dog.

I'm so thankful for my sweet Charley....this boy whose been by my side since I was 32....we've seen a lot together.....but he always has a smile for me.....and I am blessed that he chose me all those years ago.

Apple Picking Time

I've always loved this time of year....the beginning of school with new clothes and school supplies...the cooling nights....my birthday right around the corner.

What I remember about this time of year is the house we moved to when I was 14....it was a log house....not a super fancy "Sunset" house...but a simple log house with gables and a door that the man who built the house made the hinges and latch for....it was a warm cozy house that really shone in the fall....I think Thanksgiving was that houses' favorite holiday....it was born for that day.

The other thing this house had was a small orchard slope with about 8 apple trees....and what I remember is my mom picking those apples....and there always being apples for pie, apple sauce....tons of apple sauce....I don't think we ever bought it.....apple butter, apple muffins, apple anything....I even remember when I got my first apartment my mom brought apples to my roommate and I....so I made apple muffins and pie.

A few years ago, my parents sold the log house...my mom gave me her Hot Water Canner and a Ball Canning Book, and that got me canning, I made jams and jellies, but never apple butter or apple sauce because why would I buy apples for that?   I remember shopping for "baking apples" for the first time in my memory....it was so strange, why on earth would you BUY apples for a pie?  What a waste....

Fast forward a few years to our little house on the hill....we have our own orchard filled will all sorts of apple varieties....and yesterday, while I was picking my apples to make some jellies, I thought of this time of year in the Log House, and I felt close to my mom and that time....I think that was the happiest my family ever was....that may just be the nostalgia....but I remember loving coming home after school , my dog,  Sundance meeting me at the bus stop and walking up the dirt road knowing that there would be something that was appley and baked because my mom had picked some apples that morning.  I remembered how it felt when she brought apple sauce to me when I was in College.....how the taste of cinnamon and nutmeg made me think of her kitchen and the smell of the lindseed oil my dad put on the logs....I think as a preservative.

So today I am thankful for the fact that the more things change, the more they stay the same....I'm thankful that I am now the apple lady with baskets full of apples, which we will make pies and jellies and cider with....I'm thankful for my mom who made this time of year special for us, just by picking apples....and for the fact that I DON'T have to buy apples for pies this year either.