I will start by saying that this summer has been the best summer of my life. It was full of fun, peace, love, and joy. What more could a kind soul ask for?
I made a choice at the beginning of the summer to relax and not put as much pressure on myself to be productive to the point of exhaustion. I decided to set and work toward small attainable goals. But, first and foremost I decided to enjoy and really be present in everything that I attempted.
I tried a new way of gardening this year which didn’t yield an abundance of food but I chalked it up to a learning experience. That said, I am very happy to have an easy and relaxed harvest season this year. The items that I did harvest will help out nicely with our winter food needs and grocery bill, in the long months of our Maritime winter. With my harvest duties and time requirements being a little lighter this year, I will have more time to enjoy the fall season. Which is my absolute favorite time of year!
We had more rain than usual this year in our portion of New Brunswick. Which had a contributing effect on the growth and yield in my gardens. I will not complain however. It seems to me that other parts of our Country and the world had far more devastating weather patterns to deal and live with. In my opinion, we are fortunate to have only had a rainy summer. Some parts of our Country had historic fires to cope with.
I made the most of the days that were sunny and beautiful and spent a great deal of time outdoors enjoying every second. It is amazing how much one’s degree of presence can improve one’s view on life.
I learned some new songs this year and in doing so pushed myself a few steps outside my comfort zone. Some of them really stretched my abilities and I am extremely pleased with the outcome. With my new songs, I attended some music gigs, outdoor parties and jams with the band and had a blast!
As I mentioned in my last post, I checked off some of the items on my bucket list this summer. In addition to those events, I also spent a fair amount of time out on my ATV enjoying nature and our wonderful New Brunswick trails with my husband and some great friends. Now that we are getting into the fall months, we have decided to make the most of the beauty of autumn here in our neck of the woods by planning some off-road day trips and excursions on our ATV’s and truck. This year, for the second year in a row, my husband is going to take two consecutive weeks of fall vacation to spend with me and our growing animal family.
Speaking of our growing animal family, I have a big announcement to make. After a lot of discussion, we have decided to get a puppy. We have been without a dog for the last few years, since my heart attack. This is mostly because I had it stuck in my head that we should not have any more dogs due to my health and mobility issues. This along with being told by my doctors that I most likely will not live as long as someone who has fully functioning heart, played on me. That said however, after the summer I have just had and how good I have been feeling, my outlook is now a little different. I have changed my thought patterns and done my best to look after both my physical and emotional health. I have decided to free myself from the good opinions of other people and do and experience the things that make me happy. Having a puppy makes me happy! It makes me extremely happy, in fact! I have sooooo missed having a dog friend in my life. Dogs have played a huge roll in my life ever since I was born and not having that kind of friendship over, the last few years, has always felt like something was missing. It was like putting a puzzle together only to get to the last spot and find that the final piece is missing… I just put the last piece into my puzzle and it is now complete.
My new little boy is a Mastiff. I have recently come to learn that there are 14 different types in the mastiff breed. My Hank has lineage from the Canary, Italian and Neapolitan mastiff blood lines. In my opinion, with the traits and characteristics of these three breeds combined in him, he makes the perfect boy for me. He was born on July 19th of this year and he has been with me for two weeks now. He is a sweet, goofy, silly, clumsy and loving little boy. I’m in total love with him and though my husband would not want me to say this or tell anyone about his soft side, he has grown quite fond of him as well. The family that I have chosen finally feels complete.
The way I look at it, even if something were to happen to me sooner rather than later, I have made the most of my opportunity to share happiness, love and life with such a beautiful creature. Hank already loves going for drives in our four wheel drive truck. He knows his name and is coming along nicely with his basic obedience commands. His is also doing very well with house training and adapting to our schedules and routines.
He already weighs almost 20 lbs and will end up weighing between 120 – 150 lbs once fully grown. We decided that a big dog would be best so that we can train him to be somewhat of a service dog for me. I fall a lot because of my mobility issues and he will be big enough to help me in my times of need. I still have bad days from time to time and having him here to help me will help to put my husband’s mind at ease, when he can’t be with me.
Hank is slowly gaining the trust of my girl Jam. She was used to dogs being around in her younger years and politely tells him when he is invading her space and comfort level. Jelly and Berry don’t really know what to make of him yet. They are cautious around him so I make sure that I carve out a little extra attention time for them both. I think this will help with the gradual association process nicely. Our outdoor friend Missy, who came from the farm across the road, is no stranger to the ways of dogs and puppies, as they too had dogs. Of course last but not least, Waffles the laying hen is standing her ground with him. Hank listens and responds well to me when we’re doing the chores in the morning, where she is concerned. This is especially good when he starts to get the zoomies and wants to play. Waffles starts to cluck and I tell him to leave her alone. He then will sit in front of her and almost hang his head in disappointment. It is really quite funny to watch. Waffles is the boss and puffs up to tell him when to back off. I am truly enjoying my life and the animal family that surrounds me.
I will keep you all posted on Hank and the rest of my little farm family. What I would like to ask all of you is this. Are there pieces of your puzzle missing? Which pieces are they? Have you ever thought about it? Or, do you have the right number of pieces, but some of them are just wedged into the wrong space. Maybe you have been working some pieces from a completely different puzzle? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments.
As always,
Love Tanya Jean