Meg M

With the time change, on our evening hikes I just see bobbing lights in the distance.

Always. Who could resist those faces?!?

Five dogs (three yellow labs and two cream retrievers) are sitting on the kitchen floor hoping to help clean up after dinner. Raven (middle) has her tongue out in extra preparation.

Five dogs (three yellow labs and two cream retrievers) are sitting on the kitchen floor hoping to help clean up after dinner.

Ready!!

Five white(ish) dogs are all curled up, asleep, on one elevated dog bed. They are ignoring the whole second empty dog bed immediately next to occupied one. Difficult to tell where one dug end and another begins. I’m fairly certain we’ve exceeded the weight rating.

Seems like in this configuration they could actually fit a 6th.

This is by choice. There are copious (extra, empty) beds and lots of blankets.

…thank you for all the once and future joy, tears, laughter, and shivers all your books have inspired. We are more grateful than I can say. 🙏🙏🙏

A hand is holding a (beautiful) hardback copy of the Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow up against the steering wheel of a car.

@alixeharrow.bsky.social My son and I *just* finished reading 10,000 Doors of January last night (a beloved rite of passage in our house for all three children - “mom! you’re crying about Bad AGAIN?!”) and my bookstore called this morning to tell me the Everlasting had arrived…

Five white/yellow dogs are lying on two elevated dog beds. Four (Pipit, Raven, Wigeon, and Merlin) are all piled up on one bed (to be fair, the larger of the two, but still) while Kestrel is flying solo on her bed.

It’s okay to not want to be part of the crowd.

Tuna, a tortoiseshell cat sits (very well-disguised) in the crook of a large maple tree whose leaves are just starting to turn.

Autumnal forest cat (zoomed)

Tuna, a tortoiseshell cat sits (very well-disguised) in the crook of a large maple tree whose leaves are just starting to turn.

Autumnal forest cat.

*this is the absolute limit of my ability to stomach anything political right now. Happy weekend everyone.

L-R: Kestrel (lab), Raven (cream retriever), Pipit (cream retriever), and Merlin (lab) are all sitting on a gravel road with ferns and green trees behind them. All four are smiling with tongues out.

Four dogs who thought their afternoon hike had been vetoed only to discover there were enough votes for an override.*

Laundry: always a joint (ad)venture.

She especially loves when I put produce items in the basket for her to haul but we’ve learned the hard way her siblings tend to help themselves while she’s carrying it and that interferes with her joy.

A tisket, a tasket…

Five white/yellow dogs are lying on the kitchen floor. They are making moving about the kitchen nearly impossible but at least I am well-supervised. Bottom to top: Pipit, Raven, Merlin, Kestrel, and Wigeon.

Sunday night meal prep with my retriever overlords.

Aye, that’d do.

Egret (left) and Heron are two large, white livestock guardian dogs. Egret is sitting and Heron is lying in the dirt but both are looking up at the camera with expectation.

Ready for action. Or dinner. Really, both.

Friday hurdles ✅✅✅✅✅

Today is one of those days when I wish I shared Wigeon’s ability to sleep through *anything*

Five white dogs are cuddled up in their beds. Everyone is exhausted. Physically, mentally, existentially.

Whooo boy was that a Monday.

Egret, a white livestock guardian dog, is lying on the barn floor with straw baked in the background. Her eyes are tightly shut and her head is on her front paws. She works real hard.

Heron, a white livestock guardian dog, is lying upsidedown on the barn floor up next to the wall of the tack room. His back legs are up in the air and both his front paws are against the tack room wall. His head is twisted to the side and his ears are askew. His eyes are open but he is DEFINITELY off duty.

Overnight shift was rough.

Trying to play tug with a bone >> using rope toy specifically designed for tug that’s on the floor right next to them 🤦‍♀️

Heron and Egret (two white livestock guardian dogs) are both standing on their hind legs with their front paws on the top of a stall door, looking at new kittens who have arrived in the barn. Rosie, a bay mare, is visible next to them.

Pipit and Raven, English cream retrievers, are standing on a deck with a lake in the background. They took an authorized swim and are gazing through the slider in the hopes someone takes pity on them. I did.

Thanks! Not pictured in this particular photo: Egret, Heron, Raven, and Pipit! (In our house there is rarely space for a human on any bed, chair, couch, or ottoman)

Three yellow labs are all asleep on a bed covered in a gray comforter. Kestrel is on her side and Wigeon is using her as a pillow. Merlin is on his stomach with his head on his front paws, looking at the camera. There is no room for humans.

I’ve learned to be a contortionist bc it’s the only way I can get into bed. Worth it.

She wants to do whatever the cat wants her to do SO BADLY but she has no idea what that is…

Caught between a rock (cat) and a hard place (also cat)

Raven, an English cream retriever, is SO DELIGHTED you’re here that she cannot even contain her tongue in her mouth.

You look away for one second and BAM!

Kestrel, a yellow lab, is standing in the kitchen and looking up at the camera with a bone in her mouth.

Delish.

Filbert, a Siamese mix cat, is lying on a gray and white rug in bright sunlight. He’s on his side and his front and back legs are extended, showing off the patches of white on his belly.

Find your own sunny spot and take a breath. We made it to the weekend.