To everything there is a season...

To everything there is a season,
And a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die…..
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn , and a time to dance….

I have always loved that bit of wisdom, and never is it more meaningful than today as I mourn Caleb’s passing while smiling at the antics of my other animal companions as they adjust to life without Caleb and as spring shows its face once again.

My house feels empty without my Caleb – he had such a “presence”. Last night, when I went to feed the piglets and close up the barn for the night, I thought how strange it was not to have Caleb by my side. I would just call to him “time to feed the piggies” and there he would be, barreling out the door ahead of me, straight to the barn door.

But animals know that we must live in the present, that life continues and new challenges and new wonders emerge every day. As I walked into the barn at dusk, feeling alone and lonely, I sensed a shadow beside me…….and there she was, my Charley. She had followed me in and was standing in Caleb’s spot by the feed bins as I prepared the piggies' dinner, a none-too-shabby substitute companion for that first night of grief.

And when I got home from work today, when all three dogs would normally bound to the back door to say “Welcome home!”, there were once again three critters –- because Allie the cat had decided to join the dogs in the welcoming ritual.

I have lost dogs before, but none so young as Caleb – a dog in the spring of his life. And I had so hoped to share the long days of summer with him, once my classes end for the semester – to take him swimming again, to have picnics with him on the rise at the back of the pasture, to have him by my side as I putter around my little farm. But it is not to be – his time came early.

And yet, life doesn’t just plod along, it laughs and dances along. Martin the alpaca is sunning in the pasture. The piglets are rooting, snouts deep in the finally-soft dirt, looking for those fresh spring shoots starting to sprout; Charley and Belle run happily in the field, Belle’s arthritic hips benefiting from the warmer weather and softer ground. And I grabbed my camera to capture this moment in time when the catkins on the hazelnut trees have appeared almost overnight, and bees are beginning their hunt for nectar and the birds are starting to think about nesting.

Spring is here, new life emerges, and my critters take good care of me and make me laugh. To every thing there is a season. My season with Caleb was one of my best ever. Who knows what joys the next season may hold?

Martin sunning in the pasture