Category: Life

Haiku: A Cat Comes In From The Cold

~ Carrie

Sometimes, animals come into your life unexpectedly, like this little tabby that mysteriously appeared one day a few years ago. Sadly, since we live in a rural area, “dumping” pets happens with some regularity – a terrible practice because there are so many dangers to domestic animals allowed to roam (predators like coyotes, cars, exposure to the elements, starvation). Since we already had several cats, we called local shelters to see if any could take her, only to find out that they were full. Small wonder that some people choose to dump their pets when there are no shelters to accept them.

In any case, she stayed with us (and was promptly spayed!). She’s such a lovely, calm, and charming cat that I can’t help but think that she was meant to find us and make our lives richer. I’m thankful for our “windowsill cat” – and now, she only looks out of windows, not in.

Haiku: Lonely Bones

~ Carrie

Walking through a pasture yesterday, I spied something white in the long grass and discovered that it was a partial skull (the mandible is missing, and it’s flipped upside down). The deer to whom the skull belongs has clearly been dead for a while, and given the austere time of year, its remains could have been scavenged by some hungry animal and the skull left where the meal ended.

Small herds of deer visit our property, grazing and resting, from time to time. Maybe this was one of those visiting deer or its offspring.

I can’t help but wonder how it came to rest here…dragged by a coyote, perhaps? It’s a stark reminder of the fleeting and fragile nature of life, especially for creatures that are wild and free.

Musings: Writing As Sustenance

~ Carrie

It’s a special time of day: I’m sitting in the breakfast “nook” in my kitchen in early morning, sipping chai tea, listening to Yaz (and wondering if the song “Only You” reminds me more of The [British] Office or Fringe) and letting the creative juices flow. I luxuriate in the quiet and solitude, knowing that – right now – the Oxford comma rules supreme here. After years of trying different professional roles, I’ve finally come to the point where I realize that I am, first and foremost, a writer…and everything else will be inextricably interwoven with that identity.

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Haiku: Tidal Pull

~ Carrie

Watching the motion of waves has always been meditative for me, soothing and comforting. Is it because I’m a water sign? Perhaps…or perhaps it’s some faint memory of being in utero. Regardless, I could sit and stare at the water all day, thinking deep thoughts and wondering about the life in that environment, a world inhospitable to me but perfectly suited to them. Are there really two worlds, one on land and one in the sea?

Thinking about ocean life means thinking about how humans have impacted the denizens of the waterworld, like the fact that there are estimated to only be around 400 North Atlantic right whales alive now. Having been hunted to the brink of extinction in the beginning of the 20th century, banning the hunting of this species allowed their numbers to very slowly recover…until this last decade, which saw unusually high mortality, attributed primarily to human causes (ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear).

On this trajectory, one day, there may be no more North Atlantic right whales. And the planet will be poorer for it.

Read more about the plight of the North Atlantic right whales here.