In the last two weeks, I’ve buried three wild birds- a robin, a pine siskin, and a hummingbird- such a tiny, little body. The last two were from my cat which makes it even worse.
Two dear friends were also lain to rest from this life. One passed away unexpectedly in his sleep. The other reached the end of an eight-year struggle with ovarian cancer.
The events in Ukraine disturb me daily. The weather has been unusually cold and wet on top of such sorrow.
Continue reading “The Art of Finding Solace”
Last week was difficult. I had to put down my almost 14-year-old Golden Retriever, and the little stray cat, Lizzie that adopted us last year died due to complications due to feline leukemia. Dougie was a devoted companion for years, Lizzie a bright spot in our lives her sweet face peaking in our screen door requesting a meal.
language of the eyes, of touch actions and acceptance. Now the grief has subsided, I am filled with gratitude I had the privilege of borrowing their sweet souls on their short stays on planet earth.
Every Friday I head over to the Newberg Animal Shelter for my standing date with cats from 4-6PM. This is not glamorous work by any means. Basically, I do the afternoon feeding and cleaning of all the kitties in the shelter except the ones in the quarantine room. I volunteered as I wanted to do something for the community and all things furry and four-legged who do not have a voice.
I’m still working away trying to hone monotype techniques on my gelatin plate. A monoptype is a one -of-a-kind print. I cheifly use stencils and then sometimes stamps to make my images. Then I go back in with colored pencil to highlight. The following two prints were inspired by my visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in May. I closed down the place gawking at all the beautiful seal life.
After my dear cat Emmy Lou passed away about 12 years ago, I’ve had a huge kitty void in my life. Unfortunately, my dog combination including an Australian Cattle Dog has
not been ideal for another cat. Cattle Dogs are known cat chasers/ killers. Other than that, he’s a peach. So imagine my surprise when the Siamese mix cat that appeared in the barn about a year ago showed up on the porch begging for food. We plied her with food; dry food with wet food and a little cream in a bowl. We knew she was the one who killed the destruct-o mole in the vegetable garden & was keeping the mice in check around the chicken pen. We named her “Luna” as she only showed up at night.
About 2 months later, a little brown tabby moved in under the house and could be seen along the perimeter of the yard. She was so elusive, I named her “Phantom.” Then one day after eating the leavings from Luna she too showed up on the porch begging. Now we make sure both cats get a meal. These animals were probably dumped by their owners an all too common occurrence in this rural area. We enjoy their nightly visits from our kitchen window and are considered part of the family. They have inspired both a poem and some artwork.
By Alanna Pass 