A Good Father of the Feathered Kind

A bright sight on this gray and rainy day... A male cardinal feeding his young offspring. This male is caring for two males and one female. Parents continue to feed chicks for 25 to 56 days after they fledge from the nest.

The young bird flutters its wings in food-begging fashion...

This Cardinal continues to feed his young even after they have grown almost as large as he.

What could be more heart warming than this sight on a dreary day...just outside my door.

Our final hours together

My loyal companion, Sierra and I are spending our final hours together. Tomorrow my kind, compassionate vet will come to euthanize her. Sierra developed a baseball-size hematoma on her upper back about 2 weeks ago, which did not appear ominous at first. The hematoma seemed to be confined below the skin and above the muscle. Dr. Beth Mosley (the most wonderful vet in the world) drained as much blood out of it as she could, put her on antibiotics and said to keep an eye on it. We returned a week later when the hematoma filled up again. It was aspirated again and blood work done, which revealed anemia and other abnormalities, but nothing very serious... just what you might see in an older dog. But by this time, Sierra's appetite had diminished. She was eating only a tiny bit of food, which is very unusual for her.

To make a long and heartbreaking story short, Sierra stopped eating, she is too weak to walk, the hematoma is larger and spreading and may be invasive internally. She does not appear to be in pain, but I do not want her to have to suffer before she leaves this world. For the second time, I am making the hardest decision I have ever made in my life...to euthanize my loving, loyal companion.. the only being with whom I share my life. There are no words to describe this loss.

We are fortunate to have a vet willing to make a house call for this heart wrenching good-bye, so Sierra will spend her final moments in her own familiar surroundings...

I adopted Sierra nearly five years ago... Now that I am losing her, that time seems all too brief. She rescued me from profound grief when I lost my beloved Keshia, a cocker spaniel who shared the joy of her life with me for over 19 years. Five years ago, on May 7 2004, Dr. Mosley made the same compassionate house call for Keshia. I thought my heart would never recover from that loss, but it did, thanks to Sierra. I adopted Sierra four months after I lost Keshia. She was 10 years old at the time..an older less likely to be adopted than her younger counterparts, which made me want her all the more. It took a few months to win her trust. She won my heart and we have been inseparable since.

My heart is breaking. Please pray for us. These final hours are very precious...the last I will share with this beautiful, gentle soul who has given me so much love and devotion. Dr. Mosley will come tomorrow after 5 PM, unless Sierra indicates she is in pain or suffering today. In that case, Dr. Mosley will come today after 5, but I hope we will have another day together.. while I watch her sleep and remain by her side.. doing whatever I can to assure her she is loved.

Update: May 29 - We postponed Sierra's exit until today. She left this world in the most peaceful, gentle way, while I stroked her with love and reassurance. I have witnessed this gentle passing twice.. and both times made me wonder why we do not provide the option of this peaceful, graceful exit for ourselves. We should all be so blessed to leave this life as gently as we allow our companion animals their final exit.

House Mouse - Our Daily Routine

Mouse Freedom from Lucille on Vimeo.

This mouse thinks the trap is his feeding station :-) In a way, I suppose it is. The same mouse (I recognize him by a white marking on his head) has been in this trap at least 3 times in the past week. Last night I found him in there before I had a chance to bait it with peanut butter. We go through the same drill each time. I get to take a close look at him (he's adorable!) and he gets to eat his peanut butter and find his way back into my apartment.

Surprise visit

She landed...

The birds which regularly visit my feeders are mostly small birds, with blue jays and mourning doves weighing in on the large side to finches and hummingbirds at the small end of the scale.

Occasionally, a crow or two will make an appearance, but not very often. Imagine my surprise when this turkey landed to check out what was on offer for dinner! Unfortunately, she found nothing to her liking. Cracked corn is now on my shopping list. Hopefully, she will honor me with another visit.

She investigated...

She flew off into the sunset.

Twenty-six Saris

As I draped my first sari around my body, my hands moved as if they had performed this wrapping, folding and tucking every day for a lifetime. And perhaps they had, in some previous incarnation. The act of dressing in a sari always brings on an intense deja vu.

My twenty-six saris sit on a shelf in my closet, each beautiful in its own special way. Each chosen for some unique quality which appealed to my senses. When I purchased my last sari, I made a promise to myself that I would wear every one of them at least once before leaving this life.

I have worn nine of them. My hands have only to perform the ritual seventeen times more and my promise will be kept. Tomorrow I shall wear the sari with a procession of elegantly decorated elephants, trunks uplifted, promenading across the pallu.

The Final Time

Today I am thinking of final times...and things that come to pass.

The final time I see the first robin of the year

The final time I wait for elderberry blossoms to fruit

The final time I gather the ripened berries and sit for hours, fingers deftly removing the stems

The final time I feed wild turkeys at the state forest

The final time I carry my folding chair onto Sandwich Town Beach

The final time I sit by the summer ocean

The final time I watch for the beach plums to ripen

The final time my arms are scratched bloody while plucking them from thorny branches

The final time I turn my wild bounty into beach plum and elderberry jam

The final time I satisfyingly line a shelf with row upon row of jelly jars, like sparkling gems of ruby and amethyst

The final time I take my dog for a 5 minute walk

The final time I forage for wild mushrooms

The final time I cook for enjoyment

The final time I see the glorious colors of Autumn leaves

The final time my nose gets dusted with pollen while smelling a Casablanca lily

The final time I pinch off sprigs of curly mint growing at the bottom of my stairs and breathe in its fragrance

The final time I plant a flower

I would have made these moments more sacred had I known I was doing them for a final time.
~~~

Things I have not been able to do for years and wish I had cherished more.. things which have passed out of my life - already done for the final time:

Looking up at the sky

Walking with my head held high, in perfect posture

Breathing without having to fight for it

Feeling my body totally relax

Smiling and laughing

Eating and drinking without having to do certain maneuvers to prevent choking

Taking my dog for a walk

Driving for pleasure

Having my teeth cleaned

Being able to do anything with ease

Working in a garden

Doing anything for pleasure

Enjoying, really enjoying life

Being free of physical pain and discomfort
~~~~

I will make very special moments of what remains within my ability to do
as if doing each one for the final time.

Attention Aminal Lovers!

The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (How about 20 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/
PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS LINK!

Opossum for Breakfast

Morning Possum from Lucille on Vimeo.

Look at those marvelous ears! Her pink feet!

A magnificent creature, the opossum!

Winter Solstice

Snow Song

Snow Song from Lucille on Vimeo.

My friend Mary Anne, sent me a lovely floral basket for Christmas. It was full of fresh flowers and beautiful evergreens. It graced my apartment for weeks, and when the flowers died, the evergreens were still fresh, but starting to drop some leaves from being indoors.

I put the basket on my deck where my feathered friends congregate each day to dine. The birds love this basket, as this little wren seems to be singing in appreciation!

Finch Rescue - December 2005

Finch Rescue - Dec. 19, 2005 - Sandwich, Massachusetts from Lucille on Vimeo.

Finch Rescue - Dec. 19, 2005 - Sandwich, Massachusetts

Sarah Palin's Ongoing Wolf Slaughter

EyeonPalin.org

Baklava Made Easy

Filmed in January 2004 - Dedicated to Cheryl Martin, who taught me how to make this delicious Armenian pastry.

The Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder

The Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder from Lucille on Vimeo.

There's a feisty squirrel in every yard! This one managed to coax a few seeds out of this feeder, but it did prevent his feasting on its entire contents in a single day, as he did with the feeder below, which he treated as his own private feeding station.

I still use this feeder, but it is now filled with safflower seeds, which the birds like, but squirrels do not.

Thanksgiving Dinner - Hens & Chickens, No Turkey, please!

My idea of Thanksgiving dinner, courtesy of wild bounty foraged from Shawme-Crowell State Forest - Sandwich, Massachusetts.

Vegetarian Thanksgiving - Hens & Chickens, but No Turkey, please! from Lucille Iacovelli on Vimeo.

You have to love this!

Final Exit Network - Death with Dignity

Yesterday voters in Washington State passed Initiative I-1000, "The Washington Death with Dignity Act." Final Exit Network believes that laws modeled on the Oregon law and I-1000 are not enough, and so issued this press release in response to the outcome of the I-1000 vote. In the wake of Tuesday's historic election, this important issue needs to get the attention it deserves.

Final Exit Network serves people in all 50 states who are suffering intolerably from an irreversible condition which has become more than they can bear, and that with or without laws like I-1000, Final Exit Network's important mission will continue.

Washington State Passes I-1000!

November 5, 2008 Olympia, WA Although the supporters of Initiative I-1000 are delighted that Washington becomes the second state to pass a "Death with Dignity Act", there is much more to be done. Ted Goodwin, President of Final Exit Network, said, "We congratulate all those who worked so hard to achieve this important right for Washington's citizens, and we applaud the citizens of Washington State for making the right choice. "Final Exit Network and its members supported passage of this landmark initiative by donating to the advocacy effort spearheaded by Washington Death with Dignity and former Governor Booth Gardner. However, the job is not finished". Although, like Oregon's "Death with Dignity Act," I-1000 gives doctors the authority to prescribe a lethal dose of medications to terminally ill individuals under strict controls, it condemns to continued suffering as many as 40% of those who desperately want to end their life because of intolerable suffering but cannot under the law because their illness is not diagnosed as "terminal". "Unfortunately," said Goodwin, "many patients do not meet I-1000's strict criteria. Individuals with neurological illnesses such as Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Amyotrophicmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) and Alzheimer's disease often lose the reason and will to live long before their disease qualifies as 'terminal'." Goodwin adds, "For these individuals, neither I-1000 nor the Oregon law go far enough. "That is why Final Exit Network pledges, until laws protect the right of every adult to a peaceful, dignified death, Final Exit Network will be there to support those who need relief from their suffering today!" "The Network's Exit Guide Program is available nationwide," Goodwin said. "With the Network's compassionate guidance and support, physically and mentally competent adults in all fifty states are free to exercise their last human right - the right to a peaceful, dignified death. "Final Exit Network is the only organization in the United States that will support individuals who are not "terminally ill" - 6 months or less to live - to hasten their deaths. No other organization in the US makes this commitment," said Goodwin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Final Exit Network is a four-year-old volunteer run non-profit that is committed to serve many whom other organizations may turn away! More information is available from their Web site www.finalexitnetwork.org, or by calling 800-524-EXIT (3948).

Oyster Mushrooms Growing Wild

I found a tree stump covered with oyster mushrooms weighing about 10 lb. After cleaning, I photographed them before subjecting them to the frying pan and freezer. They are infinitely fascinating.
The detail photos were taken with the fungi placed on a light box used for reading x-rays. The vivid colors were obtained with photo editing software.

What's in the cauldron?

See what the witch is brewing

Escape ~ David Sedaris & Pumpkin-Date Bread

Physical limitations narrow one's means of escaping the nastier realities of life. Two of my most effective methods these days are cooking and listening to audio books. I love David Sedaris and have listened to his audio books often enough to recite many of his pieces right along with his narration. His latest work "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" was even better the second time around.

My oven is preheating, my mixing bowls and ingredients for pumpkin-date bread are on the kitchen counter, the volume turned up on David Sedaris. I am escaping today.

Listen to David Sedaris on NPR