Bengal cat
Birds / cats / Dogs

My Week in Pictures and Good-bye to StandingOutInMyField

Posted by
sleeping dogs
River and Tribble napping together

I have been quiet here for the past two weeks as my husband, our companion animals, and I adjust to a home without two of our pack. Recent colds and the loss of Jazz (catch up here about Jazz) and Mystic (read here about Mystic) has left us a drained.

goffin's cockatoo
Sugar seems his normal self, eating an apple, here. He’s an old man and has seen incredible change since he was caught in the jungle an estimated 35-40 years ago.

Photos here are in appreciation of the ones we love that remain with us, knowing that they miss their companions, too. Nami continues to look for Mystic, wandering the house and calling for her.

Bengal cat
Nami keeps returning to this cat shelf and tunnel where Mystic spent her last day at home. This isn’t Nami’s usual place to hang out, so I know she is there to be near Mystic’s fading scent.

I’m also mourning the loss of StandingOutInMyField, a blog that I have followed for the seven years I’ve been blogging. The author/blogger is the only one that I’ve met in real life, as we visited one year when she visited family in Colorado. She posted beautiful photos of bees, insects, and her interesting life.

Black schnauzer-mix dog
Garnet is now our senior dog, a position that makes her a bit uncomfortable, I think. She does not think of herself as alpha, usually delegating those duties to her daughter, Tribble.

A strong woman, she earned her Ph.D. during her blogging years and demonstrated an appreciation for the planet that I admire and enjoy. Her outlook on life was relatable to me, and I always looked forward to her posts and our comments back and forth.

poodle
River has left behind the duck for a few minutes, cuddling with a different stuffed animal. She loves them as pillows.

She shut down her blog this year, and it feels like losing a friend as there is no way to exchange our ideas or events in our lives anymore. The blogging world has lost a unique and beautiful voice, and I feel like I’ve lost a friend. Laura, if you are still out there and reading, please drop me an email. I miss you.

Amazon parrot
Hannah, enjoying the security of her cage as well as the freedom to leave it.

36 comments

  2. I am so very sorry for your losses, and that I am just seeing this now. Your support for me and our loss of Sam is so appreciated, especially when you are going through so much yourself. My heart and thoughts are with you. ♥

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We lost our oldest fur-family member and our youngest in the same week. It is always hard, but it was even harder this way. I still hear the kitty purring beside me sometimes, from somewhere beyond the veil.

      Like

      Reply

  4. What a wonderful thing to find an email from your long lost friend. I am really happy for you Karel.
    And if you ever do travel up this way please come visit. I’m always here (well almost always!)
    And I too miss furbabies from many years ago. They ALL leave pawprints on our hearts ❤ ❤ ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. So lovely. I think healing is a slow-going boat. It can seem like we’re not even moving at times. If it’s any comfort to you, this post has comforted me as I miss my own Kit. Blessings to you and your family.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. I believe that virtual friends come into our lives for a reason. We were meant to ‘meet’ and exchange ideas, friendship……and even love.

    There are so many kindred spirits out there. We just have to be open to their contact and accept/understand when its time for them to move on.

    In general, blogs usually last about 3 years, but I’m still in contact with about 5-6 people that I met 9 years ago. Sometimes I think of giving up on blogging, especially now that I’m more housebound and rarely have new photos to share online, but every now and then, I realise that my blogging friends need me (as much as I needed their contact in difficult times).

    Many chronic illness sufferers like myself don’t have the energy to read hardcopy, kindle or even long articles online, but a short single blog post can make all the difference when one is feeling lonely or depressed. A few photos from our daily lives can give meaning and hope to someone suffering (through civil unrest, war or natural calamity and destruction). A fellow blogger can give us meaning through times of grief or other major personal upheaval.

    Sometimes its just plain serendipity that we meet a kindred spirit.

    Whatever the situation, when its time to move on, we have to accept the change and be open to new friendships and contact. If we can’t let go of the past, we’ll never have room in our lives to move on to the future and end up in a downward spiral of sadness and loss (that never ends).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You have made some good points, here, Vicki. I forget that although I may have been kindred at one point in time with someone, as we both change, that connection does too. I’ve lost several blogging friends that I still think of, but it didn’t seem to affect me the same way as this one.

      I’m surprised to hear you in favor of connecting through blogging. When you talked about re-vamping and consolidating your blogs, you talked about how time-consuming all the comments were. So I had tried to limit my comments on your blog, so that you wouldn’t get irritated with me! Perhaps you were irritated primarily by the comments we leave when we are in a hurry and not being thoughtful. It’s good to hear that you are open to new connections. I am, too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Perhaps you misunderstood me, KD 🙂 Replying to comments IS time-consuming for someone like me who only has 5-6 hours in their ‘energy envelope’ each day, but that doesn’t mean to say I don’t welcome or enjoy reading them.

        Making a statement ” replying to comments is becoming time-consuming” is not necessarily meant to be taken literally as a negative. It is merely stating a fact. My online time has had to be reduced dramatically as my eyesight and health deteriorates further.

        From time to time I have to just press the LIKE button after I’ve read a comment. I do like to let commenters know I have read their words and enjoyed them. After 9-10 years of doing nothing but blogging and photography, I’m sort of…….running out of words 🙂

        I have intermittent Brain Fog and cognitive dysfunction mostly late afternoon and evening when I get too exhausted to think straight. Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, apart from my inherited severe Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, leave me fatigued very quickly.

        After being unwell last week and then 24 hours in hospital on Friday/Saturday, I had to just delete new blog post notifications in my email inbox UNread (otherwise I’d get too far behind and get stressed and the whole cycle of exhaustion would begin all over again).

        The only comment I’ve been really irritated by was by a photographer who ‘told me off” for placing my subject in the centre of the frame and not using the Rule of Thirds. He was obviously new to Photography (when I checked out his blog) and was taking some advice/books/tutorials too literally.

        If I get too overwhelmed, I actually stop blogging for a week and therefore don’t get comments (except on old posts at random) 😀 Gone are the early years of taking hundreds of photos three times a week and uploading 3 posts every night.

        It’s always good to get a new follower or comment, as I check back on their blogging subject to see if its something I’m interested in and have time to follow in return.

        I truly do think Blogging is a great way to connect with others with similar interests. When you’re almost completely housebound as I am now……..except for appointments and the very rare short walk……I think its healthy to interact with people, if only online 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. I truly understand not having the bandwidth to read and comment on every single blog in your feed! I often read, like, and don’t comment because I can’t think of anything to say. Or, I’m reading while riding the bus alto commute to work, and it’s just too difficult to tap out a meaningful reply accurately. I have to cram blog-reading into spare snatches of time throughout the day, and I don’t post as frequently as you do. Thanks for clarifying your position; I won’t hold back comments on your blog any more!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  8. Lovely pictures, Karel. It is good to know how to love whether it is people or pets.
    Love comforts. All of life seems to be a series of bonding and letting go. Both are important and teach us things about others and about ourselves.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. An introspective post. I lost a blogger I followed for years last fall. She didn’t announce that she was closing down and did not respond to my emails (we had some communication outside the blog) so of course I thought the worse. I’ll never know. Friends we make here are every bit as real as our next door neighbor. Sorry for the loss of your kitties. Very painful. The pain hangs with me for a long time and no other pet replaces it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, this has been difficult on every front. I’m sorry you’ve had the same experience with a blogging friend. As a typical introvert, I make friends slowly, but when I do, it hurts to be abandoned.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. There you go, Kismet. As a typical parrot, I suspect you read my post and saw “blah, blah, blah…PARROTS RULE THE WORLD. Blah, blah, blah.”

      Like

      Reply

  13. It’s been sad to see blogging friends disappear. There are a few that were active bloggers when I first started following blogs that have left the community. It makes me sad too that we don’t get to keep up with their lives and share ours with them too.

    Cindy

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. What a bittersweet post Karel. May I share there have been many times since Purrince Siddhartha Henry was PTS last August that I felt like shutting The Purrfect Pad down. I felt that no one would miss me or my cats…I lost a lot of followers due to P SH’s untimely end & some upset I adopted another cat so soon after his leaving. After reading your lovely tribute to your friend Laura I realize that if only 1 person felt like you do about your friend….well I am still here. Thank you for sharing this with us.
    I am still sad about Mystic & Jazz too. It was a 1-2 punch no one needed! River & Tribble are so cute together. Poor Nami looking for her friend…it must be so confusing for her. Sugar is a handsome bird! And Hannah is very pretty! You take such wonderful care of all your beloveds; I totally admire & respect you.
    {{{hugs}}} Sherri-Ellen

    Meow meow Miss Karel mee iss sendin you a purrayer fore peece an all mee ***purrsss*** BellaDharma =^,,^=

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you for your kind words. Our blogs are not self-indulgent verbal blather. They are a way to build relationships with real people and to offer the same kind of support and encouragement we would give in person, if only we were close by. I’m glad that you didn’t close your blog; you are a valued member here!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Bless you Karel for your kind words. When someone I know form ‘the blogs’ losses a furbaby I cry right along with them. Even if we have not met, bloggers & their furbabies mean the world to me. I treasure our friendship…..
        I hope each day is a bit easier for all of you there.
        {{{hugs}}} Sherri-Ellen

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. Thank you, Sherri-Ellen, I am doing a little better today, mainly because I hit an email from my lost blogging friend. I still grieve for dogs and cats who passed a good 10 years ago. It’s hard. I appreciate your support. If I’m ever in Eastern Canada, I’ll look you up! My husband travels there regularly on business, but I never go with him. I stay home to take care of my fur babies, full-time-job, and part-time business. Sigh. Maybe someday!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

Leave a comment