Man's & Woman's Best Friend

My dog Makwa (means bear in Ojibwa) was half border collie & half black lab. She was my Mother's Day gift one year. As soon as I had purchased a house with a fenced in yard, my daughters felt it was necessary to bring home a dog & they did from the Humane Society. This 8 week old puppy was nestled in the arms of my older daughter as I opened the front door - the babysitter had just dropped them off (more babysitter stories to follow). I took a deep breath, looked into that puppy's eyes & then into the eyes of my children & that was it - I was sold. 

Makwa was beautiful. She had one brown eye & one stunning blue eye & black with the white markings of a border collie.  I immediately gave her a bath, which was her initiation into the Williams' home. Soon she became queen of the house, but I remained her mother until the end. 

We initially introduced her to the beautiful canyons not far from my home where she was free to romp & roam. She never did quite get the hang of a leash, no matter how many obedience lessons she had. I always thought perhaps she believed she was a sled dog at heart. 

Makwa knocked over my new computer, chewed up the backs of my couches, barked at strangers & other dogs, ate like there was no tomorrow & well the list goes on. I was oh so close to finding her a new home so many times, but I loved her so I just worked on dog-proofing my house as best as I could.

You see this dog up above? Well that's not Makwa - that's Blink. Blink is the polar opposite of Makwa. I have never - ever - met a more intelligent dog than Blink. Blink is half Australian Shepard & half Border Collie. With Blink there's no need to dog-proofing my home. The only thing he chews on is his food & dog treats. He even keeps his toys in perfect shape just for playing catch or for retrieving - there's not a bite mark in them. He is amazing. He is my new friend.

Last Saturday families & friends were invited to my daughter's last Native Plant class up at Tony Grove. Tony Grove is about 45 minutes east of Logan - a beautiful drive through Logan Canyon with a stream meandering crisscrossing the road on both sides.  

Two children were in our group, & they had so much fun playing catch & retrieve with Blink. As you can see, Blink stayed the coolest of all of us. 

orchids

Mountain Bluebells

My advice for all of us, especially those who work on some type of computer - every week take some time to get out into nature - I am sure atomically, it balances & rejuvenates our cells. Peace... until next time.

Marcy Hope Williams