Dreams Change

      There is so much that I haven't blogged about. Life is ever changing and it moves so fast that I find myself scrambling to keep up. Add to that the slowest internet connection since the internet was invented and you have a match made in...well the opposite of heaven.
       I know the last time I wrote, I specifically said I wasn't writing about animals, but so much has changed that I feel that I should at least give a brief update.
       Cats: Nothing has changed here. We still have our three wonderful, annoying cats, Hazel, Autumn and Crookshanks.
       Rabbits: In September our three meat rabbits were rehomed to be breeders for a woman that I have become friendly with because she works at the local fabric store. We still have Flower and Dobby, our "fluffy bunnies" as I like to call them.
       Turkeys: They are all gone now. We processed the last four this past Saturday. We processed the first one for Thanksgiving, and another two the beginning of December. It was a very interesting experience for the whole family to go through. I believe that we all learned a lot about ourselves and each other. In addition we now have a freezer full of good, clean, safe meat. `
       Chickens:  An owl killed four of our young hens before we even realized what was happening. Wildlife sucks sometimes, and I say that even about owls, who I have an especially strong affinity for. My folks have taken six of our birds, adding to their flock of six for a total of twelve chickens. We are rehoming four chickens and a rooster on Wednesday. We were going to butcher our rooster, but when it came down to it, I just couldn't do it. People have horror stories about roosters, but I have to say that just hasn't been our experience. The kids have dubbed him Mike, after this unfortunate fella, Mike the Headless Chicken  has taken a special place in our hearts and I just don't want to see him on the dinner table.   
       Guineas: Ah, here's some of the painful part that I didn't want to talk about. We rehomed our guineas in November to a wonderful couple who are starting on their own path to self-sustainability and homesteading. This was after the extremely unfortunate incident of our dog, Abraham, killing our Momma Guinea, Pepper, and attacking the guinea rooster. The baby guinea was also lost in the hullabaloo. Which brings me to my most heart wrenching animal update:
        Dogs: I don't even know where to start. Mollie, our fat little beagle pooch, who we have had since she was eight weeks old and is now twelve and a half, is still, thankfully with us. Ranger had his foot run over this fall, and after a scary night when we thought he might lose his back leg, we learned that he only had to lose a toe. He had a long recuperation that involved many tricks to keep him from chewing his bandage, for example, at the end he was wearing three e-collars, a neck brace and an inflatable donut around his neck. This was at times frustrating (think, eighty pound dog with that much crap around his head. He was a train wreck.) and at times quite humorous (like when the ladies at the vet renamed him Danger). He is mostly recovered from this incident, although he still favors that leg. If there is a bright side to this misfortune, it is that he has stopped running off and the only car he chases now is ours, which generally gets him a ride in the back. Abraham. Oh, Abraham. My heart still aches as I write this. Ranger and Abraham were never kindred spirits. Try as I might, Ranger was just too jealous of Abe. Abraham is a wonderful dog. But Ranger didn't see this and would continuously bite his nose to the point of bleeding and swelling. After many tearful (on my part) discussions, Matt and I decided to return Abraham to Black Canyon Animal Sanctuary. Thankfully Debbie (who owns the sanctuary and is an angel on earth) was completely understanding and within two days the sweet boy was adopted. I understand that he now lives in the Vail area with a wonderful family consisting of two young girls and has been renamed Atlas. Ranger has never shown aggression to anyone or anything before or since. Now for the part I wish I didn't have to write. In fact, if I could just go to bed now, I would. Unfortunately that wouldn't erase what is the truth. Just over two weeks ago, Jessie slowed down. Fiercely. We took her to our vet. He gave us some advice and sent us home to think about it. We wanted to extend her life. We wanted to have her with us forever. We thought maybe she would come out of her slump. It was Christmas and New Years. Dogs shouldn't be allowed to be sick on the holidays. She didn't come out of her slump. In fact, she slumped even harder. We knew the end was near. We didn't want her to suffer any more. So on Thursday, January 3rd, we tearfully bid farewell to our dearest Jessie. I still can't even type this without crying. What do you do when your furry friend is gone? She was our family. We had her from the beginning of our married life. There isn't a memory without her somewhere in the background. She has been through every move, every pregnancy, every everything. Jessie, we love you and you will always be in our hearts.
     Now you might be wondering why we have rehomed so many of our animals. This brings me to changing dreams. At the core our dreams are still the same. We still crave community. We still want to raise our children to be responsible citizens of the world, who make a difference, no matter what it is. We want them to be truly happy. We still want to be as self-sustaining as possible. However, Matt needs a career change. Our family needs him to have a career change. After ten years of working for Dish Network, it is time. He has been volunteering with our local fire department this past year. It has intrigued him and ignited in him a passion I have not seen in a long time. So he is applying for a position with the Colorado Springs Fire Department. He is halfway through the application process and so far so good. We have decided to embrace life and take a wild leap of faith and move to Colorado Springs. I am excited and woeful all at once. I yearn for museums and culture and proximity to our Fort Collins friends while simultaneously aching for country living and fearful of living in such a large city. As I write this the coyotes are howling and just last night, the kids and I were treated to two owls calling back and forth to each other. The stars out here are stupendous. The quiet, the dark, the in-your-face seasons. I will miss these things. I will not miss driving for hours for groceries and entertainment. I will not miss the constant mud. I will not miss the desolation but will somehow still miss the solitude. Most of all, I will miss my parents and my in-laws. But what is life, if not one big adventure. And so, in less than two weeks, we will have a new place to rest our heads. The only thing this means for you, dear reader, is a faster internet connection which equals more blogging. It also means new adventures, new topics to discuss. No more chickens or livestock to tend to. No more deer in our yard. But friends, museums and a whole new city to explore are waiting just ahead.