Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Home at Last/Our Family is Reduced by One

I love Alberta.

Thrity minutes after the plane lands at the Edmonton airport, we are in the car and on our way home. Contrast this with the 2 hours it took just to get our luggage in Toronto.

Today is a beautiful -4 degrees C, and the sun is shining, making me wonder why I ever wanted to leave this place. The wife and I moved some wood into the house for the fireplace and took a tour of some of the property. As everything is so overgrown, it is now possible to see into the forests and better assess the land. I used to say that I could heat the house for 3 years on just the deadfall. It seems to be more like 10 years. I have a lot of hauling and cutting of logs to do this year. Time to buy that chainsaw.

As you can see from this post, Koko our older cat died about 10 days before we got back. He was sick before I left, and got much worse while I was gone. The wife almost took him to the vet for the "long sleep" a few times, but every time she was going to do it she would spend some time with him and he would rally back, enjoying the day, moving around, and going outside. He seemed to sense what might happen, so put on a good show to last a bit longer. The few weeks before he died, he was so sick that the wife said she had to check him after coming home from work to see if he was still alive.

I was hoping he would make it until I returned, but I am glad he lived out his natural life.

After Christmas, we are off to the animal shelter to get our strength back up. Beside, the other cat needs something to keep her busy. I am already getting tired of constantly letting her in and out of the house.

The circle of life continues.

No comments: