Shhh....In the Shadow of a Shady Tree

We wore pretty dresses with sneakers and I curled Humanling's hair.

I put one blueberry and one organic carrot in the box that had our guinea pig.

However, when we got to the cemetary (people cemetary), we found that trying to dig a hole with a snow shovel is like driving with rolls of toliet paper for wheels. We had chosen a nice tree area and there were so many little roots in the ground.

Instead we resorted to the recycling that happened to be in a bag in the trunk. Ricci's burial plot was dug out by a coconut oil container and a cat food can. I will admit that Humanling really stepped up to the job and there in our dresses we dug. We found that if we were going to dig a hole big enough we'd be sitting in those dresses until it was dark. So unfortunately, we had to take him out of the box, carrot & blueberry in tow. Somehow that seemed like the better thing to do.



We brought his leftover food with us, including all his goodies in the fridge. He was a spoiled boy and only ate organic baby lettuces for snack, along with other various stealings in the day, like the stray apple slice or a grape. We scattered the food a small ways away from him for the animals who are alive and can enjoy them.



Then we went to the store and bought a bag of cat food to donate to the locale animal shelter.



He was, as far as we know, the only boy in the house. I do have five hermit crabs but I'm not going to even attempt figure that one out. So maybe that made him more special in a way.

The night before he died, for whatever reason, I wrapped him in a pillowcase and decided to hold him for a long time. Or maybe that's what happens when I stay that close to boys! All joking aside, I didn't want to put him down and the sixth sense was blaring through me. I meditated with him close to my heart and put him in white light. I'm really glad that I did. I feel inside that it brought him on an easier transition. I hadn't seen anything really wrong with him that stood out. He wasn't drinking his usual amount, which is not good for a guinea. But he was interested in drinking and I saw him at his water post. He snatched a carrot from my fingers earlier that morning. And devoured the apple slice that I brought in mid-day.

I put him back in his cage reluctantly and he stood there staring at me. Not going back into his little hut like he normally does. He wanted back out. His stare was haunting and I said to him "Stop looking at me like that. You're breaking my heart!" Then I climbed into bed to read.

When I got up the next morning, it was clear that we was gone. I'm so very glad to have spent the time with him the night before.

Humanling and I notice that the house is a tad different without him - without him filing his teeth on the cage, or constantly at the water bottle at all hours making that cage rattling noise.



I started to think to myself, why bother having pets when you're just buying a plot of time lapsed heartbreak? But then realized that we as humans are quite possibly deemed 'stewards' of sorts over the world's animals, making it our job to care for and love them, no matter what the duration of their lifetime is.



We'd all rather have that taste of love, even for a moment, than to not know the possibilities.

So it is almost a week later and I am slightly still annoying to Humanling about this. It's just that every food preparation task usually involved treats for Ricci. Apple slices, vegetables, pears, blueberries. Even at the store today I almost picked up a bag of organic green leaves for him.

I have to mention something a tad on the woo-woo side for those of you who may not wander into the spiritual or just plain nutty side of things. The day after Mr. Man's funeral, I was driving to work. I popped in a CD that had been in for a few days but not played. It's also a CD that I rarely play - a mix CD that I'd made a while back.

The song was "I miss you" by Finch, which is really really upbeat actually. And yes, most songs fall into the category of "I Miss You", "I love you", "I want you" or "I hate you, fall off a wheelbarrow in the Grand Canyon". So I thought, mkay.....maybe too broad scoped.

Until I ended up on the highway in a situation that I've personally not remembered ever being in before. I was in back of a hay truck, filled with bales, and little sparks of hay flying around and past both sides of my car. This is a guinea pig's main food staple and something that I gave to Ricci twice a day. I felt positive that this was him waving to me from the last rung up before disappearing into his happy land. It was one of the warmest feelings I've felt in a long time.

I am already on Craig's List looking for a new little rodent for us to care for. Someone asked me to examine if it might be hard on me if I get a similar (looking) animal since I had emailed him a photo of one that I was looking at. I know without a beat that the energy tells me it is joyous and happy. That as long as I am here, it is part of my duty to lovingly care for these animals as much as I can. Not hoarding though! One or two - a little Shades' Ark where it makes sense.

And most certainly when we add a new little boy or girl to our family, photos will follow!

Meanwhile, the new kitty, named Princess by her previous owners (I really like Saphara and might change it slowly) is used to us now. She sleeps on top of us and is a face licker while we sleep. She also endures Azrael putting the pause (or should I say PAWS!) on harassing her while she uses the litterbox. Azrael simply stands next to the box waiting for her to come back out.

Talk about inducing stagefright!