Porch Dog. Official Elkhart Lake Greeter. Come Meet Him!
If you come to Elkhart Lake, our little village of 950 residents, which swells to well over the thousands in the summer, especially on race weekends, you just might be lucky enough to meet this handsome fellow. His name is Boone.
As you meander down to the artisans and farmer’s market on a Saturday morning, strolling east or west on Rhine Street, across from the post office, is a big beautiful blue and white Victorian style home, with a large porch, where you just may spot the official greeter of our small town.
How could this not make your day walking by?! It sure did mine when I loaded Gidgie in her dog stroller and walked to the market this morning. My whole heart lit up with joy to see Boone hanging over the porch rail to catch the eye of someone walking by and do what he does best…make ’em smile and fill their hears with joy.
He happens to belong to my husband’s cousin, Connie, and her husband Pat. After their last dog passed away, Pat just didn’t know if he could do it again. The heartache of losing an animal sometimes too much to bear for some. But a trip to a nursery called, Honeymoon Acres, a few months later in a nearby town, and who would they meet as part of their helpful staff? An English Cream Golden retriever named Roy. They were smitten and..well, you know how this story ends. 🙂
Not only has Boone wound his way into Connie and Pat’s hearts, but he has the hearts of many that visit our small town. And many return, looking for Boone, hoping to catch him hanging out on the porch. As is the case often, as I experienced in my days with Frankie who was well known in town years ago, many would ask if I remembered them when they met Frankie that “one summer.”
And I remember fondly, how I’d always smile politely, as Connie and Pat do now when people stop to see Boone and ask if they remember them from that last time they met Boone. Perhaps it’s not important to recall faces, but the connection and joy felt when other’s meet Boone, and the joy Connie and Pat get in sharing him with other’s. Now that, that is the language of animals…it’s what you feel with the heart.
And I can’t help but end this post today, thinking of the bumper sticker I used to have on my car, “Bark less, wag more.”
Here’s to more wagging!
XO,
Barbara
At the HeART of this Winged Messenger
This is only my second page in my art journal. A new creative adventure I’m dabbling in when I have time. I’m really enjoying it.
This little hummingbird I made during an online class with artist, Denise Braun, called Winged Messenger. This was my first attempt at painting a bird. While far from perfect, it really was all about being with that imperfection and getting lost in the page of journaling.
What I loved about this class, among many things really, was how Denise incorporates grounding and meditation. And I was blown away when she read a quote from Mark Nepo’s Book of Awakening that spoke to my all-time favorite quote: And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin
That quote has been prominently displayed on my website for over ten years now. No doubt I was meant to be in this art class with Denise.
The last art journal page (and my first actual page!) I shared with you I talked about how I like to come up with a quote or poem using the technique of blackout poetry. Just opening a used book at random and circling words that stand out to me. Then forming a sentence or more from that.
This time, I opened to a page in a book, but didn’t circle the words. Instead, I jotted them down in a notebook. Then took the words, added a few of my own and came up with a short poem.
It speaks to my love of the hummingbird and how my dachshund, Frankie, two weeks after she passed, I’m quite sure visited me as a hummingbird, hovering within inches of face, which I’d never encountered before with a hummingbird. I felt she was letting me know she was okay. I found such comfort in that.
And so this poem came to add to the journal page making it complete:
There is comfort in looking out my window
remembering the gift
of the surge of inspirational energy I felt
but for a brief, suspended in time moment,
before you departed once again
on your solo excursion.
Leaving me in the quiet
of essential truth
of what is real in my soul.
~Barbara Techel
While I felt out of my comfort zone painting that wee little bird, I took my time, trusting and enjoying the process. Just to be in a space of not thinking about my writing or worrying about my to-do list, was balm for my soul. It has me looking forward to more art journal pages ahead!
Wishing you a happy, creative, soulful weekend!
XO,
Barbara