Category Archives: Creatures great and small

First deer, lasting lessons

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Joy Clough

NOTE: The following was written by my daughter and first guest blogger, Becky Clough. In early November, while at home in Maine, I shot my first deer. It was a gorgeous, golden fall morning a mere three days into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Creatures great and small, Family and friends, Mindfulness, health and healing | 2 Comments

Channeling my inner beagle

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Joy Clough

All I really need to know about retirement I’m learning from my beagle. It’s not that I lack two-legged role models. My husband Tom, who should be a poster boy for AARP, is a shining example, as are many friends … Continue reading →

Posted in Beagle Zen, Creatures great and small, Mindfulness, health and healing, Retirementality | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A licking time bomb

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Joy Clough

If by some Christmas miracle the ghost of my Nana could have visited Kineo, she would have gently cradled his head, met his big brown eyes with her own, and said: “If it ain’t your hip, it’s your ass or your … Continue reading →

Posted in Beagle Zen, Creatures great and small, Seasonal celebrations and observations | 3 Comments

Back where it all began

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Joy Clough

Heading north toward Rockwood, Tom slowed the Subaru to a crawl. I’d been peering out into the steady rain since way before Greenville, picking faded memories out of old landmarks, retracing my way through the steely blues and mottled greens of … Continue reading →

Posted in Creatures great and small, Family and friends, Mindfulness, health and healing, Mum & Mac, Rooted In Moosehead, too | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Talking about Toby

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Joy Clough

I knew this time would come. I knew it a few months ago when I taped Christmas bows on Toby’s crate and made him Facebook famous for recovering from surgery “at the Bemis Mountain Home for Aged Beagles.” I knew … Continue reading →

Posted in Beagle Zen, Creatures great and small, Family and friends | Tagged | 7 Comments

Beware the packin’ kraken!

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Joy Clough

Kraken (kra-khun): Noun — A legendary sea monster that, when provoked, is believed to have devoured helpless voyagers. Just when I think it’s safe to get back on a plane, to venture away from mud season in Rangeley, I hear its primal … Continue reading →

Posted in Creatures great and small | 1 Comment

The Beagle Loser

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Joy Clough

“Let’s get you on that scale, Toby!” she ordered. Suddenly, the room filled with as much drama as could be mustered on a March morning in Rumford. Tom and I held our breath, waiting with hopeful trepidation. Watching the flashing … Continue reading →

Posted in Beagle Zen, Creatures great and small, Family and friends, Mindfulness, health and healing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Songs of warmer weather

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Joy Clough

South of here, the sounds of spring would call me out of my seasonal semi-stupor even if I  was still hunkered down and had barely cracked a window yet. I’d be driving somewhere in a fog or maybe stuck in … Continue reading →

Posted in Creatures great and small, Seasonal celebrations and observations | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Out like a lamb-eating Yeti

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Joy Clough

Good thing nobody said it, at least not within earshot and, in particular, not while I was looking outside on the first full day of spring. Watching fresh snow pile up on the glaciers not yet receded from my yard, … Continue reading →

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Welcome DecemBear!

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Joy Clough

Anyone eavesdropping lately would swear I’d already gone woods queer. “So, it’s December 3rd! Do you know where you’re going today, little fella?” I’m in the diningroom in my PJs, paused at the cellar door on my way to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Creatures great and small, Seasonal celebrations and observations | Tagged , | 4 Comments