If you had asked me earlier, I would have told you we have an attrition strategy. No more new animals for us, I would have said. It is the practical answer, given our age bracket and the age range of those creatures in our care. The size of our herd and our pack will slowly diminish as life takes its course, which it inevitably will, though with eleven horses and donkeys and nine dogs, we have a long way to go. I am comfortable with that. But, I am not comfortable saying no to an animal in need and so little Miss Annie snuck in the back door as an emergency foster. I thought we would stress her out since we are in such contrast to the life she was leading before us, but she has shown us otherwise, fitting in and coming alive. So now, we are inviting Annie to stay with us in permanent residency. We rationalized our decision based on her age, she is almost 15, and her weeness, she is only 17 pounds. Really though, it has nothing to do with things that can be counted or measured. The heart persists in bursting the limits your mind thinks it can put on it. And, anyway, ten is a lovely number.
Day 31
findingjubilee 