Earl Moore Photography
Picnic Area - Sloan Park, Salisbury, NC

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature— the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” – Rachel Carson

Earl Moore Photography
The End of Winter - Sloan Park, Salisbury, NC

During a recent walk at a local park I came to realize the bare limbs of winter will soon be gone. I have mixed feelings about this. While I enjoy the green foliage there is a certain attraction to the abundant details of bare limbs.

I guess it’s as it should be.

I was to fly to Boston with my wife today for the beginning of a long weekend of business/pleasure. However, our dog, Foster, had a series of life threatening seizures for three days this past weekend and is still struggling to recover, so here I remain while Bonnie takes care of her business meeting and then returns home. There was a while Sunday afternoon I thought we’d lose the little guy, even to the point where I might have to put an end to it instead of letting him suffer. Thankfully it didn’t come to that.

I guess it’s as it should be.


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Paul
12 years ago

Hey, Earl. Sorry to hear about Foster. I’m glad to hear that you got his seizures under control. Hopefully, he has recovered. It’s a lot of work taking care of a pet with special needs. Too bad that you missed this trip with Bonnie, but perhaps the next one will be even better!!!

I’m taking a much needed break this weekend, starting today, and heading down to Florida. I’ll miss Hobbs, but not the constant care taking. When I come back, I’ll be ready to resume! :)

John
12 years ago

Earl, hope Foster recovers! My cat, Allie, had a stroke three years ago and two out of three vets we took her too said to put her down. The third said he didn’t think she was through with life yet – and he was right. You’re wise to give Foster a fighting chance – I hope he’s not through with life yet either.

Ken Bello
12 years ago

Foster is lucky to have such caring “parents”. You absolutely did the right thing to take care of him in his time of need. I’m glad that he is under control for the time being and I’m sure you will have other opportunities to take a break with your wife.
I really like the first photo. It reminds me a park not far from here.

Monte Stevens
12 years ago

We don’t always want it the way it should be. However, when love is the reason we make choices, everyone comes out ahead. How you and Bonnie react with your love is a gift our world needs.

Eric Jeschke
12 years ago

It’s hard to know when is the right time to pull the plug on a beloved pet. I’ve had to put a few cats to sleep over the years when it was clear that the end would come slowly and via starvation–they couldn’t keep anything down and their kidneys shutting down. Must be easier to just go to sleep and not wake up. But when to make that call. It’s tough. I know that it might be even tougher with a dog. We are on our first dog, and while she is still young, she depends on us much more than a cat, so it’s maybe a more intense relationship. Does that make sense? It’s almost like a cat tells you that they are going, and you read the signals and help it along. It seems like that would be harder for a dog because you are always helping them with something anyway.

Anita Jesse
12 years ago

I know all too well the pain for this decision and long ago developed a decision to “talk” it over with the dog (in my case). In each instance, the dog gave me the sign I asked for and that helped just a tiny bit to make the dreadful decision. It doesn’t ease the awful pain, but helps a bit with the sense of guilt and fear that we decided too early to end the suffering.

Our animals are such loyal friends. We owe them due consideration and I salute you for giving your guy every chance at life. My heart goes out to both you and Foster. I hope he soon regains strength.

Martina Egli
12 years ago

Hi Earl, I’m so sorry to hear about Foster. I hope his recovery goes well and wish you all lots of energy and love for this difficult time.
I really like your first photo, the building seems so small amonst those huge trees. I also love forest images in winter, seeing the bare trees and structure of the plants is very intriguing.

Mark
12 years ago

I hope Foster continues to do well Earl. It can be so tough when our dearest friends are at these points in their lives. He has pulled through so many other episodes, so my hopes are this turns to be an incident he can soon put past him like the others.