Rebecca Anthony ; the truth as I recall it, with honor, with humor

                            When It Rains, It’s Stoneleigh It was a lumbering house. Built of rock and mortar, and afterthoughts of post and beam, it sat on the side of the mountain at the edge of Pike National Forest within the bounds of the tiny town of Shawnee, Colorado. The wrap-around porch was screened in and held firewood boxes, porch swing, couch, and an 8 point elk trophy that was missing it’s left eye. The balcony, exposed to the elements, was our mother’s favorite hangout.  There she smoked cigarettes and drank wine in the evenings while gazing out to Fitzsimmon’s Lake and hearing the distant cries of the children, “Ollie, Ollie, oxen free;” the eldest boys called to the younger five the code that the game of hide-and-seek was over. Sometimes, as a five-year-old girl, hiding from my siblings in the dark under a wild rose bush near the back entry stairs, where the only light available came from t...

If today were the last day   If today were the last day I’d set my alarm for 4 o’clock and linger in bed in the dark. I would run my fingers across the quilt that my girlfriend gave me feeling the stitching between my fingers, smelling the fabric, remembering the day of the gift.   If today  were  the last day I would take my thyroid pill  and drink celery juice . I would set the kettle to boil  and  turn on NPR . I would brush my teeth and brew my tea and sit on the couch with P o   to  cuddle under the quilt that my girlfriends gave me   a week after my husband told me he wanted a divorce .   I would watch the sun breach the horizon and dress the sky in her flaming morning robes of pinks and reds and golds and feel her warm embrace.   If today were the last day I would take my dogs on their walk. I would let them off lead and roam farther than we normally do and give them extra treats. I would notice the way the sun sparkles ...

                                       And Then There Were Four; the addition of a cactus wren   There’s a bird sitting in my planter, inside my house on the window sill in the south facing window. The planter is home to a  three-year-old basil plant, a gift from Claire, and a one-year-old mint, which is attempting to overtake everything else; basil and bird.    Mint is like that.   But the bird, a cactus wren, is oblivious to the overtures of the mint. She’s the newest addition to the home and the least demanding; barely a breath, she is, in the little planter on the windowsill in my tiny home.   Po, the little pooch, is enamored with her. Every time the wren shakes her feathers, every twenty minutes or so, he perks up.    “What’s that? There it is again! I wanna see, wanna,...

                                                                                     Summer’s Escapade                                                                         Yesterday I walked the dogs.    This is a normal part of my routine no matter where I am; the mountains or suburbs of Colorado, at my own home or while I am house sitting for my clients.   My clients always have pets to care for and it is understood by everyone that I bring my dogs with me when I am on the job. It’s part of the package; my...

                                                                         Animal Intelligence   From dolphins to prairie dogs, ravens to dinosaurs scientists and lay people have been judging sentient beings for centuries, comparing their intellectual abilities to human abilities and always finding the finned, feathered and furry ones wanting. As children, many were taught that the all important opposable thumb, the ability to use tools, problem solving capabilities, our huge cerebral cortex and the fact that people have emotions were the key components that separated apes (read Homo sapiens) from the rest of the animal kingdom. Humans were considered to have superior intellect and were the gold standard by which all other animals were measured. For example, scientists stu...