Circle of Life...

Spring is my very favorite time of the year. Emerging from the deathly cold darkness of winter the world seems to quickly come alive. Life bursts out, is born and re-born. But we all know that what is born to this world eventually has to fade and leave, a never ending cycle. So with that, on a beautifully warm spring afternoon yesterday we sadly and regrettably had to say a heart felt fair well to Maddy, our family dog. Maddy was an enigmatic sprite who shared many a bird walk with me. Indeed, if it wasn't for her I would not have seen half of the wonderful sights I'd encountered in recent years, usually early morning before the rest of the world was awake. She literally was the proverbial 'best friend', and she will be sorely missed by the whole family, and particularly by me. Whether she will prove to be irreplaceable, or a very hard act to follow, only time will tell, but our house is certainly going to be quieter, and our lives will have a little less sunshine in it with her passing. So to those of you, like me, who walked their binoculars and took the dog, do yourself a favour, just once this weekend leave the bins at home, and enjoy the devotion of your dog because believe me, its not the birds you miss when their gone.

MADISON 1997-2011