A continuation of our family's story, in a new place.

I'm back! Back to resuming a regular schedule of postings here at Open Your Heart with Pets at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Mark and I, plus dogs Farley, Tyler and Jackie and parrot, Gracie, moved from city condo to country home July 1st. Now we are in the beautiful hills of Appalachia (so sorry to say we do not live in Seattle, but not everyone can, you know)... (For more on the beauty of this area, I invite you to visit my art blog.

We are in southern Ohio, home of Ohio University. It is beautiful here... hills, cliffs, caves, a river, tall forests, a beautiful college campus... The town is so lively, people of all ages and cultures, lots of small businesses, lots going on. We have found our forever home and last weekend Mark and I celebrated our first anniversary, though I told Farley it was the one-year anniversary of my becoming her "mommy."

Each animal has found a place and continued a routine in our new home. Tyler spends the mornings alternating between the kitchen chair, the couch, the chair in my office, and, if he's tired, our bed. If anyone intimates they might want to take a nap, Tyler graciously shares the bed.

There are deer here, and the first time Tyler and Farley saw the deer, it was as if they said, "Holy cow! These are way bigger than the squirrels on Drummond Island!" The barking was ear-shattering. I've concluded that the deer will choose our neighbors' yards over ours. Even one yip from Jackie sends them running when they are across the street, as in the following photo.

Tyler thinks the dogs are really big in his new place!

The dog park gives dogs and kids a chance to meet

The group greets Farley (bottom left)

Farley (at bottom of ying/yang photo) meets a relative?

Farley likes to spend the mornings in her bed in Mark's office, where she has a good view of Mark and the backyard. The sun comes in the skylights and warms her spot. She is in heaven! Farley's new thing here in Athens is the dog park. We've taken her three times and she's making some new friends. The funny thing was, on her first visit, there was another brindle coated dog and they immediately paired off and, after some initial shyness on Farley's part, ran together. Like humans, pets learn that new, fun experiences await them when they are open-hearted and try new things.

Jackie has found comfort in keeping her routine of having her bed under my desk. It's a new desk, in a new office, in a new house, and a new town. But it's her bed and the routine that comforts her. As does being with me on the couch at night while we watch TV and I work on crafts, spending time with Grandma on her recent visit, and sitting with Mark while he watches sports.

Gracie's cage is in my office in front of a window looking out to the backyard. She now has a cage on the porch too, and has enjoyed sitting out there looking at the trees and the sky. The funniest thing with her adjustment has been to see her in the shower. Her perch is in the shower, as it was in the previous house. But now there is a skylight overhead and she just can't seem to figure out how she can be in the shower and see clouds and trees!

Gracie loves her new view.

There's a steep drop in our backyard; Gracie can feel she lives in a rainforest canopy! (She always in her outdoor cage when outdoors; it's not shown in this photo.)

When family and friends visited, the pets seemed as happy to see them in our new home as we were. It was as if they had things to share and tell them about too.

Jackie: "Look at where I sit now." "Here's my bed, just like always."

Tyler: "Here's where my food dish is kept." "Here's the fleece bed that I sometimes pretend is my girlfriend." "Here's where I pee outside; my favorite tree, the biggest one of course!"

Farley: "Here's where my cookies are kept. Here's where a squirrel walked in 2004, I believe."

Gracie: "Don't touch me, just look out this window at me, but first, go get me an almond from the kitchen cupboard. Farley can show you where they are."

Moving was stressful, but our routines, our support and love for one another, a good Sharpie marker, roll of packing tape, and stack of Post-its (plus coffee, and IcyHot in stick form), have carried us through. And now we can enjoy the old and the new as we embark on a new phase of family life.

Jackie, Farley, and Tyler have become a pack of three. From the couch (which they sometimes share with me) they can look out the glass sliding doors onto the backyard, the woods, and their new territory. And, watch for deer!