Remembering Times Long Past

This February, our weather turned from warm to bitterly cold and snowy. This always leaves the camellia blossoms frostbitten browned. I brought Pearl (my last chicken from the original flock of six) and Ernest (my adopted stray cat) inside for safety. We spent time thinking about the past and doing creative things together. I missed my dog, Brandy, and Pearl missed her sister, Blanche.

Brandy’s Day of Remembrance was this past February 14th, the day he died in my arms as my beloved first and only dog. As an artist, drawing him in the yard of my house where he was never able to play seemed like the best way to remember him.

First Illustration: Brandy’s ears were excellent for listening to the songbirds who visited The Backyard Garden. In no time at all, he only needed to hear a few notes before scanning for the particular feather color and pattern of the singer. He never barked since that might frighten them away.

Second Illustration: The little Carolina Wrens were Brandy’s favorites companions in The Backyard Garden. Their colors and patterns seemed to match his own. There were times when he imagined taking short leaps from branch to branch in search of favorite treats using their feathers rather than his own fur.

Third Illustration: Nothing amazed Brandy more than the sharp eyes hidden behind the masks of the chickadees whose beauty was only accentuated by the pale pink camellia blossoms. It was times like this that reassured him this garden was exactly where he belonged. This would be his home for as long as he wanted it to be his home. (Of the three illustrations, this is perhaps my favorite because the chickadee seems hidden within the camellia tree and so requires sharp eyes for Brandy — or a reader here — to find.)

And since I am writing about My Boy Brandy, I should probably share this drawing with you as well.

Although folded rather than lying flat, this is the only surviving graphite drawing of Brandy made from life (rather than from memory or from a photograph) that I have. It was made on January 10, 1982 when Brandy and I lived on Raleigh Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia. It was drawn long before there was a GraciePress or any story or drawing about Gracie or any other chicken. This is possibly the most valuable (if only to me) drawing that I ever created.

Below is an SVG scan of the drawing to emphasize its lines which give the figure both form and weight. But this can’t compare to the actual graphite pencil drawing that shows the true personality of this adopted shelter dog who was just a mutt and Corgi mix.

Like me, Brandy had no high-brow breeding and no preferred pedigree, but he did have a singular devotion to being a “truly faithful and good boy.” And with that said, let me share this:

Animals truly are one of God’s greatest blessings. They help us understand His own unconditional Love for us through their eyes.

Thank you for reading, liking, and commenting!

John