Q is for… Quietude

Mungo didn’t make much noise – it’s true that he did bark occasionally – but nothing like Winnie (who seems to bark for the sheer joy of it!). I have been noticing, since we lost him, just how much I am missing his bark…

Readers of my blog may remember that he didn’t bark when he first arrived here from his foster home after rescue from the puppy farm, and it was a while before we heard the first rusty little bark – as though he hadn’t used his voice for a long time, which was probably the case… I’ve been looking back through videos of Mungo to see if I can find any with him barking, and so far I have found only one. I find it very comforting that his voice, so long quieted due to his early circumstances, will not be completely forgotten.

And so the house seems quiet without my sweet Mungo, who added his distinctive bass note to the treble of the girlies’ barking when anybody came to the house… but quiet can sometimes be what we need, especially in times of reflection.

As I have said before, I do find this time of year naturally melancholy as the green of summer returns to the ground, and we still have most of a month to go before the winter solstice… Today, we have a clear, still, frosty day after all the rain of the last couple of weeks. I think I shall take myself to the quietude of the garden, and do some autumnal tidying before the winter arrives; I know I can find some signs of spring, if I look hard enough – and we all need a little hope in the darkness.