No Small Gift

Send us Fan Mail“It is no small gift” wrote the poet Mary Oliver about the joy a dog brings into our lives. . Journal entry:“It is no small gift” wrote the poet Mary Oliver about the joy a dog brings into our lives. In the week that we had to say goodbye to Penny, we remember the many gifts this timid lttle whirlwind brought into our lives and made them so much richer. We also explore why so many of us find grieving for a pet so difficult.  5th April, Tuesday"The trees are still here;         Broken reflections crookedly oiling                         the surface of the canal.And the blackbird still sings                    his river of song from his alder tower.  The sun, when it appears,                     still shines its green spring warmth. But I stand, incomplete, without a shadow...No, that is not how it feels.  It’s is as if I have found that I am just a shadow, thin and grey,  cast adrift on the dried mud and fallen twigs.  No longer tethered to the warmth of a living soul."Episode Information:Please go to noswpod.com for photographs of Penny. In this episode I read a couple of short extracts from Mary Oliver’s short essay ‘Dog Talk’ published in her book Dog Songs (2013 and 2021) published by Hachett UK. I also refer to Guy Winch’s article ‘Why We Need to Take Pet Loss Seriously’ from the Scientific American (May, 2018).    For more information about Nighttime on Still WatersYou can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com. It will also allow you to become more a part of the podcast and you can leave comments, offer suggestions, and reviews. You can even, if you want, leave me a voice mail by clicking on the microphone icon. General DetailsIn the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org. Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence. Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.All other audio recorded on site. ContactFor pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoswPodI would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message using the voicemail facility by clicking on the microphone icon. Support the showBecome a 'Lock-Wheeler'Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.ContactFacebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw  I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon. For more information about Nighttime on Still WatersYou can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.