Nitrus… I found your bones where you buried them and they are safe here with us. Karol instructed the gardener to leave them untouched. When I see where you so carefully hid them it brings a smile to my face and I remember how obvious it was that you had buried something each time you came to the door with some fresh dirt on your little nose.

A beautiful green-headed hummingbird has landed on a branch beside one of your bones.

As I sit here writing this, a beautiful green-headed hummingbird has landed on a branch beside one of your bones. He reminds me how they would feed here in your yard beside you as you sunbathed on your favorite lounge chair.

But now your lounge chair is empty and your yard is being overtaken by all the beauty that Spring brings, just the way you enjoyed it. The woodpeckers are here as are the crows with their usual chatter and each evening the deer and turkeys come looking for you as well. They are equally eyeing the white blossoms covering the beautiful plum tree that drops so much delicious fruit tyst they all love so. I haven’t seen the jack rabbits return yet but I know they will soon. I smile remembering how they excited you. They too will be on the lookout, wondering where you have gone. The squirrels too skitter about and rush up their familiar trees, the same squirrels that made your ears peek at attention and caused your ageing legs to want to make a mad dash for them. They are still as timid as they were when you were standing guard. You did a great job teaching them to beware at all times. 

It’s silent now as I miss you and there is no familiar panting to be heard and no gentle nudges from your nose requesting a gentle scratch behind your ears. There is no water dish to clean and fill and no need to worry about the gate being left open any more. Houdini the escape artist would have been so proud of you. 

But there is a yard; a yard filled with beautiful memories, shadows, light, beauty and the grand views of green fields, wooded forrest and gentle breezes all of which you used to enjoy as you sometimes allowed it to blow across your face with your eyes closed but all the while keeping your ears alert and your nose aware.

Nitrus, know you are missed and yet you are here with us forever. You are missed and yet you are free and even so, I know you’re still right here in my heart. 

Gary Faules
Gary Faules is a former Oregonian who still holds records as a former Olympic skeet shooter, racecar driver and team owner and competed in the world famous 2007 La Carrera Panamericana. He has traveled the world as both a big-game hunter and angler and has been a freelance writer for both racing and automotive as well as sport shooting publications not to mention his latest book I Slept In Africa made The Forbes Book List. Seeking adventure is only second nature as he continues his dream of living life to the max since almost being left blind as a child due to a freak accident. Gary has been the recipient of numerous awards, several being congressional recognition awards for helping others. A once retired CEO of his own corporation, Gary continues to work and lives near San Francisco, California, where he spends much of his time enjoying the love of his life and waiting for the next adventure so that he can continue the journey.