This week I want to tell you about a walk during which I met an older gentleman. He approached from the opposite direction along a wooded trail with a walking stick in one hand and a Staffordshire terrier on a leash in the other. I knew Sitka would get excited, so hoping to avoid an incident where my dog might cause the dog to pull him over, I stepped off the trail and put Sitka in a sit.
Instead of walking past, he stopped to chat. His dog was polite, calm, and well trained as mine—quite the...
I have a white dog. This is a first for me. According to the traditions and mythology of many cultures around the world, a white dog is a symbol of purity, divine protection—but most importantly, spiritual growth. The white dog represents harmony, divine protection, and inner peace.
That last one really made me laugh.
My white dog is the source not of inner peace, but absolute chaos. I don’t have time to think about my spiritual journey when I’m letting her in and out the door, righting...
The first book in the Murphy's Law Farm mystery series is FREE for a limited time. NOT YOUR LUCKY DAY is a mystery packed with danger, twists, and a touch of romance.
You'll want to read it (or re-read it) before book two, THE DEVIL'S LUCK, drops this summer.
Not Your Lucky Day — Find the mare. Find the truth. Olympia “Pia” Murphy was named for champions, but luck isn’t on her side. Swindled, strapped for cash, and clinging to a failing...
Whenever I give my Husky mix, Sitka, a high-value treat or one she is not interested in eating right then, she whines and stresses over where to hide it. She carries it around the house, shoving it under sofa cushions, burying it under the bath mat, or sliding it deep under the bed. She’s often not satisfied with the first hiding spot, so has to retrieve it and find a better one.
My husband and I laugh over this curious behavior. “No one is going to take your bone!” we tell her. There are no...
Do you ever wonder just how much your dog actually understands? I’ve long suspected it’s far more than she lets on—and that obedience is, frankly, optional.
This week, I got proof.
Yesterday morning my mare came in missing a shoe. This is not rare. She has perfected the art of pulling them off, and my farrier—who possesses the patience of a saint—usually comes out to tack it back on. That is, if I find the shoe. If I don’t, we’re looking at a more expensive and time-consuming remake.
I recently learned that Dorcas (Galley) Hoar, a woman accused of witchcraft during the notorious Salem Witch Trials, was my 10th great-grandmother (according to Ancestry.com).
The revelation couldn’t come at a more appropriate time than the beginning of October, Samhain, Halloween, and the witchy season. Of course, poor Dorcas was not a witch, although she ended up copping to the charge in order to save her neck. Instead, she was a woman who did not fit in with the Puritan community and...
I recently learned that one of my favorite authors, Paulette Jiles, passed away on July 8, 2025. The news hit me harder than I expected. Jiles—brilliant chronicler of both history and humanity—gave us News of the World (later made into a film), Enemy Women, Stormy Weather, and The Color of Lightning. Her words could transport you straight into the saddle, the storm, or the heart of another century. And as a fellow horsewoman, she earned my admiration twice over.
