Of course the squirrels and chipmunks are all falling in line for their turn as well although, like the blue jays, they just muscle their way in as the other birds scatter into the nearby lilac and hydrangea shrubs and wait.

And my dog, Addie is here too lying in front of the wood stove as Willow, our 20-year-old cat is curled up on the rocker staying warm and safe. All of them, birds, squirrels, dogs and cats all provide me with a sense of comfort and belonging. The existence of these animals that are always around me give me reassurance that we are all a part of a huge bonding energy system that is life.

Recently I was sitting next to a friend in my yoga class as we waited for our teacher to arrive. The subject of our dogs, past and present, came up. We shared stories of vacuuming our home a year after one of our dogs had died and still discovering tuffs of doggie hair hidden in the corners. My memory of that brought back a moment of hesitation before sweeping away that final fragment of a very, loved dog.

Of course I still had that fur that I brushed off my dog when he was alive and hid tenderly in a small bag that I bring out on occasion and press to my nose imagining the long lost smell of his soft coat. How we reach out for the impossible knowing it’s only an imagination away.

We so love our animals.

Perhaps this is why I’ve decided to reinstate the column Our Animals Ourselves to remind myself and others of our lives together with the animals. I’ve written many articles in the past about our connection to them, especially our pets, and will probably find that I am repeating myself but only because it all bears repeating.

Sad, happy, angry, loving, I’m sure these articles will be filled with a variety of these emotions but stories about animals always are, so I hope whatever I write will only serve to enhance our love, respect and connection to these important creatures. Our better halves perhaps.