June was certainly an eventful month. Two of the cats were attacked by something, maybe a fox but we’re not sure. Ours has an injured tail. But the children’s grandmother’s cat suffered more significant injuries. On June 5^th, she took the cat to the vet’s to be put down. In grief, Lynne said she’d never want another cat. However the kittens born to a stray cat that joined us at Christmas have been winning her over. We currently have six kittens nearly ready for new homes.

June 6 – 9 Raine and Athena went to Regina with their cousin and grandmother. They attended a Christian event that brought together many from around the province for two evening services. Aside from that, they hung out at the AirBNB eating cereal which is all they’re ever interested in. Athena generally turns up her nose at my steak dinners in favour of Honey Nut Cheerios.

In the early hours of June 9, the children’s grandfather and uncle arrived from Ontario. They brought a second UHaul truck with nearly all their remaining belongings. After several unforeseen delays, the grandfather had gotten the condo in Toronto ready to sell. The uncle decided to give Saskatchewan a try since Ontario has become so unreasonable.

June 13, I bought a dryer. It fit easily in the back of my massive van. The kids’ grandfather and uncle brought the old one out of the basement. They had the new one in and hooked up before I’d even unloaded all the groceries. It was so exciting. I don’t mind hanging clothes outside to dry but there are some things that really need a dryer.

Then the washing machine wasn’t working properly. It just wasn’t spinning properly. The children’s uncle and grandfather had a look but couldn’t figure out the problem. For a few days, the clothes were just sopping wet as I had Athena working on the overwhelmingly huge pile of laundry. When I went down to throw in another load, I noticed a screw stuck in a hole of the basket. It was preventing the machine from spinning properly. Once I pulled it out everything was running as it should be. What a relief.

We celebrated Father’s Day with a steak dinner. The children made cards for their grandfather at church. It was very special to have him there with us. Normally it’s a holiday we just ignore but this year we had someone to celebrate with.

Monday, June 24 our standard poodle, Dorthy, had puppies. The first one arrived ten minutes before the social worker came from her monthly visit. We’d prepared everything in the mudroom that doubles as the children’s tv area. There was a plastic pool set up with five chairs around for the children to watch. They were there when the social worker came in. Thankfully she considered it an exceptional learning experience. The puppies kept coming while I read over the final paper work for Cora’s adoption. Once the homestudy is reviewed by Toronto Children’s Aid, Cora will officially be placed with me for adoption. The end is, finally, in sight. By the time the social worker left, there were four puppies. We had lunch then Athena returned to Dorthy in time to see another puppy arrive. By the end of the day, there were eight in total – five girls and three boys.

It was all going wonderfully, except that Dorthy didn’t want the father, Finn, anywhere near her or the puppies.

Wednesday, June 26 Finn disappeared. I had to go to the city to get groceries. Raine, Athena, and Branch looked for him while I was gone. Normally he’s off leash but stays close except when both he and Dorthy take off. But she seems to be the one who leads him off. It was surprising that he was gone and even more surprising when he didn’t come back. There was a big rain storm that night. Raine worried it would block Finn from being able to smell his way home. She may have been right because he didn’t come back. Lynne and Raine went out looking for him but without results. Friday, June 28 I posted in the town facebook group asking if anyone had seen him. Responses came in quickly saying he’d been spotted in Gouldtown, a small hamlet just north of us. We headed over but after two hours of driving returned without even spotting him. In the days that followed, Finn was continually seen around Gouldtown. He was sleeping on the deck of a home where the owners were on vacation. Finn kept setting off their motion sensor security camera. They sent me pictures and notifications when he was there but by the time we arrived, he was gone. Everyday we spent hours drive around. Finally on July 1^st we spotted Finn on the deck where he’d been sleeping. Instead of running towards us, he ran away. Raine was crushed. Technically it’s her dog. His disappearance was difficult but the outright rejection was too much for her. She refused to continue the search. Athena joined me the next day but we didn’t see Finn. Adley and I went alone on July 3. I was wondering if we should just give up. There’s so many other things I need to be doing around the house and farm. My mom was still around. And the children’s aunt, mother to their cousin who lives here, arrived June 26 for a visit. Hours a day searching for a dog that didn’t seem to want to come home was taking a toll on all of us.

Then in the afternoon of July 3, a truck rolled up to our house. A farmer in Gouldtown had at last captured Finn. Embraced by the children, Finn really did seem so happy to be home. Perhaps he really wasn’t trying to escape us but really did loose his way. Whatever the reason, it’s good to have him back and we’ve gotten to know more of our neighbours in the process.