While the world morns the loss of famous icons, Ed McMahon, Farah Faucet and Michael Jackson. Our little family mourns a loss of our own.

On Father's day, my beautiful Fred, had a blood clot, go to his spine, paralyzing him in the hind legs. I had to drive him  to the emergency vet; he had to be put to sleep. We are all still shocked. 

He had just and hour before, taken his evening walk with me from our visit to the chickens, back to the house. Just 5 -10 minutes before he was sitting on the bathroom sink, tapping me on the shoulder, so that I would turn the sink on for him so he could get a drink.

Just like that, he was gone. He was loved, he is so deeply missed. Our little lion, filled up our entire backyard and home with so many memories, it's hard to go outside anymore.

This is Fred sleeping in his favorite spot in the backyard, where he is now laid to rest. I will cover his grave in his favorite flowers, iris, lilies and soapwort. He loved to stalk through them, and I'd sometimes think he imagined himself a lion stalking through the plains. Sometimes he'd play peek-a-boo, popping up and down behind them.

He loved to lie on the cars when they were warmed from the sun. He loved to sleep in our swing under the screen tent. We called it Fred's Summer House. He was always supposed to be an inside cat, but he loved to be outdoors so much that we gave in and let him be inside, outside.

He always greeted everyone when they came to visit or when we came home.  

I will miss him when it rains; I used to call outside for him so he'd come in out of it.

I miss him when I brush my teeth because he used to sit on the sink and ask for a drink.

When I come home and he's not in the drive to greet me. When we take the dogs for a walk and I'd have to carry him around the block with us, because he'd want to go, but he walked to slow.

I miss him when I let my dogs out in the morning, because he used to come in when they went out. I'd always think of the Bugs Bunny cartoon, where the sheep dogs and Coyotes would clock in and out, as they passed each other on their shift to guard and try to eat the sheep.

He filled every corner of our home, our yard and our hearts

I still can't believe he is gone, He is very much missed.