She has a dream property, right on the edge of the Canadian Shield. A lovely old log home, set on close to 6 acres of woodland and wetland. Built originally as a schoolhouse, it has long since been updated with modern facilities.

Hummingbirds are so familiar with her that they seem to hang on the air over her head doing acrobatics as though in appreciation for the home-made nectar she sets out for them.

All manner of birds, from various types of woodpeckers, orioles, goldfinches, robins, bluejays and cardinals come to her many feeders. She chose that property because it was outside a municipal jurisdiction. And the reason for that, although she still obtains annual licenses for her animals, is that she has chosen to take in an abundance of neglected and abused dogs. And cats. and rabbits. Where else could she then, live?

But it is a long distance from where we live. And, because she is a single mother of a young girl, she calls upon us at times of need. And those times have grown increasingly frequent, of late. She has been without a paying contract, as a trained and experienced professional, for a full year. She lived on her savings for a while, but since then we have been her sole source of income.

Over and above that, whenever things go wrong, something needs to be fixed, we're called. And then her father does things that have to be done, from changing over her ice tires to normal ones on her vehicle, to replacing a set of front-door lock-sets, to anything else that crops up. The long drive exhausts us, the presence of all those animals dispirits us, her sad plight frightens us, because of the depressing toll it takes on her spirits, and ours.