October 4th, 2008: We are enveloped in sadness today as Anaximander, a 18-or-so year-old cat, passed away after a frightful, but mercifully brief illness.  He suffered from a fast-growing oral tumour.

Anax showed up in the barn, out of nowhere, in the fall of 1998.  He was quickly incorporated into the household and is as much identified with our home as anything else.  He rewarded the offer of a warm home with loyal affection and the sharing of his complex and very practical wisdom.  We are honoured to have known him.

My few experiences with death have all lead to some degree of self-reevaluation  In Anax’s case, the re-evaluation will, in part I believe, revolve around my thoughts of trying to make music which is a more honest extension of oneself.  The ultimate goal being to express sincere emotion, and particularly, for me, the two most powerful emotions: sadness and love.  Both of these emanate strongly from my time with Anaximander.

Practically, this will bring changes to at least one song on the 2nd new Viosac CD, the artwork for which John and I are currently working on.  The Rusty Pile experience (still pending) has taught me to have the artwork done before the music, when making a CD.  We will see where this leads …

Indulgently, here are some photos of Anax:

The wise one

Spring thaw

Sunlight after eating

At home in the barn

For even more photos of Anax, please visit here: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55235&l=9829d&id=723626665