This site last updated
08/25/06
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A sheltie-specific
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Sheltie Angel
artwork by
L.M. Crane,
all rights reserved
Meet Amy Butcher
Greetings,
everyone! Amy Butcher here. Thought it would be fun to introduce myself, give
folks an idea of just who IS Ailea's Place... Give you a face and a story or two
to connect with the name so that I am a real person and not an anonymous entity
hiding behind Ailea's web pages.
At left is a perfectly lovely young girl many of you will recognize if you examine the face carefully... Of course, many changes have been wrought over the years following the taking of this portrait, some of those changes for the better, even!
Is
that really Amy (right)? Yes, it is. By the time I was in 5th grade I insisted
to let my hair grow. When I graduated high school in 1976 it had not grown as
much as you might think in 7 years, but by late 1983 - another 7 years - I was
sitting on it (and then whacked it all off!).
Those
who know me today, and missed out on all that long, straight hair, know my
induced curls, although I still go back and forth between long hair and short. I
get tired of it long and cut it all off for a while, then get tired of it short
and let it grow. The nice thing about it is, it is only hair and it does grow
back. At left is a more recent "version" of Amy :-).
I work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the Biology Department, one of the largest departments within the College of Arts and Sciences. My job at UNC-CH is to manage the equipment inventory for this department (housed in three buildings), as well as the Biology Storeroom, which is stocked with expendable research, teaching and office supplies in support of the teaching and research labs, and the staff, of the entire department.
I was born with a great love and affinity for our canine companions. Off and on through the years we had family pets, each of them in their own turn precious to me. There actually has not been much of my life spent without the company of at least one dog. My interest in Shelties began in 1993 when an acquaintance asked if I would help her show her newly acquired show hopeful Sheltie puppy. She warned me before I accepted, I would fall in love and be a Sheltie sucker for life, but I told her, "Nah, I'm a BIG dog person!" Little did I know...
Regardless of my own determination to be and remain a "big" dog person, the earlier prediction - that I would become a Sheltie sucker for life - proved all-too true! I did fall in love. Buddy, the little dog I helped my friend with, was a special pal for many months as we attended first puppy obedience, and then handling classes. We showed in a couple of all-breed shows, and though he did not turn out as we had hoped, he did not go to his pet home before I had to have a Sheltie of my very own in the form of Noella, an unassuming bi-black girl. Now, here I am, hopelessly smitten for life, and I attribute every bit of it to Buddy, Sleepy Eye This Bud's For You.
I
married my husband in August, 1987, and we moved to North Carolina in June,
1988, along with my two children, Anthony and Sarah, who were 5 and 4 years old
at the time. It was not until 1997, however, that we purchased property and
moved into our new home, Ailea's Place. Ailea's Place - a place where a body can
settle in and dig deep roots.
I once had a huge amount of hopes and dreams for Ailea's Place and a future in Shelties. Seems there must be other plans for me as my health, as well as the development (or, perhaps, return) of a severe allergy to dogs, has made it all but impossible for me to continue, or to have a Sheltie future at Ailea's Place, other than through those Ailea Shelties whose legacies are as yet unwritten, but which are shared with others. As the future is uncertain I cannot know anything for sure, except that my love of dogs - Shelties in particular - will never wane, and I will always, always want to do more.
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Fresh catfish, caught fishing the shoals of the Cape Fear River, Lee County, NC |
Despite the business of adult children, the dogs, full-time jobs and the works, my husband and I find mutual enjoyment in boating and fishing the local lakes and rivers. Now that my life is devoid of dog activities (except those few in which I might safely partake), we spend more time on the water together, hoping to catch one or two of the springtime local tournaments as a pair, spending as much time together as we can squeeze in the boat, mostly sitting at night listening to the wildlife. And we do keep, clean and freeze freshly-caught catfish and crappie. The picture at left is a nice catch of fresh catfish from the Cape Fear River.
To read an enormously entertaining story about an experience of mine while boating at the lake - a REAL live Amy Story!!!, click here...
At
right we have a picture of the main portion of B.
Everett Jordan Lake, which is where we do most of our boating and fishing.
Jordan Lake is wonderful - a peaceful pastime of boating and fishing - and, on
that rare occasion, swimming - whether by accident or design! You wouldn't think
a small, man-made lake like Jordan would be a place for sail boating, but we see
sailboats on the lake quite frequently!
At
left is a photograph of me in one of my more serious (or would you say,
pensive?) moments (actually, I was darned hot and taking a rest!). Taken by my
mother at a family get-together in Foster's Falls, Virginia, summer, 1998, she
sent this to me and said, "But you have those damned sunglasses on!"
Incognito, I told her... I'm sure she didn't find it as amusing as I did, but
isn't that what Mothers are for, to tell you when you do it all wrong? And yep,
the hair is long here, but with those artificial curls...
Anyone interested in the New River and/or traveling in or through the mid-section of the Appalachian Mountain range, I encourage you to check out Foster's Falls, Virginia, just off I-77. A great place to picnic and hike, and you can even rent canoes and other kinds of boats and things.
You are invited to meet the family, view my favorite photos, and read some interesting (?) narrative about some of my more recent experiences. Please feel free to choose a link below...
