We don’t always get to say goodbye to our friends before they go. But it’s always the right time to say how much we loved them.

We met Debbie Nightingale — the owner and gorgeous force of nature behind Haute Goat — not long after we moved out of the city. She hosted a workshop by Well Preserved, and that day marked the beginning of 3 new friendships for us (maybe 6 or more, depending on how you count the lines…). Joel, Dana, and the ringleader, Debbie. I liked Debbie immediately. She was caring, whipsmart and direct, open-hearted and deeply generous of spirit.

“Remember me in stories—not the first time we met, not the last, a time in between.”

I returned to Haute Goat many times. Once to learn how to milk a goat and make cheese (pictured here, 2017), again to learn about mushrooms, again to facilitate nature/maker tours on the farm, and sometimes to just share a hug and say hi. Debbie gave me insole offcuts to upcycle, and fresh fibre that I turned into felting kits, styled after her beloved goats. She invited me to be a vendor at events, and it was at Haute Goat that I offered the first Painting with Plants. Debbie seemed determined to believe in me. In the background, in emails and texts, Debbie and I would chat about dark skys, starlight, technology, tracks, and always always the wonderfulness of critters, and how dear they can be to our hearts.

Debbie was dear to my heart. I admired her confidence and conviction, and how open and giving she was with everything she had: farm and soul. How quick she was to foster connections and community.

It is a tricky business, to be mortal, and to love other mortal beings. We don’t always know where in the story we’ll be when it will end. And some stories are cut too short.

I’m sad I didn’t get to say goodbye to Debbie, but I believe she knew I thought the world of her. As Maya Angelou said, in When Great Trees Fall, “Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, takes leave of us… after a period peace blooms… Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.” Goodbye my magnificent friend, I am so glad to have known you. 💚