The feeling I tried to get here is warmth-for the spirit and the flesh. It gets cold and dark in northeast Ohio in the wintertime. I love to walk the dogs in the snowy afternoons or early evenings. I think we all look forward to coming back into the house afterwards to warm up. There's nothing like sitting by the fire, with your loyal dog curled up at you feet, for a real sense that all is right with the world.

Did you ever notice that goldens can be lying in the snow with their faces buried, yet they never seem to get cold? Then they come into the house and lie so close to the flames you think they're going to catch fire. Neither extreme seems to affect them, and that's why I placed this golden so close to the fireplace.

I set the scene in my father-in-law's barn workshop. He was an excellent carver of duck decoys. I have fond memories of his incredible workshop, which was filled with beautiful work. So the fireplace in the image is the Ben Franklin stove from my father-in-law's barn. - JW