Ninety pounds and cute as a button

December 11, 2025
Owl Feather Farm, San Juan Island

Simon was cute as a button. We picked him out from pictures of four puppies born in a spring litter in Montana 18 months ago, and everyone agreed this guy had the sweetest, mildest demeanor.

Even Blue, our older Weimaraner. He picked Simon too. Yes, let’s add a playmate to our farm family.

We were all sure this puppy would be low-key, user-friendly. Moderate. Serene. Good-natured. Quiet. See for yourself—here’s a picture of Simon the day we picked him up at the airport after his flight to Seattle.

Ninety pounds and cute as a button
Cute as a button
Ninety pounds and cute as a button
Puppy bookworm

Sweet, right?

That was then, and this is now. Now, he’s a 90-pound ox who shakes the whole house when he jumps down from the bed. He is in one respect what we thought, good-natured—no more cheerful being is alive on this planet. Simon is happy to be alive every single minute, every day; he lets all negative input sluice off his back like a summer shower; he greets all creatures with joy. Never a grumpy moment. Always smiling.

Oh, and he’s a chowhound. There’s nothing he won’t eat, any time (thus the 90 pounds, duh); there’s nothing he won’t put in his mouth. He likes books—to eat. It’s a good thing we don’t keep small-scale nuclear weapons around the house, he’d chomp ’em.

So many of these characteristics are different from his older brother, Bleu. They aren’t genetically siblings, but might be cousins; whatever the case, they could hardly be more different. Bleu is an aristocrat, Simon a good ‘ol boy. Bleu’s an agile athlete; Simon’s an offensive lineman whose way you ought not block. Bleu is Nathaniel; Simon, “Bubba” or “Pork Chop,” a nickname he accepts equanimically. Call me anything you want, just give me a cheeseburger please.

It’s wonderful to share life with such a good-natured being and we all love him infinitely, even when he gets out of line, which he does not think ever happens. Quiet? Hmm. There’s an excess of barking and we’re working on that. A diet? Well, he’s not really overweight. Put him on a leash and he’s a bulldozer. Dense. Chunky. Step aside when he’s about to barrel through you.

It’s been educational to watch how differently he turned out from our initial judgment (based on just a picture) and how different he is from Bleu. It’s a blessed reminder of the unlimited variety of life and nature, and a moment to pause and reflect on how this principle is universal throughout… well, the universe.

Expectations lie largely within ourselves. They are not concretely intrinsic to real life. When Simon greets the morning with a happy expression and a willing spirit, and perhaps a small vocal outburst, it’s a gift that goes far beyond what we were expecting.

—Eric Lucas

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