pulling many things together-- progress.... on that
"dog run" chunk out of the donkey pasture has a twofold
purpose--- leave several big trees-- oaks etc.. inside teh dog part
because teh donkeys are inclined to eat the bark off trees, which
eventually kills them,.
-- somebody __ a camera person-- asked me about some rumor, if
yoou put a nail in a tree just right it will killl them- rushing quickly thru
my mentAL storage of people, nails and trees... i don't know how a nail
or two would kill a tree.... i have heard how nails save trees... kind of a
nasty one... cutting trees down for lumber will not happen in a place where-
for one reason or another, people have put nails in trees-- to hold up fences,
SIGNS or whatever....-- because that great big sawblade that slices
trees into boards costs MANY THOUSANDS OF $$$$ AND IS RUINED BY A NAIL OR
TWO. I WAS TOLD THAT ONE BY A GUY WHO GAVE UP MILLING NEAR HERE FOR JUST THAT
REASON... - THEN... I DON'T KNOW FOR FACT BUT....... AN OLD INDIAN
WAY OF PREPARING FIREWOOD WAS TO CHIP AWAY AN INCH OR TWO OF BARK ALL AROUND A
TREE.... IT WOULD DIE... AND DRY OUT AND BE PERFECT FIREWOOD IN 2
YEARS...
I HAD FORGOTTEN THE WOOD MILLING PHASE OF MY EXISTANCE..... TIME
WAS....... WHEN I HAD A BARN FULL OF 4-H TYPE KIDS-- BUNCH OF PONIES ETC.... TO
BE KEPT THE CHEAPEST POSSIBLE WAY-- MEANT I CERTAINLY DID NOT BUY NICE
BAGGED SHAVING AS YOU NOW SEE IN TEH DONKEY STALL...- I WAS STRUGGLING TO BUY
HAY AND HAD NO MONEY FOR SHAVINGS...... HOWEVER... IN GROVELAND - ABOUT 8 MILES
AWAY -- NEAR THE INDIAN FOOD/GAS STATION- THERE WAS A MILL... MILLS MAKE
SAWDUST, AND IT WAS _"UP FOR GRABS" FIRST COME FIRST
SERVE.- IT WAS BLOWN FROM THE MILL TO AN OVERHEAD "BIN" IN THE
BEGINNING, I CARRIED A WONDERFUL BIG ALUMINUM SHOVEL IN CASE I WENT BY
AND THERE WAS A PILE ON THE GROUND, I COULD FILL MY SMALL IH ( INTERNATIONAL
HARVESTOR ) PICKUP IN VERY FEW MINUTES--- AND WAS THRILLED.
THEN AS OTHER HORSEPEOPLE GOT BETTER ORGANIZED AND TRAINED TO SHUT
TH E OVERHEAD DROP BETTER... - THERE WAS LESS ON THE GROUND AND IT WAS
POSSIBEL TO BACK UNDER THE "SILO" KIND OF THING AND FILL YOUR
TRUCK OR AS LIFE WENT ON, YOUR TRAILER. -- SOMETIMES TEH SAWDUST WOULD STICK TO
THE WALLS AND TO FILL THE TRAILER IT WAS NECESSARY TO CLIMB UP 25 FEET
AND INTO THE SILO- AND JUMP AROUND FORCING THE STUFF OUT THE
HOLE.-- THIS YOU COUOD NOT POSSIBLY DO IF TEH SAW WAS RUNNING- NO ONE WORE ANY
KIND OF FACE MASK FOR THIS-- IF TEH SAW STARTED RUNNING YOU JUST GOT OUT
QUICKLY !! MR. ESTY WHO OWNED TEH MILL WAS GLAD TO GET RID OF THE STUFF..
WE LIVED BY TEH " SAWDUST RUN" FOR YEARS..-- I'D
COME BACK WITH A LOAD AND THE KIDS WOULD ALL SHOVEL IT INTO THE " SAWDUST
SHED"
shoveling and lifting---- there was no
"personal trainer" involved... we just lifted....THERE Are
sooooo many stories "andre" and his canadian hay
truck with 30 tons of hay- to be re-stacked by boston bruins hockey
guys...-- the horse in the well lifted by 12 tons of sand bucketed... (
i tthink that is in janine's book "dogs, donkeys")--
bucketing the 55 gallon drum of water to keep the horses
watered after the house fire... there was no ceremony-- no hesitation....
"here take this" and these young kids ? 8 - 12? would
lug and shovel.
i don't think it hurt any of them-- there was not one parent
that said "i don't expect my child to do that"
it was a privilege to be able to work....-- it
still is....
*****
erica writes so well why should i fill up pages???? especially
when i am told teh walkin freezer is only at 30 degrees...
ASHER AND I HAD SUCH A FUN ADVENTURE YESTERDAY SPENDING THE DAY
with the NEWEST MATCH, FIONA AND ELVIS---
! THEY DON'T LIVE TOO FAR FROM US SO WE WERE SO EXCITED TO FINALLY MEET
UP IN PERSON, AND ASHER LOVES ANY OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A NEW FRIEND!
ASHER AND I HOPPED ON THE MBTA YESTERDAY MORNING AND HEADED TO
BOSTON WHERE FIONA AND ELVIS MET US. ASHER HAD ONLY WORKED ALONGSIDE ANOTHER
DOG WITH ME ONE OTHER TIME AND IT WAS JUST TO TAKE A SHORT WALK OUTSIDE, AND I
WAS REALLY IMPRESSED HOW BOTH DOGS MAINTAINED THEIR FOCUS ON OUR WAY OVER TO
CAMPUS. THE BOYS WERE INTRODUCED TO EACH OTHER OUT OF VEST INSIDE A QUIET
HALLWAY OF FIONA'S RESIDENCE HALL - IT WAS SUCH A HOT AND HUMID MORNING, WE ALL
PREFERRED TO STAY IN THE AIR CONDITIONING! BOTH ASHER AND ELVIS WERE A LITTLE
BIT UNSURE AT FIRST ABOUT EACH OTHER, BUT THEY BECAME FAST FRIENDS. ASHER,
ALWAYS THE JEALOUS TYPE, DIDN'T LIKE IT MUCH WHEN I SAID HI TO ELVIS, BUT ELVIS
IS SUCH A SWEET AND AFFECTIONATE PUP!
I'VE NEVER GOTTEN TO EXPERIENCE WALKING AROUND IN PUBLIC WITH
ANOTHER WORKING DANE BEFORE, AND I'M SURE WE WERE A SIGHT TO BE SEEN WALKING
AROUND DOWNTOWN BOSTON! PEOPLE WOULD STARE AS THEY USUALLY DO, AND THEN REALIZE
THERE WASN'T JUST ONE HUGE DOG, BUT TWO! WE GOT THE USUAL QUESTIONS AND
COMPLIMENTS, BUT PROBABLY MORE OF THEM AS WE PARADED DOWN THE BUSY STREETS!
ASHER WAS THE SEASONED PROFESSIONAL HE ALWAYS IS, DESPITE HOW LITTLE TIME WE’VE
SPENT IN BOSTON, AND ELVIS IS NOT FAR BEHIND! ASHER HAS OVER A YEAR AND A HALF
OF EXPERIENCE ON ELVIS, BUT I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH HOW LEVEL-HEADED ELVIS IS
IN HIS YOUNG AGE AND LIVING IN SUCH A BIG CITY. NEITHER DOG EVER REACTED TO
CONSTRUCTION, LOUD BUSES, OR THE OCCASIONAL FIREWORK YESTERDAY EVENING. BY THE
TIME ELVIS IS ASHER’S AGE, HE JUST MIGHT BE A BOMB-PROOF DOG, TOO!
WE WENT TO GRAB SOME LUNCH IN THE AFTERNOON AND AGAIN GOT PLENTY
OF LOOKS FROM THE CUSTOMERS AND STAFF AROUND US WHEN THEY NOTICED ONE DOG FIRST
AND THEN SAW THE SECOND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE! FIONA AND I STAYED FOR
SOME TIME, AND BOTH BOYS WERE CONTENT TO KEEP THEIR DOWN-STAYS AS LONG AS WE
NEEDED, ASHER SNOOZED THE WHOLE TIME WHILE ELVIS WAS A LITTLE MORE INTERESTED
IN HIS SURROUNDINGS – I’M SURE ASHER WAS WONDERING WHY THIS YOUNG PUP WAS
WASTING SO MUCH ENERGY!
WE BEAT THE HEAT IN THE AFTERNOON BY BAKING SOME BLUEBERRY LEMON
SCONES (WE THOUGHT WE’D INTRODUCE FIONA TO THE AMERICAN VERSION!), AND WE HAD
TWO VERY EAGER FOUR-LEGGED SOUS CHEFS WHO WERE HAPPY TO MAKE SURE NOTHING WAS DROPPED
ON THE FLOOR FROM EITHER END OF THE COUNTER. THE EVENING BROUGHT IN A COOL
BREEZE AND THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED INTO THE 60S, SO WE COULDN’T WAIT TO GET THE
BOYS OUTSIDE TO PLAY! THEY COULDN’T WAIT EITHER AND HAD CLEARLY BEEN LONGING
FOR THAT MOMENT THE WHOLE DAY. AS SOON AS WE WALKED TO SOME GRASS AND THE VESTS
CAME OFF, THEY TOOK OFF TOGETHER AND WRESTLED AND JUMPED AROUND UNTIL THEY HAD
WORN EACH OTHER OUT.
FIONA AND ELVIS WALKED ASHER AND I BACK TO THE STATION WHERE WE
WAITED FOR OUR TRAIN BACK TO PROVIDENCE. ALL FOUR OF US HAD HAD A LONG DAY, BUT
TIME FLEW! ASHER SLEPT ALMOST THE WHOLE TRAIN RIDE AND SLEPT LATE THIS MORNING
– YESTERDAY WAS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST DAY EITHER OF US HAVE HAD IN WEEKS. WE HAD
SUCH A GREAT TIME HANGING OUT WITH ANOTHER SDP TEAM THOUGH, THE LONG DAY WAS
WELL WORTH IT! ASHER AND I ARE EXCITED TO WATCH FIONA AND ELVIS’S PARTNERSHIP
CONTINUE TO GROW, AND WE ALREADY CAN’T WAIT FOR OUR NEXT TRIP TO BOSTON!
