aug 31 2023

exciting progress---or another tangent....... a veterans group is planning to use “goldys acres” as a stepping off to the state forest behind me—there “IS  A GUY” who has started  self help groups for vets-  similar to the AA program-  and fortified by the  association with nature--- walks--- and animals... so we do fit right in... I hope we can provide whatever he needs... I know the program is very needed....

of course---  I had to remember I do have the remnants of that old 27 ‘ tipi – namely the poles....  I know they are lying next to some wall or another in the arena... or “G TENT”. It would provide them with a weatherproof meetng place. Which lacks all the sterility of the hospital setting... which would be an advantage to many  veterans.  This “guy” ( who’s name I have unfortunately forgotten but eliz has it)   background is a combination of medical and time on the. Appalachian trail.  It sounds very promising... and literally “THIS SIDE OF THE PROPERTY---Is mostly unused—and--- way back when we first moved in, son in law Ron- had a huge tractor home for the night from some job- and we took that opportunity to blast our way thru to the bay state trail—which does—or will—connect cape ann with cape cod—somehow—

at any rate  Willowdale forest behind me—is plenty big enough to get totally lost in...

 

I remember riding gwens horse out there—along the very narrow paths with a 50 foot drop on both sides—then figuring that the horse would find the way home... she did not.... and I finally ended up many miles away ( before cell phones) asking for a trailer ride home.’’ So the place is big enough..

And setting up that tipi used to be fun... now, a bit more of a challenge...  but I do have the tractor with the bucket way up in the air.-

? how to?-----Sounds simple—lay 2 poles on the ground next to each other... lay the third pole at an angle and tie the three together a couple feet from the top end...---  then pull the rope back forcing them up and putting  the weight on the 2 points--- get  it balanced then separate the  first 2 poles into the triangle which forms the  base...

Then take that rope to the middle of the triangle and hang on it—if it does not collapse you are set to go and just lay the rest of the 20 or so poles around... take the last pole which has the cover wrapped around it... stand it up in place and spread out the cover and bingo ! a useable tipi...

It works--- all the plan “B’s” I have ever seen. Do not work.

 

So if someone will get me at least 3 of the fatter poles from wherever they are hiding, I will try – with help – to get the tripod standing  just for a visual to see if everyone agrees we should put it over on “goldy’s hill” by the gate to the forest.

Plus I will write to tipi.com.....  nomantics and see if they have a cover in their “mistake pile”  which might be a bargain....

 

The smaller tipi which “dan” gave us for  the puppies- is currently not being used, but according to th ei “GUY” who’s name escapes me—would be perfect for a veteran who needs some alone time--- moving that  should be easier.... all we need is some good Indian woman who could rebuild her tipi in an hour.....  I ain’t her.

 aug 30 2023

a perfect Goldy story to start the day...

quick update for newbies.. Goldy is our Ghost Of the Lefthand Drawer in that antique desk used at mail call.

Goldy has been responsible for some amazing things - here is one more.

apparently ---- someone tried feeding one of the new donkeys at Meridith farm , in spite of the fact that frying pans hang all over with signs to use them to feed treats...

 The man got nipped in the finger and the skin broken---extremely rare...but the skin was broken.. and the man was unfamiliar with any disease he might have caught ??rabies?/ they have all had their shots... so he went to the emergency room--- where the doctor there gave him a bandaid.. but noticed he was making a strange noise breathing.. so they took an xray and found a cancer he had no idea he had.... he since has gone in for treatment and is now considered "cured". thanks to Goldy for arraigning the donkey bite?????

which brings to issue... do i take that 4 ton desk with me in th e move across the driveway??? i would like to.. not only was it my fathers desk but it is huge -- lots room and just might manage all the daily paraphernalia i require from duct tape to brass rings..i will try and adapt it - then all i need is a few strong arm men to move the fool thing.---plus a few brass drawer pulls because Pasta ate them..... it does come apart... not unlike the cast iron stove which might go with me too???

 the push is on...it is a grand way to clean house

and more BEST NEWS OF THE DAY-----

.... ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IS GONE FROM THE STREET -- SO WE MUST GET MORE STUFF DOWN THERE-- IT COSTS TOO. MUCH TO TRASH STUFF !!

todays schedule-- veterans project with eliz... and i want to introduce the concept of meetings in the forest in my old 27 foot tipi-- we did locate the long poles.... i am not sure what we can use to cover it... maybe a painters tarp or two???? to get an official cover is about $2000 from tipi.com. in oregon which is where i got the old one ( who's poles i saved.....)

that should be interesting....

 aug 29, 2023

My thanks to the several people who have offered to help with  costs – and to  buy a memorial for  Mo..   We have learned so much from “Mo the mule and Mary the donkey” ---how can we forget  the many times either Mo or Mary proved they were more intelligent than we expected--- or in fact than we were!   Lessons well learned.-The ultimate tribute to both of them is the upcoming Donkey Derby.org--- which will be a demonstration of enjoying  the association with the donkey /mule world. As the more fit residents of Essex County go for a 3 mile walk with a donkey  to replicate the many donkeys who were part of the gold rush era.--- there will be a group of donkeys from Colorado coming here to participate and have some fun with our locals sept 29 to oct 1^st—The details are forth coming.... I know I have heard words like   Hamilton.... Schooling field...... Essex County Trail. Association...... – a promoters tent with sandwiches—.....the rest of the spectators byo lunches..... maybe busses from the adult living centers..... there is now a web---  Donkeyderby.org—which was slow to load but very informative and explains the silly atmosphere of racing with donkeys  who’s best attribute is slow and steady !---

 

Now to address a serious problem...i know I am not  to make suggestions about the dog project...  except I  see a  situation which could affect the health and welfare of the dogs... I can not remain quiet.

I do not know why SDP made the decision to take apart the deagle house- and they store all the pieces in  here in totally useless fashion.—because...... the deagle house was set up in such a way that ., with a few extra gates, it was possible to  kennel. 7 individual dogs  safely there in an emergency- ----similarly the nutt house could hold  5 dogs in single kennels--- just in case/// -- except they took down the outdoor fencing so there is really only two kennels there now.  

In case of what you may ask???  Well--- the barn with it’s 16 kennels is a pretty sturdy establishment.... why worry?   It is heated and airconditioned for everyone’s comfort and- there is an instant on generator....

 The plan was.....if the barn should become unusable- dogs could then be “housed” in the deagle and nutt houses.... also heated and airconditioned on. A much smaller scale.  That “IF” would be immediate....loose the heat in January when it is 10 degrees you would have only a few hours to get the dogs into something warmer.  Similarly  if the aircondition goes,  it would take only one blistering hot day for the dogs to have a serious health issue...

 

What I see right now is--- a heat/ ac unit that is running but not making cold air as of last Sunday ( thanks to bud)---  it does not matter at the moment but if the weather turns to those 100 degree days we have no where to put the dogs-  there are 4 kennels in the ICU – there should be 3 in the laundry – ok in winter--- green slimey puddle rest of the year.

I did buy 4 small a/c units at some bargain  deal....– but those have disappeared with the cellar clean out..

 

There should be some company here now  to service that heat/ac unit because the need could become immediate. And someone should put all the deagle house kennels back so they could be available in an emergency...   then next , restore the fencing to make the nutt available...

 

Emergencies  happen all the time.

Right now... no a/c.. an emergency waiting to happen...

 

Why fix the leak in the roof ... if it is not raining????

 aug 26 2023

We have an ongoing very exciting program with the veterans which involves our connection with willowdale state forest,, and to work on that yesterday both Elizabeth and Janine ended up walking three or four miles through the forest in the pouring rain.. I haven't heard from Elizabeth since--- it's a little bit rough out there ----the trail that I know very well runs along the top--- I think it's called an esker.. where it drops off 50 feet or so on either side and the trail is not much more than a foot wide.. The glaciers apparently had a wild time when they push through here back a few years ago because willodale  is full of extremely steep piles of dirt commonly called hills... often with mud at the bottom there is a trail I believe it's called the Bay State trail which goes from Cape and to Cape Cod all the way around Boston --it's one of those things I'm going to do in my second lifetime---- right now I just know that it's not very far out our gate from what we call the a field..

 

one part of this veterans project is they need a gathering place which our ice T tent  is just to busy--- the tent there by the guesthouse that overlooks the pond is very quiet but there is an area way in the back of a which would be ideal if we had some kind of shelter... not that I am a very efficient Indian woman but in the middle of the night I remembered I think we have the poles leftover from our huge tipi  which I think was 27 feet wide that was a big deal and I think the poles are around---- so that's today's project is to go find at least three of them and see if I can stand them up there by the guesthouse and just look at them for a while and see whether I think we could make something of them.. I don't think it's a simple matter to just cover the thing with the canvas.. last Tipi dealings I had I think the canvas is a semi circle with the diameter of the length of the pole or something like that in any case I don't think it you can just put up the the poles and then just hang polyester tarps all over it I don't think that'll work but somehow we can figure something out maybe getting 2 canvas painters drapes go to  pull the canvas would be a good 22 feet in diameter--I might be able to make the teepee out of two painters canvases because the order one from the tipi company would be expensive,

 

it would also be beautiful to get one of theirs.. the company I deal with is the company who made the teepees for dances with wolves so they look good.

that's the project of the day.... which will be cut very short if I can't find the 27 foot poles in the first place

aug 28 2023

We are getting there....there are sooooo many details to get the  goosing with the golden egg in the right place... Janine has some internet stuff todo... I don’t even know how to tell you where to get your  Goosing with. The  golden egg bit but please try !!

 

Maybe if I tell you the details of yesterday you might have some idea...

ThE  volvo – donated by polly has become essential- but often not where it needs to be as in Sunday morning- Janine was without car in Hamilton and needed to get to Meredith farm in Topsfield with a cup of coffee already in her. so I picked her up and then the coffee and took her to Meredith to find that they were getting ready for somebody's wedding to be on that beautiful piece of property.. and they were picking out a place to have the bride and grooms picture.. but there was a tarp in the way. so they buzzed Janine on her cell phone to find out if she would please move the tarp.. and she explained that she could not do that because there was a dead horse underneath the tarp- not totally unexpected--- some of these rescues that she brings in are one foot in the grave already and she gives them a “soft landing”  of  some beautiful pastures with green grass... she is on  an emergency cell phone basis with the man I have told you about before with the  brand new aluminun truck with a winch.... because business is so good... janine managed to get the dead horse out of there before the wedding pictures- an no one the wiser... so her chore became get the 2 mamouth donkeys in the trailer and to crazy acres—so she could bring back the 3 baby horses to the greener pastures of meridith—and the to be more p[icturesque for the wedding guests- the volvo ended up at elizabeths home- a problem because the police were already fussing about the dump trailer which was very carefully parked in front of their house and the volvo does not do trailers..  would I please run to eliz’s  with my forerunner...... before  the Boxford Police had a stroke---Small town... usually no excitement except a mis parked trailer .

 

I wish I had a photo of the look on the face of the policeman when I pulled up and said I was going to back the trailer into their driveway – it is an awful angle with 2 brick posts to stop you from swinging the front of the car  much of anywhere. I did not say anything but I had several choice words for what he could do with his blinking blue lights as I was thrilled ( and surprised) to make it on the first backing.....i explained to nick ( eliz husband) I needed the trailer to get some hay around the oncoming thunderstorm..so please get his dump run out of the way....... and I gave him his choice of one of the 7 licence plates on the floor of my car.... that I have been trying to match with vehicles for two weeks now..

Should be a simple matter    except—2 identical trailers- and one is reg to both SDP and me—which leaves another trailer with no plate.?

 

Now the man with the truck has raised prices because  a lot of maine is objecting to  dead horses in their landfill- I don’t know where he goes now...- but for those counting,,,,, masterson charges $150 to bring and then take away the huge hole digger.  Add an hour to dig a big hole, and he becomes cheaper than the guy with the winch on his truck....

And there is “mo”.   Who is getting up slower  and slower when she falls over----

So what’s the problem?.  I had all the graves of donkeys labeled with a big rock.... til some tidy sole moved all the rocks so they could cut the grass.

 

Even after many years... you do not want to dig in the wrong place.

p.s.   bud found the 27 foot poles... so the veterans project is "A GO " 

    

 

 aug 27 2023

Nobody came up with my 27 foot tipi poles yet...my best guess is they are in the arena and there were adult dogs turned out in there so  no one wanted to go looking for tipi poles.... I happened  to look up “nomadic tipi”- and got to this guy telling of his spiritual connection with the tipi world.    Which  sounds exactly like what the vereran group would like to establish off there on our “A” field – with big gate to 1000 acres of Willowdale state forest.

 

There is noting quite like napping in a tipi ... looking up into the smoke curling out the hole in the top...—when we had the big one set up, it was very possible to have “meeetings” in the thing.-----there are amazing details—and skipping too many  can caused  issues

Firstly the outside skin does not go all the way to the ground- but there is a 4” gap—that inside curtain like thing does go to the ground which means there is a 4” space for draft/ to come in – up—and out—  taking the smoke with it.-----   or in the summer... it is the airconditioning draft... – add the smoke flaps—which are the 2 flaps held   out front with 2 longer poles---  there is a whole science of tipi management.-----you enter a tipi and go to the left--- passing the firewood – chairs on the ground around the back and exit the other side= passing the “kitchen equipment”

A good tipi woman can set up her tipi in an hour ( I ain’t there yet). --- to divorce her husband all she has to do is throw him out of her tipi... ( no lawyers there !!) 

Now consider. Moving the camp---horses drag the poles  laden with the tipi--- but who gets to carry the fire??? There are no zip lighters or matches////

There are sooooo many details of Indian culture—we could use many of those back again...the bible of tipi living is by Gladys Lauben

 

Have at it--- and there is only one way to put it up...  you get those first 3 poles wrong, you can never recover....

You will  have a lot of respect for Indian women--

 aug 20 2023

Beware little old ladies with too much time on their hands----having done what resembles my household chores ( load dishwasher) the dogs were ready to go to “work” somewhere--- they do love going in these adult care places and wandering around being patted by 3 people at a time ( long dogs)   so they have come to expect it...like morning cookies.. it is a routine many days a week..  but yesterday we did not have ... judy... or any assignment... so ......... I went to the place topsfield parks their school busses....

 Ustabeee--- when I went to let the dogs or puppies run there daily, I would swing by the back of the busses and see how m any put that sign in the  back window that says “this bus has been checked for sleeping children”. A reallllly simple thing tht is not often critical.... it is that often part...it happens... so of topsfields 13 busses. Only 5 had the sign in the window--- darn it--  so I wondered how ip[swich would measure up.. I had to call the police to find where they parked the busses---and went there... 11 ipswich school busses parked with signs in 8 of them...- better than topfield but still----- it is not that difficult to walk to the back of the bus and put the sign up... so there is a chore for some of you out driving around—go check... and maybe let someone know you are checking...  sad as that soundew—apparently there  is a need for someone to check on this...

 

And then I remembered........ long ago.. we owned a getty gas station  right across the street from a college—so the attendents were constantly  students...  back when they wiped your windscreen too....that was so long ago that the gas pumps were the kind where the numbers were  simply on a roll which totalled the price....i do not know how long it went on... but we caught one student who had  his own set of numbers stuck on that roll  so that he was making an extra $2 per time he pumped the gas.  Who would check??

 

Well – I then went for groceries—and as the person flipped my grapes past the “reader” I thought......and thought..... so I came  home  with 2 small bags of groceries totalling $93--- once in my life I had determined a bag of groceries was $20-----wow..  !!!  ( cigarettes were 20 cents a pack...and a millionaire was wealthy)---- took my recipet  and checked off the items against the labels--- everything checked except the 2 yogurts.. one was $2.49 and the other $2.69.. ON MY RECIEPT.... how odd......so what is 20 cents???give me 20 cents on every one going thru the line and I would be very wealthy.  Automatically read- computer accuracy?? Should not have happened... the items looked identical  AND BOTH LABLELED $2.49 ... maybe different shipments???   Maybe just forget it...?   PROBABLY NOT... THERE ARE MANY TIMES I HAVE THAT KIND OF EXTRA TIME ON MY HANDS SO MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE A NEW COLUMN IN THE NEWSPAPER “BEWARE OF OLD FOLK  WITH TIME TO DONATE TO THE GOOD OF THE COMMUNITY”..

 

Back when I was programming--- I could make 2. +  2=6.. no problem...

  I do not understand how that check out made that error..... but you can believe I will be at it again !!  can any of you tell me how that could be correct??

 

SO all you ....HELP ME to find more of these places where we can put our “services” to good use.. ASSUMING IS FOR asses?

 aug 25 2023

thank heavens for our henny penny buyers...we have our hands full at the m oment-- but are trying to figure out exactly what our monethly expenses  are to run the  program of visits to adult centers.i am a volunteer.. no cost there. but i need assistants for general help and  to run the fry pan -- plus invariably there are several places in every home that would like a "run by" with larkey--- which he loves ... but i can't do that run.... so i sit with sizzle and jiminey and talk ( i can still talk-- oh boy can i talk) and by the time i get to the story of clipping fuzz off the testicles of the sheep in the mens room, larkey is back from the altzeimer group  on the third floor. 

so that second person-- who also can keep our schedule , address special requests (   covid has put off the visit with SHIRT ON THE GOAT,, project). and make phone calls, while sorting out things like the license plate collection on the floor in my car...  that is the best part of 4 to 5 hours a day with traveling and all.... add a tank of gas weekly ($60 x 4 ) and ...4 bags of dog food($360)...so the basic cost of this "running around with the dogs"  needs a steady budget of  $3500  ------ we usually meet our goal of seeing 100 people a  week. with the ocassional busload coming here for some fresh air (manure pile  smells??)

if my math is correct ... that is 35 cents per person...-- such a bargain !!

so if i can adjust our henny penny board-- with a few extra bucks-- to $4000 a month as the goal for all of you to meet-- for selling out before we switch to the golden goose egg of additional funds.. i could keep this program going without using my SSA-- which i really must not do.

 we have a few other ongoing projects-- elizabeth has a good one with veterans. forest trails and animals she is working on .... it that becomes a drag on the dollars, i will let you know.  right now... the hay bill will cover that. 

i want all the $10 donations to go to a known project so as life goes on-- we may adjust ...and if i make changes. you have every right to understand why- at the moment any golden eggs from the goosing will be a growth fund so we can try some of the odd ideas that come "down the pike"-- like goats, ponys,chickens, and turtles?????

since i have done jobs with  cockroaches and cows- i feel  better qualified  than most.- 

and i love the challenge.... 

 aug 24 2023

i've been busy.....redoing paperwork for  the past 4 years...

i never expected to  have to clean it up... but i can. it is just time consuming 

off the top in one year----

it cost me $3950 out of pocket  to raise $192,000 to be deposited to SDP. 

that is one year.... 

 aug 23 2023

We sold out the henny penny board !!  bless you all...  so I started the purple section which should work... I have a few changes to make. But hopefully we can get some real support for the various programs.... visiting and rescuing.!

Yesterday we were at a new senior assisted living place that was certainly one of the nicest.. they had about 25 people in their wheelchairs all sitting in a circle ready for us to come in with the three---- no make that four dogs we had Wanda with us.. they really appreciated the fact that the dogs Could wander around a little bit so that locky located where they feed their resident cat so he  ate the whole cat food dish...  They had carefully put their cat upstairs in A room.. they did have a separate group all organized for us to be visiting... that were all Alzheimer patients.. it was a nice group of people I was impressed.

 

This area is blessed with a lot of big old houses they were once part of a huge estate probably--- at any rate many of these places have become assisted living places and unless you look very carefully you don't see the little sign that says something like “senior men-“ -- w which I just discovered in Peabody.  Places are beginning to find us too because I came home to two emails for two more places in Newburyport... we like Newburyport because it's just South of the hay dealer and within 1/4 of a mile of Panera sandwiches for lunch...

 

An  odd health note-- by the time I got home from yesterday's job... I just didn't feel quite right or let me rephrase that my heating pad began to look better and better and as it turns out I spiked a temperature of 101.7 so I took that opportunity tto be sick – officially...   and got the heating pad and be really  sick.. so I didn't even do mail call yesterday--I didn't eat--that's a blessing in disguise anyway--- by about midnight I was hungry my temperature was down to.  97.4  and back to normal.  I've heard of 24 hour sicknesses---but this was a 12 hour deal---- most peculiar.  I think I'll just stay away from people for a while which means driving my own car to a meeting this morning. (   I did do the covid test twice and it was neg... but who knows...)

 aug 22 2023

Todays dd should be called the "clarinet caper." .

When I was in highschool  I was in the band... note I did not say  I played the clarinet because I had found that faking it in music is like faking it in sky diving.---my hand eye coordination was and is dreadful.. however I landed as “second chair” clarinet in the band...Dick-an excellent musician - was first chair and Steve- a very respectable musician -, was third...i was disgracefully second... zero ability.  We had been practicing something for a concert which started with a lovely clarinet solo... which Dick usually played without error...

 Then came the day DICK  was not at practice—which usually meant the second chair would take over---I WAS TERRIFIED TO PUT IT MILDLY- there was no way of hiding the fact that I was a total failure at producing music with a clarinet.   The conductor ?Mr Zahn?  Raised his batton- and there I sat. helpless- about to be discovered as totally useless... when Steve , totally without comment started playing the entire solo .  he saved the day--- for which I have forever  been thankfull—and think about nearly every day since..—you have seen me write here often .. “identify a problem and solve it” – no fuss no bother, just do it !  my daily mantra thanks to Steve.

  I have often wondered if Steve even remembers that incident....

 

So when I got an email saying he would like the picture of the Newburgh-Beacon ferryboat I was delighted to repay a long overdo favor. 

The rest of the story ...... being 86 I wanted to be sure he got that painting—so at 2am. I got up and with some duct tape I put his address on the frame. And texted judy...if I didn’t make it thru the night, to be sure Steve got it.

Steve—may you enjoy it in good health !!—

 

Our visiting  today will be at 73 margain street.. peabody... I think that is the new/huge place with many seniors sitting about in the yard.... must remember to take wanda too....

 

 aug 19 2023

Giving up would certainly be the easy way out—but might be the most expensive....  I had 3 license plates in my red Toyota—and I knew I had 2 dump trailers that I pay excise tax on... so they must be registered-- only one had a plate.... we have multi trailers. By necessity ---janine and I .... use them constantly... 3 horse trailers =. mini, regular and maxi. 2 dump trailers for manure management and hay  procuring...and a lawn cutters trailer for aging and ailing great danes transport at dog fest...not reg....

 

With great care  I started a spread sheet   to keep all those vin numbers agreeing with the license plates... and within  24 h ours I had 7 license plates in my Toyota and one dump trailer is still plateless---and I have not even got to the little year sticker  problem..in the corner... since metal plates on th e dashboard could be lethal in an accident. I put them back on the floor. Which seems to make them multiply..  and I am no further ahead.

 

There is such a thing as a farm plate—which lets you legally swap plates around as needed... I have in the past, been that road, and it got  out of control...

It sound so simple... but not for me... and last time we tried  to solve it at the registry , I sat in the car with the dogs for so long that I ran out of gas which ran out of airconditioning and had to call my friend nick—at the Toyota dealership down the road  to come give me some gas. 

By now the spreadsheet is lost on my computer.. so ? I start again...?

 

Being my insurance agent has it’s pitfalls.

 

And that ain’t all.. it took judy 4 hours on the phone to get our Verizon account in our name so they would stop the auto pay from SDP...

This is why it really takes 2 people to run a household—one is usually called “wife” – and that is the one to  pick up the dry cleaning and usher in the  plumber to fix the upstairs shower.

 

 I need to change banks  where my ssa gets deposited and I am terrified to even attempt... for example... the local ssa office 2 blocks from any handicap parking--- and if you do get dropped at the door... it is on the 4^th floor down  hallway which is ¾ mile long...  accessibility is for dunkin donuts,  not SSA.

 aug 18 2023

Had a note from old timer sam k—who has had some kind of “surgical accident” which made her worse not better....so we need to keep her involved...for those of you who can remember her full name or email... I hate to include it here until she says to....

 

For 3 easy payments of $39.95 I can blow air thru my garbage disposal and back into the room..along 3 payments of $14.99  with not being able to see the wrinkles in my forehead--- heck I can eliminate seeing those wrinkles if I just take down the mirror..  I can see all I need to see in the mirror on the visor. Of my car. A lot cheaper.

 

? a lawsuit?  I can remember when I was elecgrocuted by the  elevator they told me I was so old they could just outwait me.  Insurance companies are not all bad.... they too are in business..... There has been occasions where ins companies have done right by my problem---I was treated reasonably with the rat problem and my sequoia... and SDP got more for that rav4 than they paid for it.

 

With several trips with the lawnscaping trailer behind my golf cart I think today I will be able to sweep out the “overflowroom’. Which 2 weeks ago did not have any floor showing...and the guest house is not full...

 

So the cost of the trash?   The 100% SDP  load was  about. $150... I have the slip somewhere... and yesterday’s probably 33% SDP. Was $333.   And. We have to call ahead for permission to even go there....  the trash problem is a problemmm.. good morning America !!

  putting  stuff at the end of the driveway is looking better and better !!!

 

we have a 10:00. Appointment with the dogs at Dutton day care—in Wakefield---  they have a large group of variable  needs... usually fun and interactive...  they also have a double door entry which makes unloading and loading the dogs soooooo much simpler.  An automatic  “WAIT” system with judy on the car door.... so far this week we  have seen 41.. so this Dutton group  shoud get us close to the 100 visits a week...  it is a great thing the dogs do....mostly with judy’s help.. she is unbelieveable at conversations .. I have to admit... I don’t do too much—  everyone smiles and cheers when I arrive... but I can’t kid myself—it is the dogs that they are cheering for.—and this  does not take a great deal of money from donors to run this program....our expense report----1 tank  gas  per week...for the car, a few hour s secretarial time  and  waterless shampoo for sweet smelling dogs. ... itsa bargain

 

all of a sudden.... one of the places we go is now wanting to do a cory check on everyone thru the door...  that is judy and me... oh boys. 4 pages of information....

remember... I was arrested once....and jailed... and fingerprinted... for missing a court apperence to dismiss a  leash law violation.

 aug 8 17

I was told at mail call last night that the web for the pack burro--- weekend/. Day/race/episode/ whatever.   was ready online, but I can’t find it..there are details still in process.... the main event will apparently begin in Hamilton mass ( permission yet to be gotten) and I just happened to mention  my goal is to get ready for a proper marathon—next year--- in Boston down the memorial side of the Charles and up the storrow  side... which made someone say why don’t we just do a Sunday burro wandering along the Charles. This year  ... historically. Cambridge paid me $1000 a day to have the bed  with dogs and a few donkeys” on exhibit” during the time they shut off all traffic on the mem drive side .. well that turned into why not just go and walk around with donkeys.  Then  the  question  invited or uninvited?  Or was it best to  just go and see what happens... because if we ask – there are so many committees to go thru, that the easy  answer would be bound to be “no” . someone asked is it ok to ride a horse in Boston?  I don’t know that either... I have had plenty of donkeys in and around boston.. but I was never on the permitting end of any project.

 

I remember there was one time  I drove the 8 hitch up mem drive because we had “hitched”  there and were needed at some deal in Harvard square. There was some confusion making a right hand turn where I had to swing wide to clear the sidewalk and a taxi driver did not approve....  there was an even worse episode when the mayor was “speaking” at the downtown crossing and we were to appear exactly oin camera at a specific time—and there was a police cruiser parked giving me  only an extra inch or two between that and a fire hydrant—the donkeys had no trouble... it was the  wagon !  I think that was the performance where we learned that white pigeons( that are supposed to be white doves flying away) if they get too warm- they don’t fly away either but just drop to the ground and walk around like doves do.

Experience comes from bad experiences...

One more white dove/homing pigeon deal involved the opening of the louden car race track—my son in law’s truck with 30 white homers in the cap on the back... and me in a  small plane flown by my brother in law circling overhead; they  waved the flag... he opened the  cover on the truck and the white homers flew up and around perfectly..... except... they did not go home... louden has wondered ever since why so many of their pigeons in the  park that are ... or have so much white.

 

Happy to announce there are a few early morning   hay buyers ( or henny pennies). I check first thing and happily find some either earlybirds ***or Europeans*** who have  done either the hay  or  henny penny thing...

 aug 16 2023

Possession may be 9/10ths of the law--- except with charities.... this concept of “possession” has done a terrible job on what we had going here... I did not realise  that was the basic problem until the SDP lawyer and a board member asked me to list what was mine.  This caused me to look around.

Probably my washer and dryer are 100% mine... and the rest of the stuff here is debatable because – and this will shock everyone.... no one owns charity stuff...it is owned by the people who donated to the charity for a specific cause...—and if for any reason  that is to change hands, it must be done  with great  care- the basic rule of charities. “IT IS NOT YOURS”

Q: What are the duties/responsibilities of a non-profit organization and/or its Board of Directors regarding surplus funds and physical inventory

Note that a non-profit organization is responsible to donors, intended beneficiaries, and often, to the public, for all assets.  Dissolution of or shutting down the non-profit does not end this responsibility.  If need be, the courts and the Director can and will look beyond the organization to assign personal responsibility to individual board members and officers.  Remember the basic rule of charitable trusts: “it’s not yours.”

With that context in mind, there are two answers to your question.  First is that the Articles or other basic document of your organization may set out where assets go on dissolution.  NH RSA 292 has required inclusion of such information for many years.  Second, such provision may be absent or vague.  In that case, the organization must do the best it can to determine the purpose for which donors gave the money or assets in question, which may be explicit or may be the purpose for which the organization held itself out when it obtained the money or assets.  The trustees (board) should formally vote to distribute its assets to a specific recipient. The closer the match of the recipient of the remaining assets, the better.  If there is any question, consult a lawyer with knowledge of charitable trust law.  It may, under some circumstances, be appropriate to ask the Director of Charitable Trusts to bless the proposed distribution.

 

Having the board of directors formally vote on distribution of anything here would be fair to all the donors who have sent in $10..--   now that there are 3 boards involved does not complicate it all that much with zooming.  It would  insist all members of the 3 boards become familiar with the operations involved... which they are supposed to be anyway.. keep in mind—being a board member does have  legal responsibilities which are not covered by the “board insurance”  we all carry.

 

 So to the lawyer and board of SDP

Do not get angry with me—or assign blame for anything you are uncomfortable with. This is the  way charities must be run or they would all be blind fundraisers for “Uncle Harry”

Total transparency of all finances and operations. 

  

 I believe my name is on the contract with Purina. One of the “camera people” is watching  the dog food shed and is posting who takes how much. Which as a donor they are entitled to do however.... the results they are getting  worries me..  I do not want to risk my status of 501 c 3  charity because I did not speak up.....  The food was donated for  dogs in training  or working. 

I had always taken food for my 3 dogs-----community service has been a stated mission as part of the SDP grant requests for as long as I can remember.. I now have a separate charity operation and board of directors is just a fact.   we have  statistics of the 1000’s of people we have visited.  We are working our mission. I took food for years. However..

Since Haley told me I was not to take any more of the  Purina donated food,  I have bought my own, I certainly would not want to jeopardize the Purina  donation because of my 3 dogs.

I strongly suggest that the taking of food is  more carefully monitored and  verified by SDP so someone can be held responsible .  pet dogs do not meet the donor’s expectation .

Remember .. it is the Personal responsibility of board members to be sure the donations were used for the mission as stated.  Donations belong to no one and are governed by the “board”

 aug  15 2023

 You will not believe this one....

Couple years ago.....I had a phone call the Friday after thanksgiving—I recognized the name of the caller as well known.. like “Henry Ford” kind of name.

After the ***hi how are you ***conversation.. he said “ is there any chance you can help us by spending $50,000 before Jan 1^{st “}

 

^{in issuing of grants his foundation had an extra $50k.. to “get rid of”.  ( God forbid that kind of problem) .. I assured him I would take care of that for him and asked if there was anything else I could help with?? he mentioned something about being helpful to others ..}

^{I hung up the phone—}called the tractor place and asked them to put aside the tractor we now have-and as soon as the check cleared we would take it..  the check was good... I added $5000 and called lu picard (ecad service dog outfit in conn) AND ASKED IF SHE WANTED MY NOT TOO OLD TRACTOR.- probably value of $20,000.. which I think was mine 100%.. but by giving that to her i was fulfilling the “do something helpful to others”   that this man had mentioned.—no paperwork... no laywers... no accountants... no problem-  just my word &  his word.

I was thrilled ( and also $50,000 richer) because somehow my reputation of unflappable and honest preceeded me. Please... thank you... handshake...Done.

 

Skip ahead many years....so who owns the tractor?------ I dunno----

And there is an awful lot of stuff around here that is exactly like that...made complicated by charities must donate stuff to charities

It must be treated with a bit more care ... respect if you want to call it that. 

“oh, my uncle harry needs  some of that and you don’t.. so I will just take it....” is not going to happen on my watch.

 

I must preserve my reputation in case someone else has another $50,000 to get rid of.