Labor Day hasn't yet arrived, and still, here I am, contemplating the days left in the year and how they will be measured out. If only TS Eliot was right and coffee spoons could be used... but looks like it's going to be a flying finish to the very end, trying to cram in as much as possible before I take a deep breath and hang up my brain for a rest around the holidays.
A friend alerted me today to a disturbing video on YouTube. It's been there for a while, though I was happily unaware of it until now. With one click, I stepped into a new definition of abuse: a well known "positive" trainer displaying her female dog's new trick - humping her leg on command.
Anyone can see abuse in an animal that is beaten, starved, mutilated, hung or killed. The Michael Vicks case still looms large as he tries to put his life back together post-prison. That kind of abuse is clear.
Recently, I was contacted by Shambhala Sun magazine with a series of questions they asked me to answer for their blog, SunSpace. Interesting to have them note that they felt my approach was informed by Buddhist principles, particularly my blog pieces. I'm not a Buddhist, though many Buddhist ideas resonate deeply with me. You can read the "interview" at Shambhala Sun .
Spring has truly sprung here. The resident woodcocks are back, winging their way around the farm in relentless circling flights, making the noise that long ago led me to dub the male Curly, as he sounds just like Curly from the 3 Stooges (wah, wah, wah, wah, wah...) The frogs & toads are singing their hearts out every night, a glorious chorus that blankets the marsh areas with a thrill of sounds.
In the lexicon of farmers who spend their days with cattle, there are poetic descriptions. A first time mother-to-be is a "springing heifer." A cow with a newly born calf is said to have "freshened." These are apt and lovely descriptions, as I learned one morning many years ago.
