Every day is, to me, a new opportunity. To live without fear. To find love. To be creative. To be authentic. To grow and change. To create and love my work. Every day is a gift to me, a reminder that I have wasted time and life, and will not waste any more in the time I have. Every day is a reminder to respect myself. To not live by what others say, but what I say. It does not matter what others think, it matters what I think. Every day a miracle, from beginning to end.
Red in the city, in Glens Falls, N.Y. I saw the shadow of one factory loom over the either, and I was drawn to the shape. I pointed to the corner of the triangle in front of the light meters and Red went over there and sat. Red completely grasps photography in a way none of my dogs really have, When I take out the camera now, he is still, and I don’t need to say “photoshoot.” He knows. How am I so fortunate to have such a dog, on top of the two wonderful dogs I already have.
The true working dog serves human beings, or tries, even when the work is strange, or when it is uncomfortable, even when it is dangerous. The working dog, from the Labrador to the German Shepherd to the border collie, has been bred for thousands of years to work with human beings. It is a beautiful thing to see when these dogs get their chance to live their lives.
Red spent the first years of his life on a farm in Ireland, then to Virginia where he lived with Dr. Karen Thompson, one of the most respected border collie breeders and trainers in the eastern United States. Karen gave Red to me, and I will be eternally thankful for that. Red has never, to my knowledge been in a city or suburb. Monday night is yoga night, when I drove Maria to her yoga class in Glens Falls and shop for groceries and pet and animal supplies. Usually I walk around Glens Falls, sometimes I listen to my Ipod in the car or read a book or check my e-mail.
Today I decided to bring Red to the city for the first time. Red surprises me every day. I let him out of the car and he walked alongside of me as if he has done things a thousand times, even when he has never done them. He walked by people, busses, cars, trucks. He completely grasps my photography and when we past an empty warehouse I pointed to the ledge and he jumped up and waited until I took my photo. People walking by were surprised, and asked if he often jumped up onto ledges. Only when asked, I said.
We walked through the middle-class streets and industrial patches of Glens Falls for an hour, then I went shopping and Red waited in the car. He lay on the seat while I read waiting for Maria. We bonded in yet a new and different way. Izzy was like this in some ways. I remember taking him to New York City for the first time and he walked alongside me as if he had been born and raised there. The really great working dogs do not truly care what the work is. They just do it.
Red and I will visit the city again. I see that Red can go anywhere.
We are pondering the New Bedlam Farm living room, the heart and soul of the downstairs, I think, maybe even the house, a gracious old farmhouse living room. We wanted to keep the wallpaper Florence hung herself, but the more time we spend in the house, the gloomier it feels. So I think we should remove the wallpaper or paint over it..an off-white, I think, to brighten up the room. This is a case for Ben Osterhaudt, not me.
How nice to visit Rocky in his stall, to give him fresh water, to give him some daily grain. The horseflies stay out of the stall, a breeze comes through it and he seems eager to get out of the strong mid-day sun. He is at ease now around me, Maria, and Red, who sits by him while he eats. Thomas Aquinas said the reason to treat animals well is that it enhances our humanity, our love for one another. A great legacy for Rocky.
