18 April

Red And Zelda: Strong Woman, Strong Dog

by Jon Katz
Strong Woman, Strong Dog
Strong Woman, Strong Dog

I’ve never known a sheep like Zelda or, for that matter, as competent a dog as Red in the field. Like Rose, he is really a farm dog, professional and focused. Zelda is also remarkable and we have become fond of her, especially since she is no longer knocking me down every other day. Unlike other sheep I have known, she just never submits. She is always alert, always watching out for the others. In every photo you see of Red with the sheep, she is watching him and he is watching her.

She does not challenge him or defy him any more, but neither does she rush to obey him. Here, she wanted to run past him to get some of the treats Maria was giving the donkeys. The other sheep didn’t dare move, Red’s eyes were locked on him or on the ground. Zelda kept her eyes on him, waiting for her shot. She never took it.

18 April

A Life Fully Lived: The Journals Of Florence Qua Walrath. Girl’s Camp, Runaway Horses.

by Jon Katz
Girls Camp
Girls Camp

Horses taught Florence Walrath as much as school had. They brought her confidence, skill and the opportunity to take responsibility and work hard, something she did all of her life. They also taught her bravery and decision-making. The journals are especially fascinating as they show the development of a human character, something many writers struggle quite hard to do. In our time, we are disconnected from the natural world, but rural life and animals shaped Florence’s strong values and confidence from her earliest years. Here, she tells of teaching at a girl’s camp, an experience that challenged her again and again and helped her to grow.

 “Blanche met George Mason and married him, living in Cambridge where he had a drug store. About this time the girls’ camp was opened for the second year. Mrs. Powell asked Dad to rent her saddle horses so she could have riding at camp. So out we went to get safe horses for beginners. We started with ten. I was hired to teach riding. I had never done this before, but the man we bought some saddles from gave me some valuable tips. This worked out fine. First they ride western and later English. Some of the girls had never seen a horse and some at a distance. We had a few mishaps but no one hurt bad, mostly a scare. One day at the last of the season the girls asked if I would sign some papers for them. I said yes, but don’t bring them out. I ‘ll come to camp and sign all classes at the same time. The first two classes came without the papers, but the third class came with them. The horses were all standing in line up to the fence. I was riding a race horse and said all right, hand it up. The girl dropped it letting it flutter in front of the horse. I had my leg hooked over the  horn of the saddle. He jumped up standing up so he put his feet over the horse beside him.

 Dad tried to catch him but he ducked. He was running so fast I could not get my leg unhooked. He just missed a car setting there and was headed for a clothes line which I at once saw would drag me off as he went in under. I decided I better jump somehow, so I did. I landed flat on my back in front of the horse and he jumped me without touching me. The other horses got frightened and those that did not have anyone on them just started running. Some ran up the road, some down. A little girl who weighed about fifty pounds was riding my own horse.

 The horse did not seem to know she had anyone on her back. I left my horse and ran to help her calling for her to pull the right rein. I could not get there in time to catch her so as a last effort I thru myself as a last chance to stop her. The horse turned and went back up to the gate. I was pretty lame but no bones broken and the girl had only a scare.

 We also rented the horses to the Y.M.C.A. boys which had a camp at Cossayuna Lake. They came down twice a week in the afternoons. Sometimes there were twenty-five at a time. A truck load. I had to divide up the time so each boy sometimes only got ten minutes to ride. They rode mostly in the ring. I was keep so busy I never got to swim until dark. Some years we wintered over twenty-eight horses.”

Next. Loving to dance.

18 April

Love’s Conspiracy: An Album

by Jon Katz
Love's Conspiracy
Love’s Conspiracy

For much of my life I have thought of love as a conspiracy, a secret gathering I could not get to, was not invited to, would never find. My wife has all kinds of reasons not to love, yet she chooses to be loving all of the time, to all of the life around her. I am working on love, it does not come as naturally to me, and I am often the one hiding behind the camera, running around looking for the right angle to capture love. She would rather live it. Today, as a storm and high winds approached the farm, Maria came out to the pasture with a brush, and the donkeys, as always reading intentions, crowded over to her, practically hugged her. Love is something they understand and need. So I stood back and took some beautiful photos and I will put them up shortly as an album on Facebook.

Love is a conspiracy, and out on this beautiful windswept day, Red and I kept order, and stood outside of this loving circle and watched in awe and sometimes, longing. Album on Facebook.

18 April

Spring’s Gentle Brush: How Good People Are

by Jon Katz
How Good People Are
How Good People Are

This week, Spring came and brushed White Creek, N.Y., painting it’s gentle hills and rolling farm fields brown, and in the sky, blue. This week, as in other weeks, I am reminded of how good people are, not how bad; of how generous, not how mean-spirited; of how compassionate, not hard-hearted, of how brave, not faint of heart. It is all in what you look for, and what you see. I saw so much love and connection, so many strong spirits with full hearts. How good people are, given the chance.

18 April

Animal Friendships: Red And Rocky

by Jon Katz
Animal Friendships
Animal Friendships

I want to cry sometimes when I think of the very powerful friendship between Red and Rocky, not because it was sad, but because it was so touching and beautiful. When I first brought Red into the pasture to meet Rocky, I just wanted them to get used to one another. For a blind pony who had been living alone for 15 years, the intrusion of a small, coyote-like animal could be dangerous. When Red came into the pasture, Rocky’s nose went up. He smelled Red and stood still. Red simply lay down, as he always does around me, waiting instructions.

I stayed close, and was vigilant but not nervous. These two just both seemed so calm. Rocky slowly came over to Red and put his nose down and sniffed every inch of him, as if he was taking some kind of mental photograph, which I suppose he was. I was startled at how calm Red was, Lenore had been near Rocky, but she didn’t want to get close to him, and he was not interested in her. He was interested in Red. From that moment on, Red became Rocky’s eyes. He would watch Rocky and seemed to anticipate him.

If Rocky was going to the barn – he always walked carefully and slowly since he couldn’t see – Red would move in that direction, then sit down. Rocky would raise his nose, locate him, walk up to Red and touch him on the back with his nose. Red would get up and walk another dozen feet or so and Rocky would follow. In this way, Red would guide Rocky across the pasture, to the barn or down to the area where he liked to graze.

When Rocky was grazing, Red would simply sit near him, standing guard it seemed. Red’s presence seem to calm Rocky, give him some confidence. As the weeks went by, their friendship seemed to deepen. Each would find one another, and Red would guide Rocky around the farm or down to the water or into the barn. They seemed to be a pair, to belong together, this intense working dog and this very old blind pony.

When we put Rocky down, he fell right by the barn and Red watched, came over to sniff the body and then went off to gather the sheep. He has never looked for Rocky, to my knowledge or reacted in any way I could see to his loss. I am mesmerized by animal friendships, they are powerful and there is so much to learn from them.

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