25 August

Apple Tree. Morning Ritual.

by Jon Katz

Apple Tree I think in my next life I’ll come back as one of Maria’s donkeys, she thinks of them all the time and every morning she finds a way to bring them fresh apples from our beautiful old tree. They stand by the gate and watch for her, wait patiently while she brings them a crisp fresh apple. This has become our sweet, fresh morning ritual.

25 August

Interactive Project, Chapter 3: What Story Does This Photo Tell You?

by Jon Katz
Chapter Three
Chapter Three

I am greatly enjoying my interactive story project, putting up photos and asking you to imagine the story the photos suggest to you. I’ve gotten a great and creative response, and your stories are creative and imaginative and wonderful for me to read. I have long believed that we are all story-tellers, some of us get paid for it and some of us don’t.

I was struck by this house in the woods, it is different from the other farmhouses and seem to suggest a very different story. There was a horse and goats in the yard – this is pure country – a very small farmhouse with several American flags. That’s all I’ll say, this house is different from the others, I’d love to see story this photo suggests to you, and thank you. It is quite wonderful – and unprecedented in human history – for a writer to be able to share a story with readers in this way.

25 August

Flo’s Surprise. Figuring Out Her Story

by Jon Katz
Who She Was
Who She Was

Flo surprised me today, I have a completely different sense of her story, of her past. I knew Red would be calm and easy around Emma, our visitor today, but I didn’t expect Flo to come out of the barn and lie down next to Red (who she avoids) and Emma. To my knowledge, she has almost never shown herself when strangers come to the farm, she was hiding in our woodshed for months before we even knew she was there. But I see now that she surely belonged to a family at one point, she was astonishingly gentle with Emma, who rubbed her belly, patted her repeatedly, even pulled gently on her tail.

Clearly, this cat has been around children, and clearly, she loves being around them. Each day, Flo has revealed herself and the story I wrote for her – she was a tough barn cat waiting for the right time to appear – was incorrect. I am certain now, especially after watching her lie still for Emma for 20 minutes, that she belonged to a family and was either abandoned or she ran away. I suppose I will never know precisely what happened to Flo, just what her story is but I piecing together a new one.

Flo has a high comfort level with people, is not skittish around them and has a deep reservoir of affection.

25 August

Visitors: Red, Emma, Kristin

by Jon Katz
Red, Emma, Kristin
Red, Emma, Kristin

Kristin Commeau, our Therapy Dogs Of Vermont Evaluator came to visit the farm today with her husband Jonathan and daughter Emma. They saw the donkeys, and then spent some time cuddling with Red and Flo. Red was never around children before, I wasn’t sure how he would react to them, but he seems very drawn to them, very patient with them. Border collies can be skittish around active kids, they move in herky-jerky ways and can often trigger their herding instincts. This is not a problem for Red, Emma crawled all over him and he seemed to love it. I am so blessed having a place kids want to visit, I love having them around the farm, it so brings this place to life.

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