On my morning walks with Maria and Red, I am drawn again and again to the four trees planted along the edge of an old cow field. I wonder who planted them and why, but I also love the symmetry of them, the way they stand out between a cornfield and what is now a hay field. Something spiritual and mysterious about them.
Read went to the groomer’s today – Muddy Paws in Shushan, Eileen Quackenbush likes to put bandanas on the dogs she grooms, it used to bug me – Rose hated to wear a bandana and I didn’t like seeing one on a working dog – but I got over it, especially when Maria told me she loves the bandanas and uses them for her potholders. Today, Red came home with a “Superdog” bandana, it looked pretty sporting on him. Maria snatched it in seconds.
Ken Norman has been our farrier for as long as I have had donkeys – nearly 15 years. He is a good friend to us, and we value his visits, especially when he brings his wife Eli and his daughter Nikolene, the Bedlam Farm Barn Fairy. . Ken was called by animal control when Simon was taken off the farm suffering from extreme neglect and starvation, and he worked on his hooves, which had grown out six or seven inches – Simon was walking on his ankles. The work of a farrier is unbelievably hard, and Ken is dedicated to the horses he treats and to our donkeys. He’s worn his knees out leaning over and bending to trim hooves, in December Ken is getting two knee replacements, he has been in pain a long time.
Ken came by to do his end-of-summer hoof trimming, Simon’s legs are permanently twisted, the trimming is very good for him.
These two are connected in a lot of different ways, pain being one of them. I’ve asked Ken to come to the Bedlam Farm Open House on Columbus Day Weekend, a few days after my next book, “Saving Simon: How A Rescue Donkey Taught Me The Meaning Of Compassion” is coming out. Simon and I will be signing books together, I thought it would be fitting for Ken to be around, since he helped bring Simon to me, and has been a huge part of his life and mine.
Ken has a wonderful way with animals, Simon gives him a hard time sometimes – his legs hurt a lot, we think – but mostly, he stands still for him, and Ken plies him with treats and rubs his nose in the way equines love.
On Macmillan Road, a yellow garden, just off the road, it’s own world.
We seem to have a new resident at Bedlam Farm. In the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen this toad waiting for us in the morning when we come out, he sits on the slate tiles on the back porch – along with everybody else – and soaks up the sun. This morning, he fell into the water pot and got stuck there, Maria had to go and pull him out – she loves toads, of course – and she put him back in the rear garden, where he seems to be living.
I think he has great gravitas and presence, I could use some help in naming him. I was going to name him George, after my father and George Washington, but I thought perhaps we can do better. If you are so inclined you can offer a name on my Facebook page. I think he’ll do well here, I think he belongs here. He seems to have the sense of entitlement that Bedlam Farm animals come to have, and I saw Red hop right over him on the way into the house, he didn’t flinch. He’ll fit in.
