Day: November 6, 2014

I didn’t have big time media interviews, limos, media escorts or dinner at the finest restaurant, but I had the best time at the Orphans Book Tour kickoff at the Petersburgh, N.Y., Library (actually the town hall and court). We had a great crowd, wonderful questions and discussion. I talked about “Saving Simon,” attachment theory, communicating with animals, my life with donkeys, dogs and sheep.

A commercial publisher would never send someone like me to Petersburgh,  people in small towns love their libraries and are eager to meet authors. It’s not a place to sell a lot of books, it’s a place to talk to book lovers and readers and to have the most stimulating discussions about books and about my life as an author. Lots of interest in talking about visualizations as a communications tool for talking to animals, the subject of my next book.

If this is any indication, the book tour will be amazing fun and valuable to me. The Orphans Book Tour is an outsider book tour, for sure, and I will not quit up on my book or give up on it just because my publisher has given up on me. This is a great way for me to move forward in a constructive way.

If you are interested in my new book, I would encourage you to consider buying a copy from Connie Brooks at Battenkill Books, my local bookstore. You will get a signed photo postcard of Simon in a red hat and have a shot at winning other inducements – photos, potholders, notecards, free bags of Fromm Family Pet Food, the food my dogs eat and thrive on. (Check out the website and their new video telling the story of the country’s oldest family owned holistic pet food company.)

If you want a signed and personalized copy of “Saving Simon,” you can order it on the Battenkill website or call the store at 518 677-2515. I had a great evening, it affirmed my decision to fight for this book and keep it alive. You can check out the reviews here.

When the ditch was done, Chad climbed into it and shoved rocks under the pipe to brace it and plug the hole into the basement. He was deep in the mud and rain and I thought the image captured the idea to me of work at it’s purest.

It was cold today, rainy and the ground was covered in mud, the men never seemed to get cold they just held their coffee cups and worked and worked, I liked this photo of Chad waiting to climb into the ditch and move some rocks around, standing in the mud and rain.

Red was uncharacteristically befuddled today as the yard filled with dirt and roaring tractors. He tried to get to the gate to be near the sheep but was blocked by mounds of dirt. He started at the dirt, giving some eye. Red is rarely off balance, but I think he did not enjoy the day.

My only major contribution to the digging project, aside from writing checks, was to suggest we put the pump in the barn, and out of the wind. Jay Bridge will attach a hose to it which will reach around through the gate and into the heated water bucket. When the faucet is turned off, the water will fall down and into the pipes in the ground, staying warm. We’ll hook it up tomorrow the frost-free line runs directly into the basement.