Day: May 11, 2016

We are rotational grazing, and need to move the animals from one place to another two or three times a day. Fate and Red seem to instinctively know when the times are by now, and this afternoon, around 4 p.m.,when the animals had their three hours of afternoon grazing, I went out to the side pasture to move them. The dogs were waiting for me, frozen in place. When the sheep see Red, they run out of the pasture, they don’t wait to be told. We have to go and chase the donkeys out, clapping our hands and waving our arms. Chloe, the pony, can be the most stubborn, but she will do what Maria asks her to do.

Sometimes I call her the Joy Dog, sometimes the Nascar Dog, sometimes the Circus Dog. Surely, Fate could be a circus dog, she runs like a cheetah and climbs around like a monkey. Fate is curious about everything we do and sticks her nose into it. A few weeks ago,  I started taking photos of tree stumps, ever since them Fate has been jumping up on the stumps when I go to take a photo and posing. She hops on and off them effortlessly, she can jump straight up in the air. “What next?,” she always seems to be asking me.

At night, Fate sleeps in her crate in the bedroom, it is good and peaceful in there for her, and she needs the rest and quiet. Around 5 or 6 a.m., when the first light comes into the bedroom, I am always up and I let her out of the crate. She runs to the bed and hops up and nuzzles each of us a bit and then finds somewhere to curl up. She sits quietly, sometimes asleep, sometimes awake, until we both decide to get up and get to work..

She is different at this time, quiet, still, patient. She absolutely grasps that this is quiet time, Maria and I are sleeping or taking or reading at this hour. She is especially loving and affectionate in this time, before she gets out and gets busy running around, walking in the woods, circling the sheep, badgering Red, making quilts with Maria.

This is when the sweetness and her comes out. Red lies all night by my side of the bed, he never moves or wants to get up in bed, he lies completely still unless I get up or call him. This morning, I decided to get a portrait of this side of Fate, at sunrise.

Ashley McCuin works at the Round House, on the counter, in the kitchen. She graduated from college last year with a degree in social work and is leaving the cafe this Saturday to begin a new job south of her helping the ill and the disabled get to where they need to go. She’s nervous but excited.

The Round House is a community cafe, Maria and I are often there and sometimes, the staff feels like family. We know them very well, I’m always conflicted when somebody leaves. I’m grateful for Ashley, she is extremely competent and efficient, and I’m excited for her, beginning a new career is one of the most exciting turning points in life.

She is understandably a bit nervous, but that will fade quickly, she knows what she is doing, she is tough and poised. She has a nice boyfriend, I approve, not that it is any of my business, or that anyone asked me.

Still, we and others will  miss her, the Round House is like a wheel, all kinds of neat people move through there. Ashley will work at the Round House on Friday nights, pizza and music night. I’m glad I passed by while she was on  her lunch break today, I wanted to wish her luck. The photo reminded me of Robert Frank.

The artist who made Maria’s Frida Kahlo leggins sent me a message, she just made a batch of “Ghostly Cat” leggins, so I got another pair for Maria. I love these leggins, they are definitely her. She has made me promise not to buy any more and she might have to put these away until the Fall if it warms up. I had to get them though, they just seemed perfect.

I will do as I am told, she really doesn’t like me to buy things for her, although I have to say I did enjoy this round. And I have no doubt she will love the ghostly cats. The artist is very cool.