Elvis and I prepare to do battle over fly spray. Annie did Harold, but Elvis was mine. He wore me out.

July 7, 2008 – The farm has a resident animal advocate in Annie, who occasionally worries about me, but always worries about the welfare of the animals. She came and yelled at me this morning because Elvis, Harold and Luna were covered in black flies and I had promised to get spray on Elvis, as he won’t let anyone but me get close enough, and even then, it’s a brawl.
  So armed with a camera and a bug sprayer, I confronted Elvis, distracted him with a few donkey cookies, and got some sprays in before he got wise and led me on a merry chase around the pasture gate. He would eat the cookie, then take off.  We circled back and forth, and he wore me out in the heat, but I did get some spray on him, Harold and Luna. The flies tortured the steers and cow. That was no fun, and I had to smack him on the nose when he clocked me in the head with his tail.

Steve, Kim and Brutus

  July 7, 2008 – The shepherds went sheepherding this morning. Steve McLean my friend and the Pastor of the United Presbyterian Church in Argyle, N.Y., and his wife Kim, came to the farm to go grazing this morning, in the sticky heat. Steve and Kim rarely take time off for any reason, and it was great to have them. We trekked up the hill and sat and talked while Rose moved the sheep around and Lenore flirted with Brutus a bit.
   Brutus took time out from visiting with Lenore to go visit with Kim as Steve takes in the scene and Rose, in the background, keeps an eye on things. We talked a bit about the role of the shepherd in religious life, and I told Steve I never thought of myself as a shepherd. To me, it’s rose who is the shepherd, and watches over the sheep. I just open gates. I am blessed to have Steve and Kim as friends.
  They live their faith in a way that is powerful, honest and appealing.

  July 7, 2008 – Winston has recovered from his wounds, is strutting around proudly, and making lots of noise, sending his signal to the world repeatedly, loudly and early.
  When Annie arrived this morning, she announced this would be a tough day, and it was. I couldn’t sleep last night, and then things started going wrong and continued going wrong all day. I chased Elvis around trying to get fly spray on him, the four-wheeler broke down in the woods, it was hot and sticky, my new dryer didn’t work, and I had to go get my physical required for hospice work. 
  The high point was my friend Steve and his wife Kim joined me for morning grazing, and that was lovely and I will post some photos later. Em is still her clacking away on her baseball book, and we had a good time last night watching the Yanks thump the Red Sox in extra innings. We also had a good time watching a “Die Hard” movie,  and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the next Batman movie, “The Dark Knight.” That series was a big part of my childhood, and a big influence on my becoming a writer, and I can’t wait to see the movie next week.
  Going to be very hot for a couple of days. Radio show is this week, “Dog Talk” and Mary Kellogg reading at 7 p.m. Thursday at Border’s in Saratoga. Thinking a lot about anger, and how I want to get a better hold on it, and I want to gas off some about that.