Rose, ready for a new storm. Just say "sheep."
Posted At: Thursday, December 18, 2008 9:09 PM | Posted By: Jon Katz
December 18, 2008 – Big storm coming tomorrow. Rose and me and my camera are ready. Winter is getting old and it hasn’t even begun yet. At least the ticks are gone. Rose is my hero. I can’t bribe her for a photo like I can Lenore and Izzy. She ignores treats. I do trick her though, holding the camera into her eyes and whispering, “sheep, sheep, sheep.” Gets her every time. Her eyes widen, and I hate to betray, but she does, after all, have sheep in her back yard.
Frieda, Junkyard Dog
Posted At: Thursday, December 18, 2008 9:05 PM | Posted By: Jon Katz
Frieda is a new dog in my life. Maria Heinrich, my friend, is working out of town this week and Frieda is staying on the farm, and we’re doing some training. It is going well.
Frieda is a bit of a handful. She likes to chase and eat things – dogs, deer, cars, trucks, people, and is impressive when she is charging, barking and running off. She and I have been working together this week and she has developed a newly playful and flirtatious streak, in response to lots of beef jerky and treats. We are having a sort of fling.
Frieda is one of the storied breed of dogs I call a junkyard dog, a dog found hanging around and rescued. She loves to go for walks and especially loves to pull down trees and drag them along the ground and dry and get me to throw them for her.
We are walking off leash a bit. Frieda loves to chase the barn cats and she and Rose stare grimly at one another. I fear these two will tangle one of these days. Frieda is calming down and having fun. I am getting fond of her, and that is a new thing as she has tried to eat me more than once and it was a long time before she would let me put a collar on her. Positive reinforcement works.
Farmers Bible Study, Argyle, N.H.
Posted At: Thursday, December 18, 2008 4:35 PM | Posted By: Jon Katz
Farmer's Bible Study, Argyle United Presbyterian Church
Posted At: Thursday, December 18, 2008 4:34 PM | Posted By: Jon Katz
Farmers Bible Study Lunch, Argyle, N.Y.
Posted At: Thursday, December 18, 2008 4:32 PM | Posted By: Jon Katz
December 18, 2008 – Lenore and I went to the Argyle Bible Study Lunch. We’ve signed up for the winter, and I enjoyed it and got a lot from it. We talked about humility, about money worries, about the danger of building empires. I feel very close to God in this group, honest and open men struggling with how to be better men, led by Steve McLean, with whom they obviously feel comfortable and close. It is always rare for men to talk like this, and I really savor it.
We talked about the importance of understanding that peace and security doesn’t come from money, but is internal, and then I spent a bit taking photos in the sanctuary for Steve. The group meets again in January and I plan to be there. We talk, do some Bible study. These farmers say little, but say much. I appreciate the gift of being there.
