July 11, 2007 — Very hot, very sticky. More and more, I see the farm as a small world of its own, rather than a place to live, and when I leave – this week I went to Toronto –  I have this strange sensation of moving between different worlds. Canada is very different from the U.S. For one thing, reporters and TV journalists read books and conduct long and thoughtful interviews. Toronto is amazingly diverse, especially after leaving the farm, and stimulating. I had a dinner with some amazing women from publishing and bookstores and we talked long into the night about animals, dog and cat love, shamanism, animals and souls, and attachment theory as it relates to people and companion animals. It was the sort of conversation I love, and sometimes think one can only have with women. These were an impressive, loving and incredibly bright group.
  We did a pet channel interview out in a dog park in 100 degree heat with Labs and mutts running around. That was cool, and a fun interview on the morning show City TV, where the anchors look like normal folks and talk easily and informally. Very impressive show. Media in Canada is strikingly different, and writers are not used to long interviews from people who have prepared penetrating questions. Challenging, but requires adjustment. Interviews here are rarely more than three or four minutes, and few interviewers even claim to read the books they are talking to writers about. It’s not their fault. They don’t have time. I always find Canadians- I am generalizing here -to be calmer and less harried than Americans. Toronto is a great city. I wish I could have been there longer. Thanks Leslie. Great job, and a pleasure to hang around with you.
  Many people in Canada – dog and cat live are very pronounced there – asked me if it was hard to leave the farm. Not really. It’s good for me to get away and I don’t have guilt about leaving animals in the care of Annie, the Bedlam Farm Goddess. They couldn’t do better and it’s healthy to get away.
  I did miss Izzy hanging around with me, and Rose would have been helpful directing traffic and organizing things. But it was nice to see that  diverse and intensely cultural city. It is good to see different things, and then, early this morning, good to walk out and chat with the goats, see Elvis (I brought him a donut bought on the way back from the airport) and bring the donkeys their early morning cookies. Just another day on the farm.
  Last night, trying to get to sleep, some feral cats came and got into a fight with Mother. I opened the back door and let Rose out. “Clear things up,” I said. Then I looked out the front window and the outsider cats were running for their lives. Rose, who has feuded with Mother, also protects her. Calm reigned.
  While I was away, the donkeys had nosed open the barn door and one goat had her head stuck in a chair slat. I did get a boisterous greeting from the dogs, especially Emma, who  yowled and yowled. Too hot to work Rose today. Down day. I am glad to be back. Leave soon for Texas and do a reading tonight at one of my favorite places, Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, where Margaret and Kay, who launched me on my animal writing, will do their usual stellar and efficient job hosting in that beautiful old Opera House, a great setting for any writer.
 P.S. Sounds like Anthony is liking RPI and he is going to work on a model for a building for a vacant lot. Neat.