I’ve taken so many photos of Ken Norman’s backside I made sure to get a rare shot of his smiling face. Ken and his co-hort Eadon Ryan came this morning to trim the hooves of Lulu, Fanny and Simon. Simon’s front left leg remains twisted and bent but he is otherwise doing very well. Ken and Eadon are great time and Ken is teaching Eadon how to be a farrier. It’s a nice thing to see, this valuable art being passed down to another generation.
Ken loves his work and his visits are a pleasure, we talk, trade stories, watch the animals. You cannot do what Ken does if you do not love your work or love to be around animals. Ken has been visiting me from the beginning, he was witness to a lot of craziness at Bedlam Farm, and he doesn’t hesitate to remind me about it. I’ll put a photo album up on Facebook. I was supposed to be working when he came, but I like his visits so I put the work aside. It was a good decision.
Simon gives Ken a rough time, especially if I am not around, but Ken wrestles him into submission. Fanny loves Ken and loves to be trimmed, Lulu looks for a way to escape but submits. Eadon is picking it uup.
Loving work is important, it is our identity. I will not let anyone rob me of my right to love my work, or to seek work that I love. It is one of the most important things to me, more important than security or health insurance or a fat IRA or a loveless or hollow life.
Connie Brooks informs me that the Recommender-In-Chief idea is catching, authors are popping up in bookstores from Seattle to New York City to meet readers, recommend books, support bookstores. This is one of the more worthwhile endeavors in my life, another way to use the blog for good. I will be at my bookstore, the wonderful Battenkill Books Saturday morning from ll a.m. to 1 p.m. with the Red dog. I will be available to speak to people at the bookstore, take telephone orders and make recommendations on the phone, or we can receive queries via e-mail – [email protected]. This idea has really worked. Connie is selling books all over the country – the book reviews are part of this also – and I’ve got some happy telephone regulars. It seems that every week someone from the blog pops into the store to meet me and Red. We enjoy it, Red has evolved from working dog to professional greeter and media hound, as my dogs tend to do.
I’ve got a good list of wonderful and readable books to recommend. People seem to think books are dying out, but I am not seeing that. A lot of good books are coming out every month and a lot of people are buying them. I’ve got a strong list of novels, non-fiction books, mysteries and I am confident about my ability to match people up with the right book. I don’t think I’ve missed yet. This new job with Connie has really focused my reading and I have good book for you or someone in your family or as a gift. I do not recommend my books, but I will surely sign any for people and Connie takes Paypal on her site and will ship them anywhere in the world. I do ask that if I give a recommendation you purchase the book from Battenkill. That’s the point, it might cost a few dollars more than a Kindle costs, but it is a small price to pay to help re-bounding independent bookstores thrive and support creativity, individuality and the notion of buying local. You can call the bookstore at 518 677-2515 or e-mail Connie at [email protected] or visit the store’s website. Lots of ways to read good books and go good. In the Corporate Nation, they are buying up our culture, they got newspapers, TV, the movie industry. Don’t let them get the bookstores too.
People like Connie Brooks are fighting back, and they are gaining ground. This is one of those worthwhile fights to join. Talk to you or see you tomorrow I hope.
When Red and I got out into the pasture this morning, all of the animals gathered and seemed to wonder what the agenda was. and the agenda has changed. We aren’t putting hay out any longer and have begun rotational grazing. Red corrals the sheep and the animals go out into the North pasture to graze for a few hours, then we close up the gates and they move into the main pasture, which they have been eating down. The idea is to keep refreshing the pastures. We have plenty of grass if we conserve it, and we are looking forward to Todd Mason coming to fence in the rear pasture. That’s where the donkeys will go each day to graze. The sheep will be locked into the North pasture where they will spend the summer.
When sheep are full, they lie down. Donkeys will eat all day. The agenda is constantly changing, and the animals seem to know it, they await instructions.
