My friend George Forss took this skyline shot of New York City and Brooklyn on his recent trip there, I have ordered a print, and he is selling his New York urban landscapes, they are breathtaking so far – I posted his shot of the lower Manhattan skyline with the new World Trade Center tower the other day, you can check out his blog here. George became famous for his wildly-acclaimed city landscapes in the 80’s and 90’s, he revisited this landscape last week, I am excited for him.
“See that crow up in the sky,
He don’t crow nor can he fly,
He can’t walk nor can he run,
He’s black paint slattered on the sun.”
— “Green, Green, Rocky Road,” by Dave Van Ronk.
See that crow up in the sky?,
he can’t walk nor can he run,
he can’t stumble, he can’t fall,
he can only fly. And flee.
I will tell you something new,
That crow you saw up there was me,
I couldn’t walk, nor could I run,
just peeling paint slattered on the sun.
Couldn’t sing and couldn’t shout,
flew and flew until the clouds ran out,
Then one day I fell to earth,
screaming,
“who do I love? who do I love?
I could not rise up off the ground,
till I walked, till I ran.
See that crow up in the sky?
That is me,
I learned to fly.
Minnie has changed since her leg was amputated more than a month ago, she is much more verbal – she follows Maria and I around squawking loudly, demanding food, commenting on the world around her. I rarely saw Minnie, she is in the house at night. She is no longer in a crate, she sleeps on various dog beds, she still can’t get up on things by herself, she has to pull herself up, but her rear leg is getting stronger.
She does not seem to be uncomfortable or in pain, she appears in the barn at feeding times, is fine coming into the house at night, is eager to get outside in the morning. She seems more mature to me, more grounded, much more of a presence. Her fur is growing back, her stump wound is healed. At this point, I think, she could be outside or inside, either one seems okay to her. She makes Frieda nervous, but there is no trouble between them. I am always learning about cats, about their independence, their adaptability, their intelligence.
We have a bag of cat treats we keep in a drawer in the kitchen, when I am there sometimes, Minnie comes up to me and stands below the drawer and yowls at me until I give her a treat. She has learned this from the donkeys, I think. It usually works.
