16 March

Rescuing Sebastian, Rescuing Dogs

by Jon Katz
Rescuing Sebastian
Rescuing Sebastian

There is hardly a day in my life when people do not e-mail me photos of dogs in need of rescue, especially border collies in trouble, of whom there are many. That’s why I was so wary when Karen Thompson e-mailed me about Red nearly two years ago, and told me God wanted me to have him. It never dawned on me that she could be right. This evening, I was just putting up a blog post when I started receiving a stream of messages and photos about this dog, a border collie named Sebastian, pulled out of a shelter by a rescue group called bigfluffydogrescue.com.

I think I got about a 20 messages within a few minutes, all from good people strongly suggesting that this was a dog for me, a dog right up my alley. I am not looking for a dog, I have a lot of dogs. But I have to confess this dog caught my eye. He reminded me of three border collies I have had – Orson, Rose and Red. He is almost a dead ringer for Rose, and that surely touched my heart. Orson, you may remember, was a dog I loved dearly, a dog who brought me into the world of border collies and writing about dogs. He was euthanized after he bit three people, including a child, a decision that many people – especially rescue people –  feel was wrong. I do not feel it was wrong, it was my coming of age as an animal lover.

I was more successful with my other border collies,  all of whom were crazy in one way or another, and I have come to love and understand the breed, something that is helped by being somewhat autistic,  having sheep, other dogs, fenced-in yards and a life that combines work and home. If you study attachment theory, you will know there are good reasons for my love of crazy border collies, it says much more about me than them.

I know Bedlam Farm is a good place for a dog, dogs do very well here,  and I know that I could help Sebastian – the problems attributed to him are pretty standard for many border collies, who suffer shyness, fear of objects raining down on them (not always a sign of abuse) and strange and erratic behaviors. I learned a lot from Orson, I am learning still. My dog Red, who arrived with some of the same behavioral issues Sebastian has, is still terrified of linoleum floors, thresholds between rooms, water bowls that glint in the sun, and shovels. So be it, we work around it.

if you don’t have a sense of humor, an appreciation for bright oddballs and a lot of patience, messed-up border collies are not for you. They definitely are for me. Border collies are not like the other children.

I am up to my neck in animals and work – three dogs, three donkeys, three hens, two barn cats, a bunch of bred sheep. Plus blogs and books to write, photos to take, a farm to help run. But I have to be honest, for the first time in two years, I was moved to send an e-mail to the rescue group sending out an SOS for Sebastian, I asked a bit about him. I saw from the list of requirements that my farm and life and training philosophy qualifies on all counts.  I see from the Facebook messages that scores of people want him, and I am certain he is spoken for by now, or I wouldn’t even be writing this. No one has gotten back to me, I am off the hook.

I think I would be relieved to hear that Sebastian is already on his way to somebody’s home. I told Maria about this and she asked me if I thought we needed another dog now in our farmhouse, and I looked around at the room filled with sprawling dogs and dozing cats, and I said no, absolutely not. Nobody ever needs another dog, what does that have to do with it? I didn’t need Red either, and he is one of the best things that ever happened to me.

I can imagine taking Sebastian out to look at sheep, showing him how to be calm, letting him learn from Red and Lenore, finding work and exercise that he loves – the key to any border collie’s heart and soul. But I also know there is no limit to the animals one can rescue and acquire, and I am happily up to my neck in love and life. Sometimes you love your own life by saying no.  I wish Sebastian great luck in his new home.

I am writing about it because is interesting to ponder why this dog, of all those offered to me and run by me, would touch my heart, and I know the answer because I write about it all the time. I was a lonely and abandoned boy myself, I hid and growled and ran from the world for most of my life, I know too well what it feels like to live in terror and confusion and have large objects hurt and frighten me. My wish for Sebastian is that his new owner understands that and slowly and carefully and lovingly shows him what is good and safe about the world, finds work for him that will empower and enthrall him, and show him every day how wonderful it can be to be a crazy dog loved by a crazy human.

There are few border collies that cannot be healed by good and regular work, it pulls them right out of themselves.

Still, this is the first time in two years that I have responded to any of the stream of photos I see on-line, in my inbox every day of my life. I am careful about the rescue thing, I have two rescue dogs, a rescue donkey, rescue chickens barn cats and sheep. I don’t even like to use the word, the animals don’t need it.

But I am grateful so many people read Sebastian’s story and thought of me. It is a good sign for both of us.

16 March

Lenore’s Spring: First Ball Toss of 2014

by Jon Katz
First Ball Toss
First Ball Toss

We are thinking Spring, even though it was never above freezing today and will be near zero tonight. We went for a walk on Macmillian Road and Maris tossed the first rubber ball of the year for Lenore, she was happy to go after it. For me, it was the first time I used the shutter burst feature – 12 shots a second – on my new camera, and I was pleased to see I caught the ball in mid-flight. Nice camera, I am learning a lot about it.

We are, like all of you, very eager for Spring, it is very close, I see it every day in the sun, not in the ice and snow that shrouds the farm.

16 March

The Yellow Barn

by Jon Katz
Yellow Barn
Yellow Barn

I love the yellow barn, I often wonder why it is yellow, I’ve heard various theories and stories about it, but nobody knows for sure. I imagine the farmer wanted to be different, got hold of some yellow paint it is a good color for a barn, but almost all the barns around her are red, that was the cheapest kind of paint that could be purchased or made. This one is iconic, a bit lonely perhaps, out in it’s field, an unusual configuration of windows.

I don’t really want to know why it is yellow, I’d rather guess and imagine the reasons.

16 March

The Crazy Artists Club

by Jon Katz
The Crazy Artists Club
The Crazy Artists Club

Today, George Forss and I launched something new, “The Crazy Artists Club,” which will meet once a week for lunch at the Round House Cafe in Cambridge, either on Friday or Sunday. George and I thought of calling it the “Crazy Old Men Creative Club,” but then we realized we had no wish to exclude crazy creative women, since we are both in love with one.

So we pivoted and changed the name to the “Crazy Artists Club.” Maria and Donna Wynbrandt both signed up immediately, and that is great and we are considering admitting Scott Carrino, our friend and the co-owner of the Round House  Cafe, where I am often found. Scott is insanely busy, but he is a gifted and crazy artist – a musician and lyricist, he would be a great addition.  (The cafe has changed my life, and has become one of the heartbeats of our little town.) George and I have been holding court there weekly, George has some wonderful tales to tell when he cranks up, he is on a big kick to only print photographs that have magic in them, and if anyone can do it, he can.

I like the name of the club, it reminds me of a Sherlock Holmes caper.

He told me that these were fast becoming the best days of his life, we both love to talk about the very different ways in which we both take photos. George really thinks about his, I fire away. He thinks my new camera will be very good for me, we are going to sit down and go over the manual together later this week. I’m going to help George write the text of his book “The Way We Were,” his Kickstarter project went over $13,000 today, Maria’s went over $5,000. A good day for the Crazy Artists Club.

George keeps trying to split all of his revenues with me, and pay me for the very small writing help I’m happy to provide, I told him he can pay me by giving me photo lessons and guidance, I think he will go for that. So a new club, finally one that I can join and be happy in. I am happy we did not exclude women, and fortunately, we can’t grow as the tables at the Round House are small.

16 March

Ironing Vintage Hankies

by Jon Katz
Ironing Vintage Hankies
Ironing Vintage Hankies

We had a lot of chores to do today – the farm is covered in ice, we shoveled and chipped, we went to Bennington to get some slippers for Maria, but the bulk of the day was devoted to ironing some of the wonderful hankies that have been poring into the farm from all over the country. I haven’t ironed in awhile, but I like it, is warm and a good task for obsessives. I think of all the seamstresses of the world who stand up for hours and iron, and I imagine it is not much fun.

We had to wash them and sort them and iron them and stack and study them. I have to say I loved doing it, I’ll stay at it through the week until we get on top of it.

We have many hours of ironing to do, and we switched back and forth, Maria did the bulk of it, she was, as usual, amazed that I wanted to help her, she is always amazed when anyone wants to help her. I hope that fades, we had a good time. The hankies are astonishing, so varied, beautiful, so much amazing craftsman ship. We sorted them into piles by size and style and damage. These will make some beautiful things, it will be fascinating to see what Maria does with them. Thanks to those of you who sent them.

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