Keene Tanton came over yesterday to meet with us about doing some farm chores. He has a nuclear reactor implanted somewhere inside of him, and he is eager to save his money to help the family go to the beach this summer. His mother Nicole works at the Cambridge Valley Vet and helps take care of the farm we are off for some reason and can’t feed the animals, or go away for the night.

When she was last here Keene came along and helped with the chores, and I had the thought that a kid that age who loves to do farm chores is worth getting to know. I was not disappointed. He loves to clean up the yard after the dogs, brush the dogs and donkeys, and throw the ball for Fate.

This latter chore turned out to be amazing to watch. Keene is the human version of Fate, he never stops, cannot be worn out,  is up for anything, and is unbelievably strong and fast, a country boy through and through. He loves to work.

Country kids are different from city kids, they love to work and earn some money, and they are fearless. They also talk to adults, which city kids hate to do.  In several minutes, Keene climbed the apple tree, fed the donkeys and raced around the pasture with Fate.

Fate was instantly crazy about him, the two are natural pals and have the same energy level. Fate is never happier than when she is tearing around with young boys.

Keene would throw Fate’s ball and then run after it himself, and once or twice, he actually beat her to the ball. We explained to him the idea was to throw the ball and let Fate get it. Then he threw the ball farther than I’d ever seen anyone throw it. Fare could hardly believe her good luck. And he did something I have never seen before, after ten minutes of tearing around, Fate was exhausted and actually wanted to stop.

Her tongue was hanging off the ground.

Keene was just warming up. He claims to be able to stack firewood too, something Nicole insists he can do, but we might put that chore off for a few years. It takes big strong people weeks to stack our firewood, and they are exhausted.

But I’ll be honest. Keene is young and he and Nicole love living here, and he will be around a long time and we have a lot of chores here. We also love to take short trips. As the Commissar of Snow And Ice And Small Chores, I am happy to welcome Keene to Bedlam Farm.

We will be doing a lot of good business together, and he is rearing to go. We shook on it. I asked him what he charges and he just shrugged. We’ll figure it out. I paid him $5 dollars for the work he did on the farm last week – he brushed the donkeys – and it’s in the Tanton vacation fund already. Some kid.