Got up this morning to quiet. People aren’t driving their trucks up and down in front of my house this morning, leaving the small-town quiet that I don’t get often living on a fragment of a highway that crosses part of America. No barking dogs (mine) just quiet. It’s very lovely. All enhanced by the sweet good-mornings of my two dogs. “Merry Christmas, Teddy. Merry Christmas, Bear.”
I learned last night that a friend in Wyoming has puppies like Bear. The parents who gave birth to those puppies are working dogs on her ranch, Ladder Ranch. I looked around my little house and thought, “It would probably work, with Bear here to train it. It would learn fast.” Then I thought, “Martha, are you out of your mind?”
The jury is out on that.
The book reading continues. The big box arrived two days ago — so heavy that no one could lift it. As I rolled it through my front door, I saw that others had rolled it, too. It was broken in many places and taped. But the books are all in good shape and, when I finish with the e-books, I’ll move on to the physical books. I’m reading a couple of new categories this time and they present new challenges and frustrations. Sometimes I want to talk to the author and say things like, “Dude, this is NOT that,” but I’m not teaching any more.
Obviously I don’t have much to say, so I will leave you with a fragment of a beautiful poem I ran across yesterday a winter poem from a great Chinese poet, Chu Yuan:
…Lame Dragon’s frozen peaks;
Where trees and grasses dare not grow;
Where a river runs too wide to cross
And too deep to plumb,
And the sky is white with snow
It made me think of my Chinese brother and my Christmas in China. I’m very happy to have heard from him last night.
“Summer is the season of inferior sledding” - Inuit proverb 
That is lovely poem
It’s only a fragment… I need to find the whole thing.
My backyard neighbor would love for me to take in Chunk, White Paw’s brother. He lives indoor/outdoor with her and her cat, but always ventures to my house. Let us collectively figure if we are both out of our minds.
Merry Christmas, Martha.
I’m good with that. Lucky we have all of our animal caretakers in our respective asylums. Merry Christmas, Lois!
The poem is lovely x. Do I hear the patter of tiny paws?
No — getting another Bear would pretty much fill the whole house. 🐾
😊 Ah well! Xxx
I went to my sister’s house for Christmas. She has a new foster dog – a Great Pyrenees. The other dogs were in the house when we arrived, but the new dog greeted us in the front yard – no barking, just a little whine asking that we stop and say hello before going in (as though we wouldn’t!). She likes to make a nest in the snow and watch over the house. My sister described her as “opinionated”.
That’s a good description of a livestock guardian dog. Usually they’re described as “independent.” She wanted to know who you were in case you come back. When I write about Bear and snow, I’m really NOT exaggerating. Since it got cold, she only comes in at night. A few times during the day to check on things, but she loves the cold.
So good that you got to visit with your Chinese brother. Another big dog would certainly certify you as “mental”!!