Today we arrived at this lovely place, a place that we return to each year. Well, last year we tried to return here but we ran into a little trouble with the airport personnel because I seriously messed up.

But this year all passports are valid and here we are, all four of us. It’s beautiful and sunny. The locals are wearing jackets, because they think it’s cold, but we’re in bathing suits because we think it’s almost warm.  Denis has been working very long hours and is so happy to have a break, as are the kids.  I am joyous because a) we’re all together, b) I can hear the ocean and c) I figured out how to edit the Flip videos today!  Yes, no more endless footage of our ceiling and floor as I try to focus on those ever fascinating subjects – my dogs.  I’m tempted to go back and edit the old videos but am too lazy.  Henceforth, though, I’m tempted to do a little daily DTV. Just short clips.

Like this – a short clip of two girls who are wondering what happened to the people who used to sleep and eat and work and play on the bed all day long. Please note the size of Lulu’s paws. They’re like furry hooves:

Remember the good old days, when I wrote about social issues, fitness, literature, beauty and red-carpet glamour? Well, I’m afraid those days are over, at least for the present. People, I have discovered the Flip camera, have learned how to load the videos and this blog, as we once knew it,  will never be the same.

Seriously, I promise not to keep doing this, I know it’s boring, but, well, I’m having so much fun. Here are some vids I tooks this morning. In the first, you will experience with me, the serenity and peace that surrounds me as I enjoy my morning coffee in bed with my dear companions:

In this next, the dogs have accompanied me to the barn to feed the horses. Each day I teach Holly the “watch out” command, that the other dogs know. She is so little that she really needs to obey around the horses. When told to “watch out,” she is to go to the back of the aisle and sit, facing me. Not bad for a 5 month old.

And in this last you can see the three dogs waiting as I let horses out of stalls. Lulu came to us at 9 months of age with very bad/dangerous horse manners. She would bark, growl and actually snap at their muzzles and engage in all sorts of herding/predatory behavior when they were in field. Fortunately my horses have fox hunted (we never killed any foxes, promise, not once in all the times I hunted) and they won’t run from barking dogs, nor kick them, so she has more or less stopped with her attempts to chase them. But she’s still learning barn manners as you will see. At end, I overlook her ignoring my “stay” command and allow her to go into horse’s empty stall for leftovers. I’m more focused on the puppy at present and Lulu has learning issues, so just not barking at horses is good enough for today.

Yes, I believe I can now post videos that I have taken, onto my own blog.  Here’s my first video, taken with a Flip camera I received for Christmas. This is a nightly ritual with the dogs.  Puppy waits for all the dogs to finish their supper. Then she just sits back and dares them to try to eat hers. When they show an interest, she rushes over to the food and eats it slowly and deliberately, just to torture them:

Okay, that was short and kind of boring. Now time to wow you with some tricks. Ready?

I know, if you didn’t see it with your own eyes, you wouldn’t believe it possible for dogs to pull off such an amazing feat.

And now, for Holly’s solo act. I’m teaching her to balance on a large ball and on a skateboard so that she’ll be able to push them. We just started learning this yesterday. Please ignore my incredibly annoying voice.

Somebody very kindly posted my (Leo) horoscope yesterday or the day before and I’ve been scanning all the comments because I’m wondering if it warned that I would break a tooth and then a computer in one weekend.  I still can’t find the comment with the horoscope, but did get a new laptop today. Mine has been on it’s way out for a long time. It didn’t close and I had to tape it shut when I traveled with it. I guess you’re not supposed to keep dropping the laptops on the ground.  And it wasn’t really my tooth that broke, on Friday, just a veneer. On one of my front teeth. Oh, you thought those were my real teeth?  No, no, my real teeth have been filed down to scary little nubbins in order to make way for the veneers. You see, I had a less than perfect smile.  I had a big gap between my front teeth that somehow looked cool until I was 35, and then, overnight, made me look like a witch.  I’m not sure how that happened but the exact same thing happened to a friend of mine when she turned 35.

But yesterday nothing broke.  Denis and I went to see our daughter play her last high school hockey game.  Holly came along. She is sometimes timid in unfamiliar places so I’m trying to expose her to stuff.  The last time I took her to a hockey game she shivered under my coat, so this time I found a little hoodie for her.

Yes, it’s a hockey sweatshirt! I found it on a stuffed bear.

Lord almighty, ain’t she a cute ‘un, though? (Still missing part of tooth).

She rode on Denis’s lap on the way to the game.

And she rooted for Dev’s team.

Sorry, the hockey photos all came out a little blurry, but that’s our Dev with her stick on the ice (I think).

GO BIG RED!

Last night’s chat was great fun.  Have spent the morning looking for the “Blaize” reference, which Alan insists is the name of the young Mrs. Mrs. De Winter .  Still haven’t found it.

But now we must discuss something more important than all that. We need to talk about me.  At what point does one become a crazy dog lady?  After 4 dogs? 5?  We have 50 acres – a small farm -which makes 5 dogs not seem entirely crazy, but all the dogs prefer to spend most of their time on my bed-desk, which even I know is crazy.

Here’s the thing. I met another dog.   I’ve been visiting shelters and meeting dozens and dozens of dogs over the past few weeks, and I’m not one to fall for every dog I see.  In fact, I really don’t want most dogs I see, even the most beautiful, young and friendly.  But the other day, while visiting the site of the new facilities for The Simon Foundation, a wonderful rescue organization that I’ll  blog about soon, I met Raven.  Stephanie Ferguson, the director of the Simon Foundation is fostering Raven in her home and this is what she has to say about her:

“Raven a 2-year old American Staffordshire Terrier, was confiscated from a home in December 2009. Until that day, she had spent her entire life bearing puppies in the basement. She is a beautiful dog, even though someone did a really bad job of cropping her ears with a pair scissors.

Three of Raven’s housemates (Sydney, Spike, and Annabelle) came with her to The Simon Foundation. None of the dogs had ever been socialized with humans, and they were terrified of their new environment. They spent the first several weeks cowering in their pens, not making any eye contact with the staff. None of the dogs knew how to walk on a leash, so trying to get them out of the pens for exercise and socialization was a stressful experience for everyone.

While fearful, once Raven was out of her pen, she loved to be held and petted. She craved affection, and a life she never before knew existed.

One day we received an application for Sydney and Spike. Because the dogs didn’t show well at the kennel, we decided to take them to a storefront that we use for events and showings. On a whim we decided to bring Annabelle and Raven so they could get out and have a little reunion with their friends. We are so glad we did, because the Raven that was unveiled was a wonder to us all.

Upon seeing her friends, Raven expressed immense joy and playfulness. She ran around with the pack and even approached the people in the room. It was amazing to watch, and gave us hope that Raven could be adopted sooner, rather than later.

A staff member took Raven home and discovered she doesn’t just like other dogs, she also likes cats and children! It was decided that she would be fostered by another staff member so she could be integrated into a home environment and learn how to “be a dog”. She needed to learn how to walk on a leash, up and down stairs, go outside to go to the bathroom, and other basic skills that would help facilitate a successful adoption.

It didn’t take long before Raven’s true personality started to reveal itself. She has the calm, mature demeanor of Cesar Milan’s “Daddy”, who recently passed away. She is extremely intuitive and maternal, perhaps from repeatedly whelping litters.

Raven loathes the cold (and especially the rain) so she needs a sweater to keep her warm. She has learned to walk well on a leash, go up and down stairs, and she’s pretty well housebroken. She likes to ride in the car and pretty much sleeps on a dog bed the entire trip. We do not allow her jump on the furniture, but if you let her, she would love to snuggle with you on the couch while you watch TV. She’s no longer afraid of people (maybe a little shy), but definitely not afraid.

She has been trained to sleep in a crate at night. She didn’t like it at first, because she doesn’t like to be alone, but now she goes right in and sleeps the night away under a soft fleece blanket.

Raven is highly adoptable to anyone who has other pets and children. She would do best in a home that has at least one other dog for her to play with, and someone who will either take her with them wherever they go, or who is around a lot, because she does not like to be left alone.

If you can offer Raven the home she so deserves, please visit The Simon Foundation website at www.thesimonfoundation.org to submit an online Application to Adopt. Her friend
Annabelle is also still available.”

So that’s Raven’s story. We haven’t adopted her yet. Denis will meet her tomorrow, But Stephanie brought Raven over to meet my girls yesterday. I had a bit of trepidation about this, I must admit. She’s a pit bull and they are more inclined to fight, generally, than, say, a Labradoodle..  Female dogs can be aggressive toward each other, but my dogs never fight. They take bones away from each other, eat out of each others’ bowls, etc. I didn’t know if Raven had ever fought other dogs (I was told she was taken from a crack house). Daphne, our pack leader has been known to growl at dogs who have come to our property and whose energy she doesn’t like, so I was worried that if she growled, Raven would be triggered to attack and there would be a tragedy.

But Raven and Stephanie arrived while we were outside and Daphne wandered over to them her tail wagging slowly. Raven was on a leash, which can make some dogs very defensive when confronted by a loose dog, But Raven was mellow, wagging her tail, her head lowered. Soon all of my girls were sniffing Raven, everybody seemed to be admiring her and then we went inside and let them all off-leash together.

Well, I won’t bore you with all the details, but Raven loves to play with other dogs. She LOVED the puppy and Holly loved her. They played for an hour, at least. She’s very short and compact, so she’s easier for the puppy to play with than Lulu, whose size can be overwhelming to the puppy. But she’s so strong that she can play tug-of-war with Lulu, which none of our other dogs want to do because she’s so powerful that they get flung into the air when she shakes her head.

So what do you all think? Will you stop reading my blog if I adopt her, because you will then know for sure what you have long suspected – that what you are reading is the rantings of a lunatic? A dog lady? Or will you admire me for my bravery and kindness, bringing yet another 4-legged creature into our home to live out its days with us?

PS – we have had 5 dogs before, and two of them were Irish Wolfhounds

PPS (PSS?) – we really would like to spend more time in the city and traveling once Dev leaves for college in the fall.

Today, as I drove around our charming little town in search of a USB cord (didn’t find one, but if you’re looking for candles I can show you ten shops within spitting distance of each other) I realized that I need no such cord, as I have several Moses Pendleton photos that I’ve not yet posted. Quite a few actually. There are are a series of red roses that I absolutely refuse to post here because they are rich and sensual and textured and beautiful, and the photos really do lose something when I reformat them for the blog. I just can’t do it, but hope to get prints of them from him someday. I know exactly where I will hang them, Moses, if you ever figure out how to print them.

But I recalled a photo that Moses sent me over a month ago that I just love.  Here it is:

Photo by Moses Pendleton

I love the way the two chairs seem to be just barely touching hands, facing into the late afternoon sun together. Rooted there, like a lovely old married couple.

Then, wonder of wonders, I found a place that sells …well I have no idea what the hell it’s called but you take the photo card from the camera and stick it in this little plastic thing and then you insert the erect male end of the little plastic thing into one of the female receptors on your computer and, if the camera and the plastic thing really love each other, boys and girls, they will make pictures together!

I know somebody here tried to explain this contraption to me once. Maybe somebody knows what it’s called.

So now I’ll post some photos I took during our last snow storm.  I hate to post my photos on the same page as Moses’s, but mine is a sort of photo essay. It’s the story, more than the composition that’s important.

This is Holly in the snow.  The snow makes Holly feel quite alive and full of herself.

She believes that the cold gives her special powers that will enable her to conquer all larger mammals.  Here is Daphne after Holly has gone for a muzzle-grab:

Oops. She tried the same move on Lulu and was forced to offer an immediate surrender:

Here they are having a little conversation, working out the terms of the surrender. Somebody looks slightly humbled:

But all is soon forgotten. Holly will walk behind the other dogs for a little while. Until her special powers return:

Horses in snow:

A field of white:

Meg (not my sister, but the other Meg who sometimes comments here) sent me this incredible news clip about a dog that stayed with a lost three-year-old and kept her from freezing overnight.  Love happy endings:

I’m a little hesitant to blog about our puppy AGAIN.  You all will tell me if I’m getting to be a bore, right? I feel like the annoying mom who keeps showing pictures of her baby to all her friends.  But just …please :

This was Holly before our hike today.  Yes, she likes to sleep on the center console of the car!  Here you can see how she rests her hind feet on my legs and sleeps against the gear shift.  I think she likes the vibration:

I know.  I know.

Well, she was resting up for her big hike in the snow.  We’ve been hiking with my friend Marcia and her gorgeous puppy Gus.  Today Gus was sporting a very jaunty vest, due to the snow:

And Marcia’s beautiful daughter Ava joined us because she had a snow day.  Holly was rather taken with Ava:

Holly would like to be carried on snowy hikes.  It’s a lot of work for those little legs, but I encourage her to walk most of the way.  The whole point is to tire her out.

Eventually, though, if she starts to shiver, I end up tucking her into my jacket. It makes her happy:

Me too!

Photo by Andrew Sullivan

Since yesterday’s post was so depressing, I thought I’d follow with something cheerier.  Here are a couple of animals who are not at risk of finding themselves in a kill shelter anytime soon. And, as you can see, they are not exactly malnourished – in fact the horse looks like it is about to have a foal, but of course, he is not, because our Snoopy is a gelding.  He likes to offer some inspiration while I type. He nibbles dreamily at the lawn and then breathes sweet-smelling thoughts into my ear. Oh, the breath of a horse is so nice and earthy and sweet. All they eat is grass and clover and hay and grain, nothing disgusting like meat.  Our horse Gabriel is so repulsed by meat-eaters that he won’t touch his water trough if a dog has drunk from it.  And they digest their meals slowly and thoughtfully and so when they breathe out through those big soft nostrils, it’s just lovely warm huffs of meadow and air.

I love the winter but it’ll be nice to sit under that apple tree with my horses and dogs again.

“Four things greater than all things are, -
Women and Horses and Power and War.”
~Rudyard Kipling, “The Ballad of the King’s Jest”

I spent time with a couple of animal rescue people the other day.  We were at a city pound that takes in dogs off the street or animals that have been surrendered for one reason or another.  The two rescue people that I was with look for adoptable dogs to remove from the pound and try to place in homes.  They want to save the dogs’ lives and they are wonderful women. We had a discussion about the issue of what is to be done with dogs that are aggressive.  Biters and fighters.

One woman works for an organization that doesn’t believe any dog should be euthanized, regardless of temperament. I don’t believe in this philosophy, for several reasons. First, of course, is  the risk that a child or adult will be seriously injured by the dog.  But I also have concern for the dog. The human-aggressive dog faces such a bleak future, and I don’t think a lot of animal-rights advocates take this into consideration. I have seen what some “trainers’ do to large, aggressive, difficult to control animals.  You see this a lot with horses.  Whips, spurs – with dogs, choking with pronged collars, electric shock collars used in a punitive way, kicking, etc.  Or, if they end up in a “no-kill” shelter, that won’t place human-aggressive dogs in homes – that’s where they will live the rest of their days. In a kennel.  Perhaps for years.  Is this a life for a dog?  As we discussed this, one of the women told of a story about a local “trainer” who specializes in aggressive behavior, and what that trainer did to that dog, right in front of its owner made me so sick.  After such treatment, I have no doubt that the dog’s fear of humans will have intensified, as well as his aggression.  I wonder if it wouldn’t have been kinder to have the dog humanely euthanized, before the brutal training.  I suspect that it’s the ultimate fate for this dog, anyway.  Too bad it had to have its short life made worse by such torture.

I would love to know what you all think about this issue.  I’ve been talking to so many people about animal ethics, for my book, and people become very emotional about this topic. Do you believe that “no-kill” shelters are the most humane solution for dogs?  And I’d like to hear from horse lovers about your feelings regarding bans on horse-slaughter,  which is another controversial issue that some animal advocates don’t believe is in the best interest of the animals.