Anna Blake Drawn like magnets, humans want to be near animals so badly. We can’t help ourselves, but we are a little scary. Animals should look at us cautiously. Consider their wry skepticism an honest survival instinct. We have only good intentions, but our love is red hot and we start young. Haven’t we all seen toddlers … Read more
When people talk about the romance of farming, I think they’ve watched too much TV and read too little Steinbeck. I grew up in a dictatorship. It was a farm in Minnesota ruled by my father. People don’t get rich farming. Decisions were made for our survival, not the animals. We ate what we raised. … Read more
You’ve been home all winter, working outside until the tips of your fingers sting. Carrying fifty-pound bags of feed over ice, falling down but not feeling a thing. Partly the cold and partly with so many layers you feel nothing, but also can’t quite sit up. So, you lay there a while plotting the smart … Read more
Lately, I’ve been worried about fluffy little lap dogs whose coat has gone oily and flat from excessive petting. Concerned about Golden Retrievers are being used as body pillows, both night and day. Anxious for horses who have pulled deep inside, barely breathing, as their owners press their foreheads on them, hoping for a healing. … Read more
How can being older feel like an unfamiliar experience? Awake every step of the way, but we seem lost and unrecognizable. I know how we got here, but it feels like a runaway. The world hasn’t left me behind and I am certainly not senile. I just don’t like us much right now. Sometimes sad … Read more
Wrung out and pooped from consecutive days of snow and 40 mph winds, interspersed with monster gusts that felt like open-hand slaps. The horses stayed under shelter until the storm broke and then dragged themselves out to open dirt and slept all afternoon. I was too tired. The difference between life and the weather is … Read more
Edgar Rice Burro has another abscess. At least that’s what I hope because it’s the least terrible option. Chronic foot disease is the most common veterinary condition seen in geriatric donkeys. Of the possibilities, cross your fingers for an abscess. I’m suspicious because of the recurring quality of the lameness. Edgar is suspicious because it’s … Read more
Ruby lives with my friend, Lara. We both have reactive dogs who exploded our lives around the same time. But do not feel one crumb of sympathy for us. We gazed at our dogs, besotted. Even though, and let’s be honest, they were not easy for normal people to love. Lara says, “I … Read more
I’m thinking about trusting intuition. Or even recognizing intuition. Or comprehending trust, for that matter. Those words are made of hope or dread, nested in thin air. You can see right through them. What is the difference between intuition and a wish? How can a woman of a certain age trust the idea of trust? … Read more
Have you been hibernating? It’s a smart choice, but time to wake up. The geese are back. I’ve been courting Canada geese since moving to this farm. There is a trail of streams and ponds that crosses my Colorado prairie, enabling me to have rare waterfront property. I was thinking I’d be watching sunsets over … Read more