Coming home, the washboard road is as close to a drumroll as we’ll get. We are bleary-eyed and dog-tired. I have a class to lead in three hours. Jolene needs to zoom in her yard like an Indy car. Mister sweeps the farm for stray cats who might need to be barked at. And the … Read more
Road trips have a feeling of being unstuck anyway, but this trip to the land of my people was like slingshot time travel. Glancing at a cloud, a memory starts foggy. Wait for the shy, buried parts to emerge. But then all the memories explode straight at you. Both slow motion and at blinding speed. … Read more
Mister is barking in a steady rhythm. His metronome bark. Consider it a warning siren. He knows. There is a look Mister gets when I grab Jolene’s leash and give him a chewy. And there is a look he gets when I head out the back door with an armful of clothes. Mister knows a … Read more
Mister has been studying Edgar Rice Burro, our farm’s moral compass, these last years. He recognizes the donkey’s buddha-like wisdom and believes himself to be the canine equivalent. Mister says he has the ears for it. And he’s a deep thinker. It only looks like he’s napping, but his belly is sticking out, which is … Read more