Fox Haven Journal

Beau December 31st, 2009

The garden sits bare in the snow… waiting. I remember what has grown there, and what didn’t. The fun of picking vegetables, the frustrations and impatience. Hands in the dirt, mysteries and suprises, butterflies and birds. So many memories through the years. And my imagination looks forward!

The garden waits for all the things I’d like to grow and share, opportunities and change. Somehow the seed and farm catalogs know it. They’ve started coming in the mail already, just in time to whet my appetite for planting and growing something in the spring. Ah, but what’s a winter for if not the chance to dream about warmer, growing seasons?

A day or two of sunshine is just enough to warm the spirit however.

Even though the cold will be a constant for a couple more months, somehow I need that time.  Maybe it’s a time we can look inward, or catch up on a few things at home.  A chance to look behind at the year past, and welcome new things.

It’s the last day of the year… as certain as that is, it still surprises me a little. Where has the time gone?! Some may debate when this decade really ends, but all I can say is “Welcome 2010!” Somehow each year brings hope… a time for change and a renewal.  Perhaps we make vows, or decide that this year it will all be different.  It might.  Where it counts, I hope so.   Sometimes too, things are the same no matter how the years pass, and that is as it should be.

I wish you all a year of great joy and promise, good health, love, friendship and prosperity, and most of all… a Happy New Year!

• Family and School , Reflections
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Beau December 25th, 2009

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold,
everything is softer and more beautiful.
                                                                                              -   Norman Vincent Peale  

The snow began in the morning… just enough to brighten the day.

What a nice surprise… a white Christmas after days of rain, with snow falling still.  Just not three feet of it like some of you!  The birds are having their own feast…

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
                                                                                                         –  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

• Seasons
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Beau December 24th, 2009

A scary thing happened today. We took the day to head to the big city and tour a few fun places.  One of which offers kids a chance to climb, crawl and explore among inumerable manmade caves, walkways, ladders, staircases and other creative devices.  It’s actually built throughout an old shoe factory, and is an amazingly fun place to visit. You may know it, and I won’t name it because that’s not the point or my focus.

While exploring the wonders of this place, we were deep inside trying to dodge dozens of other kids and adults, and to keep up with our own.  Some of the tunnels, crevices and walkways were only big enough for small kids to get through.  Most of the adults had to find less claustrophobic ways to keep up.   

To say that it was confusing at times is an understatement, but we found out how quickly our lives could change.  I was coming around a dark corner, emerging into a small open area with a spiral of conveyor bars reaching what seemed to be a hundred feet high…

Looking up at the climbing spirals

If you looked the other way, there was an opening that dropped for at least sixty to eighty feet straight to the bottom rocky area below.  I took this all in as I walked around the corner, marveling at the imagination it took to build it all.   And then I saw him.

As I looked up I saw that the boy, about ten feet above us, was climbing on top of the spiral ladder with a great big smile on his face, asking me where it led.  And then my heart leaped… immediately I knew something was wrong.  Just a few feet away, the bars dropped off to that hole, with nothing to hold on to.  He wasn’t supposed to be there.  It wasn’t a ladder but a tunnel or slide of sorts, with open bars above, even though it looked like a lot of the other climbing areas.

Yet he had climbed over a waist high bar and started climbing up on top of the tunnel… I simply said “Stop” and thank God he listened.  People wonder sometimes why you must teach kids to listen, and that was one of those times.  I’ve talked with him before that if I ever say things like that, to really listen… he did.   

I walked quickly to the spiral looking up at him and said “You’re not where your supposed to be, but just move up a bit more to your right and keep holding on carefully…” and that moved him away a little so in case he slipped he wouldn’t fall right off and I might at least have a grab at him.  A million things go through your head in moments like that. 

Harmless looking spiral tunnel slide, except that edge at the bottom of the picture drops off more than sixty feet below…

I muttered something else about staying there- no one else could have helped us at the time.  We saw that there were only two places to get him- at the back where he would have to step down and to the right more than I wanted, or I could climb up and hold on to him, and make sure he got down safe.  That was my first thought wanting to make sure I blocked his fall path, so I ran around where he got on to try and climb up myself.   But as I put weight on the bars they seemed too springy for me, maybe not even able to support my weight and I didn’t want us both to tumble down.  My wife liked the backside option and I agreed- it really seemed the safest thing we could do besides having him climb down himself… right along the edge.  No way.

So I had him move carefully right and slightly down (just above the top of the picture) and grabbed an ankle like no tomorrow… and then we were helping lift him down (behind that picture above).   It was over in a minute really, like nothing happened.   He didn’t even seem to realize what the big deal was until I showed him the dropoff, and where he was.   He wondered why it was so easy to get up there… (me too).  

It seemed a really a poor design with a bunch of kids running around… he thought that for himself.  Perhaps most folks wouldn’t have climbed over one of the bars to get there.  Who knows, so much of the stuff the kids were climbing around looked similar.  

All I know is that someone’s usually going to find a way to get in trouble or find a weakness with the designs of man.  Today was our chance. 

After a lunch break I found a manager and talked about safety. They actually had a program in place to take suggestions and try to make everything as safe as possible.  We found our way to the place and I explained what happened, and what I saw as design flaws. They were amazed no one had thought of that and put a work order in immediately to modify the contraption to prevent someone else from climbing up or falling off.  I felt better.

It’s amazing what can happen in a moment.   It brought me back thinking about those moments where my own life and others have hung in the balance.  I used to teach younger pilots to land on aircraft carriers, and while at sea to make sure aircraft got aboard safely.   The difference between life and death was often mere seconds.   Too many stories there, but maybe I’ll share a few sometime.

For today we went back to having fun, a little more sober for the experience, and the boy got a few more hugs than usual.

*******

Then a funny thing happened later on, in a different sense.  Well, not funny so much as fun to see.  I was circling a parking lot out in an empty area at a department store.  Way down one of the rows I saw a thirty-something woman pushing a cart, hurrying quickly toward a lone car far out in the lot.  Then I realized she wasn’t quite hurrying, but instead was walking quickly and stepping up at the back of the cart while enjoying the rolling glide down a gentle slope.  Grocery cart skating we used to call it!   Her hair was blowing out gently behind her, and she had this big, amazing smile on her face,  obviously finding such joy in a private moment.

As she coasted quickly to a stop at her car, I couldn’t resist driving up and rolled the window down, smiling too and simply told her it was fun to watch her enjoying the moment with the grocery cart.  She laughed, a little embarrassed, but said it really was fun because she was alone and not worried about all her kids, and she probably wouldn’t have done it otherwise.  We wished each other happy holidays and waved as I drove off.   She was still smiling.

Two moments.  One day.  And I’m thankful.  

May you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and time enough for reflection and enjoyment for the little moments along the way.

• Family and School , Passing Thoughts
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Beau December 21st, 2009

A light dusting of snow was our welcome to winter this weekend, almost like holiday frosting gently covering the trees.   Many of our friends across the north and east have received so much more.  I hope you are all snuggled safe and sound, and can enjoy the beauty that winter brings.  Let us hope that family travels and caretaking will not be affected too much, however it looks like another big storm is brewing in the west…

“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home…”   Charles Dickens

 May you have a peaceful and pleasant holiday season!

• Seasons
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Beau December 17th, 2009

The days have darkened early, the clouds and cold are here. 
The ground is nearly frozen, and it’s the holidays we cheer. 
The sky is filled with color, and the wind plays its soulful tune- 
The trees are bare and the forest owl stares as if to say, “Winter’s coming soon!”

I watched an owl yesterday high on a tree branch near the pond.  It stared at me, then turned around and flew down toward the base of a tree.  A squirrel darted away at the last minute, and the owl changed course, flying across the pond to another tree, watching, waiting… 

• Passing Thoughts , Seasons
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Beau December 11th, 2009

We lost a friend yesterday.  A part of the family for many years.  Twelve to be exact.  He was born on December 10th, 1997.  And yesterday we sadly had to help him across that final threshold of life, on the very day of his birth.

His name was Justin, and he was a good dog.  A bit smelly and drooly, but a fine old friend.  He lived at Fox Haven for many of his twelve years, even while we were far overseas.  If ever a dog had a happy, carefree life, it was he.  

For a Basset Hound, he was remarkably healthy and strong.  He would roam the property and follow us just about everywhere.   He loved to be close, and would settle down wherever I was working and fall asleep.  This year he slept a lot more.  I would tiptoe around the outside of the house so I didn’t wake him, but as soon as I got started working somewhere I would hear “Oowwoo…arf! arf! Oowoooo!” as he came looking for me.   I would see him with his magical nose, sniffing the ground and tracing my steps until he saw me.  He would trot up wagging his tail and settle down somewhere nearby to sleep. Often he would wake up an hour or two later wondering where everybody went.

Last weekend when we cut the cedar tree down for Grandma, the basset hound wanted to come along as usual.  Wandering around with us was about his favorite thing to do, and especially riding in the little golf cart.  That night I was putting the cart in the barn, and as I sat down Justin came running up to jump inside for his ride…  this year he  couldn’t jump in as well and would put his head and front paws up and I would help him in.  We rode for about twenty feet and parked… it didn’t matter how far, he was just happy to have the ride.

A few days ago the boy and I were in the barn with the woodstove going, and a couple dogs and a cat to keep us company.  Justin settled down behind the warm stove and took a nap for a few hours.

His fur was very warm, almost too hot to the touch.  He enjoyed that very much. I didn’t have my camera, but took this picture with my cell phone for some reason.

When it was time to go I nudged him until he looked up and I coaxed him outside again.  He was getting a little more confused this year…  In a way, he was such good company that I didn’t even notice him most of the time. But I usually always waited for him, and let him in and out of the barn, up in the golf cart, or wherever else he followed.

While building the shed these past couple of months he was always there. The past couple of weeks he would climb up in the shed and lay down to sleep. Then when I was back outside he would bark and whine to be helped down because he couldn’t figure out how to get down.

He still liked to play though, and he loved Kuma the Shiba Inu.  They slept in the kennel together and Justin followed Kuma everywhere.   If we put Justin in the kennel for the night and Kuma wasn’t there, he would yowl and cry until he came too.   Kuma was a little grouchy at times as the alpha dog, sometimes nipping Justin’s ears.  He didn’t care, he still wanted to be with him.   They kept watch together, welcomed us home together and wandered the fields together.   In the mornings they would even play together in the driveway.

Of course anywhere the boy and I went, or the other animals, Justin had to follow. We often gave him apple cores and he loved them. When the boy ate an apple, Justin would follow him around and the boy would yell, “Apple dog! Apple dog!” and run away. Justin would go “Woof!” and chase him.

Especially if it was around the pond.

On school days I would bring the yellow lab and Justin with me to meet the boy at the bus.  He loved that and would wag his tail when the boy came running off the bus. We would explore the pond or check out the fruit trees along the way.  Sometimes I would try to sneak off without him and let him sleep.  And I was worried he might wander off somewhere and get lost.  I found him about a half mile away last year, at the bottom of a valley.   No matter how I tried to sneak away though- he would still wake up and somehow know where I was.   Five minutes later here came the basset hound trotting up the driveway or through the fields.   His nose led the way…

Often we would see him exploring with Princess the cat.  He was so gentle that the cats seemed to accept him.  Princess liked to come by and rub his muzzle as if to say hello.

If any of the dogs got in the pickup truck, Justin yowled to go too.  He just loved car rides.  Yesterday, while he was sick and I was getting the car ready, he even tried to jump up on the bumper, ready to go as always.

He loved to roam the garden, but we tried to keep him out so he didn’t stomp all over everything.  In September I even watched him walk up and pull a big juicy tomato off the plant for a snack!

When he did have something of his own or a favorite spot to lie down, he would go “Woo! Woooo!” to the yellow lab.  The labrador is a master of sneaking food from the other dogs, and Justin would bark and chase him away.

If you sat down on the ground or anywhere else he could reach you, he might give you a big slobbery kiss when you least expected it!

He was a patient sort, even when trying on a new hat!

But mostly he would find a comfy place in the sun and just snuggle up for a nap.

He was just friendly and lovable, and wanted to be part of everything.  Especially if you had food to share.  And he was.   He was part of the family.

Farewell ‘ole friend.  We’ll miss you, and are better for having shared our life with you.  You were a good dog.
Say hi to Sparky…

• Family and School , Wildlife, Insects and Pets
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Beau December 8th, 2009

Lots of rain and cold today… it was cleanup time in the barn with the woodstove going.  Looks like lots of snow for those of you west and north of us, but also very high winds.  Tomorrow the temperatures are going to drop to just above, or below zero degrees for us. Much colder for you folks up north I’ll bet!   With high winds of 30-45 mph the windchill factor will be downright dangerous.   Last month I made sure everything is winterized and put away, hoses disconnected, etc, but it’s worth thinking about things again before that kind of cold.  Pets and animals need a second look as well to make sure they can keep warm.  When it gets this cold we bring our outside dogs in the garage, even though they have nice little dog houses and cedar bedding.  The heavy coated Shiba Inu would be fine, but it gives them a break.   Somehow it feels like January’s going to be snowy…

The boy and I cut a cedar tree for his Grandma the other day.  It was fun looking for just the right one…  we found it at sunset near the pond (I forgot to take a picture!).  We’re debating whether we’ll cut our own cedar this year, or head to our traditional tree farm.  

We were not far from a straggly old scotch pine that was planted years ago.  How this pine tree has held on for so many years amazes me… every year a buck comes by and ravages the thing, usually killing a branch or two.  I’ve tried to help it out, but as you can see from the damage, it took a real beating this year from one of our antlered friends.    Oh, and the yellow lab was pouting because I wouldn’t let him in the water!

I just remembered that I haven’t put a bird feeder up yet!  Just haven’t made time to pick up some bird seed, so maybe tomorrow will be the day.   I’m curious to see if the squirrels will raid our feeders or not.  Historically we haven’t had very many closer to the house, probably due to the dogs wandering around.   But this fall there’s a population of nearly a dozen gray and red fox squirrels that have taken up residence in the oak trees around the house and barn.  They’ve practically taken over the place so it should be interesting.  

 Stay warm out there this week and take an extra blanket in the car!

• Labrador Retriever , Rural Living , Seasons
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