Friday Jots ~ June 24, 2005
SLANT OF LIGHT ~ Not to tread on the photographic toes of Mr. Fog himself, here's a rare shot from our valley. By the time the sun rises over our ridge, several hundred feet above the valley floor, the morning fog is usually long dissipated by the heat of the day. Compare Doug's slanting rays coming directly at the viewer from a sunset over the actual horizon versus the near-vertical rays of our 9:45 sunrise over the ridge. I had told myself that yesterday was going to be a sticking-with-business day. I'd just walk the dog down the "new road" over by the barn and come back and accomplish something. I ended up wading the length of the pasture (boy did I get soaked!) looking for spider webs, then doodled with images til almost noon. I confess, at this stage in life, I don't tend to defer gratification like I did when there was more time ahead in life for deferral. Sometimes I eat desert first, and the result often comes in the form of these visual slices of life I so enjoy sharing.
TIMBER! ~ Later this morning, Ann and I will be going down the road for the felling of monstrous white pine that grows very near the corner of Polly's barn. Craig, the treeman, asked if I'd come take pictures of the feat-- a very tricky and precise operation where there is some risk of the tree clipping the corner of the barn. But it must come down. Its roots are heaving the foundation, and one larger limb through the roof in a storm would crush the building flat. So, maybe a little photo-documentary later today or tomorrow.
SHEDDING ~ My gosh, when will the dog be done with shedding hair! But then, tis the season, and I've lamented about it every year this time, first with Buster, now with Tsuga, as follows: 1) I lauded my approach to doghair collection: turn on the ceiling fan, wait for the great tumbleweeds of dog hair to be driven up against the side of the couch, and collect them when reaching for your beer. (Ann didn't like my method, but hey, she's from Venus.) 2) Let it fall as it may, sweaters can be made from the stuff! I suggested a home industry: LabPacca garments, originally in Buster Black, now in Tsuga Taupe! and finally, 3) "Coat your dog in DoggiEnamel--the miracle sealer that locks out fleas, ticks and burs and ends shedding forever! (Complete with picture of product.)
SUMMER READING ~ Help me out here. I'm thinking of doing a future piece in the little column at Floyd Press that springs out of the blogger's book meme (or variations of it) that are going around. One question that should have been part of this 'assignment' is "what books did you read as a child that left a lasting impression and why?" If you're willing, send me three book titles from your days as a reader, particularly if you think today's young readers would benefit from adding them to their list of summer reading. The assumption is that some kids still think of summertime as a time to check out books in the Library Club Summer Readers club like some of us older folk once did. Are there summer reading programs where you live?
WALDO LIVES! ~ "Fred, come quick!" Ann gasped as she pulled the dog up the driveway by his collar. "There's a snake over behind the barn, and the dog is VERY interested. It's huge and I want you to tell me it's not poisonous. "It's just Waldo" I said with confidence. And sure enough, he's a little bigger and badder than last year, all curled up inside the center of a cinderblock. I goosed him with my hiking stick, and of course he hissed and struck at it before slithering off under the barn. Soon, on sunny mornings, he'll be cryptically draped along the stone foundation of the barn again, and we'll play "where's Waldo."
Comments
Another memorable photo.
And for book suggestions (These are YA rather than strictly kids books I guess):
Beastmaster by Andre Norton. This book was very important to me as a kid. It showed me that half breed Indian boys like myself could be heroes in books.
Heinlein's Have Space Suit Will Travel. Another book that showed a misfit kid making good.
The Madeline L'Engle Wrinkle in Time trilogy is also great and appropriate for kids 10 or older.
Posted by: fredR | June 24, 2005 7:42 AM
for the childrens' book list:
The Wind in the Willows - if you can pick up a copy illustrated by Tasha Tudor, so much the better. I still live there on the riverbank, with Ratty and Moley, and it looks just like her paintings.
The Secret Garden - source of my philosophy about life: "Where you tend a rose, a thistle canna' grow." Kids should read more of these 19c tales of not-so-perfect kids, who end up having pretty wonderful lives in spite of it all.
Little Women - along the same lines, not-so-perfect circumstances, pretty wonderful all the same. Many children today never get the benefit of making ends meet, wondering how it all will end, and finding their own creative responses to problems.
My 2c.
Posted by: susannaheanes | June 24, 2005 7:43 AM
this is a beautiful picture...its so nice to see the sun on the computer. the big summer book for me was
watership down. I read it a million times. the rabbits' secret language was my favorite part.
Posted by: suzy | June 24, 2005 8:59 AM
Hi Fred - summer reading was not a priority for me - I was a "gurrrrrl" (said with a bit of a snarl) who wanted to be a Boy Scout! I played football, kick ball, trucks and cars, and rode my bike helter-skelter down the long hill lovin' every minute. When, by my Mother's standards, I became too mature for such foolishness, I spent time reading magazines. It was later in life, when I had girls of my own who have grown up on a farm that I began to appreciate summer reading. I agree so much with suzy and susanna's recommendations, and read with my daughters some interesting children's books. "When Moses Supposes His Toeses are Roses" was our absolute favorite. They read "The Boxcar Children" series and of course Judy Blume. Also "Little House" series. The classics are priceless and continue to be reserved for when quiet time is needed.
Thanks for the question. Keep Waldo safe from Tsuga, and vice versa. (And Ann too).
Posted by: connie | June 24, 2005 10:03 AM
I remember Tom Swift and the Whatever (sort of science fictiony and there were dozens of them); Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family and related books; books about racing (in the pre-drivers-license driving fantacy years); World War II books about all the big battles (I think I read All Quiet on the Western Front probably earlier than I should have) and a series of green-bound biographies--a whole shelf of them--in our school library. I read every one. And there was Annie Oakley (I couldn't admit this at the time) and other westerns.
I fully think that if I had read differnt books, my choice of careers, colleges and companions might have been totally different. Books can be a powerful catalyst for insight, ambition and creativity. We need to direct our young people to include books in their steady diets of TV, videos, and computer games. Those media, too, are catalysts. Toward...?
Posted by: fred1st | June 24, 2005 12:01 PM
I suppose my three (ONLY 3?) favorite books of childhood had to be...The Hobbit, by JR Tolkien; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by CS Lewis; and The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White.
If you ask my girls (ages 6 and 7), they'd probably say: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Baum; My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett; and Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White.
Posted by: Carol | June 24, 2005 4:34 PM
I grew up in South Africa and a childhood favourate over there used to be a book called "Jock-of-the-Bushveld". It's a powerful story about a legendary dog. Legendary, because the dog actually existed - and most of the events in the book actually took place. Jock was the canine travelling companion of a wagoneer back in the pioneer days when everything north of Cape Town was frontier-country, and when no self-respecting wagoneer would have been found dead without a good hunting dog at his side.
Posted by: Melinda | June 25, 2005 5:24 PM